Fancy's Family Restaurant

Overpriced frozen chips and fish. If you’re looking for a decent fish & chips spot in Barrie look elsewhere...

Have had delivery many times and was OK.Time before today fish was freezer burned and fries mushy called to see why and no concern by management.Tried one more time today food as my wife told the manager stone cold once again no concern only lip service.He is either too busy or JUST DOES NOT CARE.Maybe if enough people get as pissed as we are things may change.Will never order again.

I thought we would give Fancy’s a try and ordered a take out. Asked for the check as I paid by c/c, but the waitress has tossed it in the garbage, I thought I will look it up on the web when I get home. It looks like an overcharge of 20%..Called Fancy’s and gave my info, the chap answering the phone yelled out for Mike the Manager. Gave my info to Mike who kept interrupting and said right up front he would not be extending any credit. He was rude and did not care if we revisited. We won’t.

Let down.. better of going to a chain.

So me and my best gal are on the lookout for good fish n' chips in Barrie. Were not some self proclaimed fish n' chips experts, but we do know what we like. Being new here the only thing we have to go off is the trusty old interweb. And one of the better reviewed placed is Fancys. So we give it a try. Saturday after the dinner rush we hed in. First impression, well it looks like a standard fish n chips place, nets on the walls, dock style rope tied logs, plastic fish, the usual. Kwik peruse threw the menu, we decided on the halibut dinners. I only remember 2 types of fried fish being a option, which Iam fine with. The gal orders a ceaser salad, which in this case she does consider her self a expert. We also decide to order there "famous" clam chowdah ( say it frenchy). Service was fine, I dont like to review much on staff, as all it takes is one girl having a bad day to give a place a bad rep, and we all have bad days, so who am I to judge? But as for the food, I will be judging, no bad days allowed for cooks. Soup and salad comes, and the ceaser if definatly not in house made ( unsless you count opening a dressing jar) My Best gal ain't impressed ( I kind figured it was ginna be that kind of place). And the clam chowder, I suspect was of the same breed, maybe not, but defiantly not remarkable. But who really cares about that stuff, came here for fish and chips did we not, on to the mains. One peice of fish, square 6 inch X 6 inch and 1.5 inch thick. It looks good. Go in to break of f a corner. Thats funny , no fish in that fork full, take a look inside, it appears, the 6x6 peice of fish is actually 4x4 and half a inch think, the rest just batter. No worrys I say, the fat kid inside me love deep fried batter. Take a bite, and the fat kid inside of me is not impressed, Only discernibly flavor is old, over cooked oil. As for the tiny piece of fish inside, well it was a piece of halibut, not much to say about that, no extra flavor there. As for the fries, standard fare house cut style, no batter or extra seasonings, as it should be. I did enjoy the mushy peas though, My best gal didn't share the same view on the peas. Now we come to the straw that broke the camels back... the tartar sauce, pretty basic item, pretty hard to get wrong. That is unless you put thousand island dressing in it. Is this a joke? A kitchen accident? Defiantly not cool. I understand trying to put a spin on things but, thousand isle dressing in tarter sauce, not for this guy. At least warn a guy about it or offer traditional tarter as a option. There is nor reason to come here, I have better fish n chips at chain restaurants ( which I try to avoid if at all possible). My search for great fish n chips in Barrie contiues...

great service, been several times even on fridays when they are extremely busy with dining and take out we still get the great halibut which they are known for. have been going since 1987 and still appreciate that they hand cut fillets of halibut daily. servers are friendly , not a large wine list but have by the glass at very reasonable prices. very happy with the family fish and chip business which started in toronto in the early 50s. note all salads homemade

great fish & chip restaruant all seafood selection

halibut still the best anywhere. i found out still run by one Fancy family member and managers have been there for several years. with the price of halibut the way it is i cant believe they can still serve at these prices. i read reviews and noticed a lot of negative ones all the same date and wonder where they came from. have been going to fancys since the early 1980's and continue to go back regulary. lobster tail 8 oz and very reasonanbly priced.

What a disapointment!!! We decided to check this...

What a disapointment!!! We decided to check this place out a whim, but should have just kept on driving. When we were first seated, our young server took our drink orders. We ordered a bottle of white wine, one of the two selections they had. Upon her return, we were informed that they were out of that wine, so we ordered the other. She came back with two GLASSES of wine, and not a bottle. We corrected her, only to be informed that they did not have the OTHER bottle of wine available, so we ordered a half litre of the wine. She came back with a litre. After placing our order, we waited 22 minutes for our appetizers, which were one bowl of french onion soup and one order of calamari. My soup was ice cold when I received it. I informed our server promptly, and she looked rather disgusted and disappointed about this. She took it back to the kitchen, and returned with it 2 minutes later. Apparently instead of giving me a fresh order, they microwaved my orginal soup, which once I actually started into it, discovered it tasted like it was from a packet of Lipton's. And the calamari was severely overcooked. After waiting an additional 15 minutes, our entrees arrived. There were 2 orders of the battered haddock, and one order of battered halibut. My haddock came with fries and a side of veg. The veg was horribly over-cooked, the fries were soggy, the batter for the fish had the consistency of drywall putty, and I don't know how they did it, but were able to both under-cook one end and over-cook the other end of my one piece of fish. The server did not do a quality check once with us, and merely waited til we were done to come to the table. There was no apology from the ONE server that was on the floor, nor from the manager in regards to the lack of service and the poor quality of food. One top of that, they kept my soup on the bill instead of comping it. WILL NEVER RETURN HERE AGAIN!!! And will tell everyone I know to avoid this train-wreck of a restaurant. "Fancy's" sure doesn't live up to the name!

Best crab deal anywhere!

We travel frequently from Toronto to have Fancy's 'all you can eat crab legs". The restaurant consistantly delivers friendly, efficient service and top quality seafood. We are always eager to introduce friends to one of our absolutely favorite spots to eat!

The pieces of Halibut were adequate for the...

The pieces of Halibut were adequate for the price, however the fries need to be improved and be golden and crisp rather than beige/brown. The gravy was also a bit salty and lumpy. Overall it just comes up to par for the price. I could name at least ten other Barrie outlets which I have tried and would not even achieve a 4 out of 10. At least Fancy's halibut is WHITE not beige or brown like you get in other eateries. I have had Halibut dinners from a couple of dozen eateries around the province. Fancy's is not the best but neither is it as bad as some of the reviewers make it appear. The reviewers need to get out and try some places outside of their neighborhood, to establish a baseline, before they broadcast their assessments. I have my 2 or 3 favorites but I will not name them here lest it sounds like an endorsement to the competition.

We have lived in Barrie for over 20 years, and...

We have lived in Barrie for over 20 years, and dinner at Fancy's was always a treat. Fresh cut fries, and halibut to die for. Recent visits have been disappointing, especially the fries. Last night we decided to give them another try. Mussels fabulous, pineapple ditto, but half way throughthe meal the server brought our entrees!! Well,the fries were definitely confirmed to be frozen!! Halibut was overcooked and dry - they brought a new piece of fish and it wasn't much better. Why does a Fish and Chip Restaurant with such a history have to resort to frozen fries?? Not sure if we will be going back again or not.

Used to be a favourite in Barrie... As has been...

Used to be a favourite in Barrie... As has been noted by others, Fancy's has been sliding for some time... we thought our previous dinner disaster was an unfortunate accident, so came back for lunch... the fish was bland, fries lousy and even the potato salad which used to be something special was prepared with undercooked potatoes... service uninterested and slow... what has happened here? This used to be very dependable for a tasty, traditional fish 'n chips experience!

I had not visited this restaurant for quite a...

I had not visited this restaurant for quite a while, and boy has it gone downhill. For starters it seemed quite dirty, the carpet, tables etc. The meal came very quickly - being English all 4 of us, we know our fish and chips - this was not good - all I could taste was oil and the fish was tasteless - one person in our party ordered the Halibut and it came in 2 pieces but she said one of the peices was not Halibut it was Pollock - the waitress seemed very disinterested in our request for clarification- in fact when we showed displeasure it was hard to get her to come back to the table at all. The 2 men in our part bravely tried the desserts - they were served a frozen chocolate eclair and a McCain Apple Pie. Our bill was over 100 dollars and it was very dissappointing to say the least. Will not be returning.

I had heard of this place before, so decided to...

I had heard of this place before, so decided to try it out. I went to their take-out area and proceeded to wait for 25 minutes and still no service before walking out. Before I did though, you could tell the service was far below sufficient because each customer sitting in the dining area had NO food in front of them at all. Place had about 30-35 customers, but NO food on anybody's table. Judging by the price of the menu and the menu itself, this place was NO WHERE near an authentic fish&chip place. C'mon Texas toast bread w/butter???? where's the Scottish bread folks? Hire some staff!

We received our dinner quick, fish was hard...

We received our dinner quick, fish was hard, crusted, dry, veggies and rice cold. We told the server, we then waited about 20 mins, new dishes came out, was exactly the same. I have visited this restaurant now about 6 times in the last 2 months with family. I told them that, we did not even eat half of our meal and were charged full price. I will not be coming back and telling people about my experience.

The fish was absolutely disgusting! The mushy...

The fish was absolutely disgusting! The mushy peas were almost grey in colour. The fish was so overcooked it was hard. We sent the meal back, the second round wasn't much better. AND THEY MADE US PAY and we barely ate anything. NEVER NEVER NEVER WILL GO THERE AGAIN!!!!!!

Top notch when it comes to seafood! Large menu...

Top notch when it comes to seafood! Large menu, good service and friendly atmosphere. Definitely recommended for dine in or take out.

The fish is extremely tasty and succulent. Fries...

The fish is extremely tasty and succulent. Fries are not bad. I got take-out relatively quickly. I would say they have the best fish and chips in town!!

BEST Fish and Chips in Barrie! Real English...

BEST Fish and Chips in Barrie! Real English Style, you don't like these Fish and Chips you don't know Fish and Chips! BIG portions of Halibut and homemade fries.

excellent on all counts. definitly a place to go...

excellent on all counts. definitly a place to go and dine or take out

Fancy's has the best Halibut and chips I have...

Fancy's has the best Halibut and chips I have ever had. I have been to New Orleans which is renowned for it's seafood but Fancy's can't be beat. My wife and I usually get take out but whenever we have stayed the service has been good. The fish portions are generous and the fish is never too greasy.Fancy's has been around for decades and it is easy to see why. I have never been disappointed and highly recommend it for seafood.You will be pleasantly full and not have to spend alot.Top marks