There may be two dozen (possibly more) places to eat food at The Forks, yet I have fallen into a routine eating regularly at a few places. One of those places is Fergies, which has been open in The Forks since 2004.
Usually if I am at The Forks specifically for lunch it is my go to choice.
Classic fish and chips are great, especially when done so well. Fergies definitely hits the bullseye with their fried fish. Your choice of fish is pickerel, cod, or halibut. The halibut will cost you a bit more, and it is tasty, but I almost always settle on the pickerel.
The snack size is perfect for lunch, at $5.49 for one piece of cod or pickerel ($8.93 for halibut) and small fries. For bigger eaters the regular size comes with two pieces of fish and regular fries for $8.70 ($15.49 for halibut). The hearty size, which is three pieces of fish and large fries goes for $12.41 ($22.98 for halibut) and is great for sharing with friends.
You can delve into the meals too if you are a bit hungrier, a single meal has one piece of fish and regular chips, but also comes with seafood chowder for $9.95 ($11.96 for halibut). The double meal is $12.25 ($18.49 for halibut) and has two pieces of fish and large chips along with the seafood chowder, which they make fresh every day.
I ordered my usual snack size pickerel. It took eight minutes from me ordering, him dropping the fish and chips into the fryer, packaging it, and then calling my number. Of course the speed is great when nobody ahead of you, which was my luck this day. If you're in a rush, just one or two people ahead of you in line will cost you some time, so keep that in mind when coming here. Usually if I am in somewhat of a hurry I avoid Fergies if the line has four or more people in it.
The fish and chips is served like it would be across the pond, in a newspaper, with tartar and a lemon slice. It is a fake newspaper, Fergies Daily, which I'm assuming is 100% hygienic greaseproof paper and just emulates a newspaper. The "newspaper" is basically just an advertisement for Fergies and The Forks.
The fish is moist and tender but has a nice crispy crust on the outside that isn't too thick. It really is the right amount of batter. If I were to nitpick here I would say the batter could use a bit more salt (or spices) to it, but that would be me really looking for something I'd change in the dish. The fries are also great, crispy, and well salted. Fergies uses a "unique double frying technique" according to their website.
If you want to stop here and don't want fish you are out of luck... unless you want to eat deep fried mars bar or deep fried cheese cake for lunch.
There is also a curry fish poutine on the menu, $6.88, which has always intrigued me but I have never tried it. For those that just want the fish and no fries, you can also just order that.
This is definitely a highly recommended stop by me. For lunch or dinner, or just a snack while walking around The Forks.
Taste : 8/10
Speed : 5/5
Price : 4/5
Overall : 17/20
Fergies Fish 'n Chips
142 - One Forks Market Road
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4L9
(204) 942-9444
