If you're searching for a fish fry Friday in Miami, you've probably noticed the city doesn't really do them the way the Midwest does. There's no church hall with long tables and a tartar sauce queue. What Miami has instead is a lot of fried seafood, and at The Leinster in Edgewater, a standing Friday plate of beer-battered cod with chips, mushy peas, tartar sauce and lemon for $18. This post is for the people who keep Friday meat-free, whether that's for Lent, out of habit, or because somebody at the table always does, and want to know what else is worth ordering at an Irish pub once the fish and chips are sorted.
Fish Fry Friday in Miami, the Irish Pub Way
A fish fry and a chipper supper come from the same instinct. Fish on a Friday is an old habit in Ireland, and plenty of families still keep it without thinking too hard about why. The American fish fry turned that habit into a social event, usually a cheap plate of fried fish and a crowd. An Irish pub lands somewhere in the middle: one proper plate, a pint, and a room full of people winding down the week.
At our place that plate is the Friday special. It's the same Fish & Chips that sits on the regular menu at $24, beer-battered cod with chips, mushy peas, tartar and lemon, but on Fridays it drops to $18. You'll find it under the Friday heading in the weekly specials on our menu. One tip from the regulars: the regular-menu version has an option to go spice bag style for +5, so if you've ever wondered what happens when Irish chipper culture meets a Chinese takeaway spice mix, that's how to find out.
The Rest of the Meat-Free Friday Menu
Here's the part most people miss. If your Friday rule is no meat, the menu has more than one answer, and a group can share around without anyone feeling stuck with a side salad. Going by what's printed on the menu, these are the plates with no meat in the description:
- Salmon Bites ($16). Three smoked salmon bites with horseradish aioli, pickle, onions, capers and chives. A good opener while the table decides on mains.
- Baja Fish Taco ($13). Two tacos of beer-battered cod with cucumber, pico de gallo, salsa roja, cilantro aioli and radish. It's on the Hand Helds list, so it's not only a Tuesday thing, and it's the lighter way to get your fried fish fix.
- Tomato & Goat Cheese Dip ($15). Roasted tomato and goat cheese with sourdough toast, and you can add extra toast if the table gets greedy.
- Creamy Potato Soup ($10). Irish potato and leek soup with Irish brown bread. On a breezy night in November, this is the one that feels most like home.
- Bavarian Pretzel ($12). Soft pretzel with mustard, or beer cheese sauce for +3. Skip the sausage add-on if you're keeping it meat-free.
- Chips ($9). House-made fries, with Irish curry for +3. Fair warning, curry chips are habit-forming.
If you keep a strict rule, have a quick word with whoever is serving you about how things are cooked and what's in the sauces. The menu lists ingredients, not kitchen details, and the staff would rather you ask than guess.
For dessert there's the Bailey's Key Lime Pie and the Guinness Chocolate Cake, both $12. Neither has anything to do with fish, which after a plate of cod and chips is exactly the point.
What to Drink With Fried Fish
Fried fish wants something cold and a bit sharp to cut through the batter. A pint of the Leinster Lager does the job without fuss. Magners Cider is the other classic pairing, a little sweet and very crisp. If you'd rather go dark, a 20 oz Guinness is a better match for fish and chips than people expect, because the roasted bitterness plays nicely against tartar and lemon. For a non-drinker at the table, The Ginger (ginger, lemon, mint) is our spirit-free option, and Guinness 00 is there for anyone who wants the look and taste of the pint without the alcohol.
Timing helps your wallet too. Happy hour runs Monday to Friday, 3 PM to 7 PM, with 25% off everything, $5 Guinness before 5 PM and $5 Leinster Lager. Get in early on a Friday and the fish, the starters and the round all come in cheaper.
Friday Night Food in Edgewater, With the Screens On
We're Edgewater's sports pub, so Friday dinner usually comes with a game on somewhere in the room. Our sports page lists what we show, from Premier League and Champions League football to NFL, the Heat, the Panthers and UFC nights, and when it's a big one the sound goes on. It's walk-in only, so there's nothing to book. Just turn up, grab a stool or a table, and order.
And if your Friday runs late, so does ours. We're open until 2AM on Fridays and the kitchen keeps serving late, so a meat-free supper at midnight is very much on the cards. Service industry folks get 20% off with a valid server card or recent pay stub.
So that's the fish fry Friday at The Leinster: an $18 plate of proper fish and chips, a handful of meat-free plates to share around, and a pint poured with patience. Pull up a stool at 1600 NE 1st Ave this Friday, and if you've got a question before you come, you can reach us through the contact page. Slainte.
Hungry? Check out our full menu or swing by during Happy Hour for the best deals in Edgewater.
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