Hot Red Bus

Check out the new menu, I had the Tika Masala yesterday it was great.

I drive all over Los Angeles and orange County, and this is legit fish and chips stop.
Best by far I’ve had.
And the price was great!
The staff were friendly and polite, while being about taking care of business.
The food was hot and the ambiance casual, and the spot is clean.
I had the pollack and it was so crisp and flaky.
Fries were good too.

We got 2 pcs fish n chips and diner chips. They both tasted good but too greasy. The fish was so soft, creamy, buttery inside and really crunchy outside. The chips weren’t as crispy as I would want to. The Doner chips were really flavorful. Overall, this place is a good spot to go to when you’re craving for fish n chips.

Seriously this place is AMAZING the food and service match up both are fucking great. The costumer service you get here is exactly how costumer service should be ! Superb seriously !
I always get the 1 pc fish with fries the fish is fried to perfection and the fries are amazing as well
They have these tasty sauces try them all ! They say they’re .50 but sometimes they won’t even charge you for it !

My boyfriend & I loved this place. Have been looking for a legit Fish & Chips place since I moved here 2 years ago and I am happy to have found this place! We’ll definitely be back!

Got around to coming back here. I guess they got rid of the water charge or the signage at least since the last time i was here. tried something new and decided to go for the fish wrap. was pretty dang fantastic. would get it again. the samosas… not so much. i’d give them a ²⁄₅ by themselves. their fried fish is always good though.

Love this place!
1^st time here and will defiantly be returning. Fish and chip are awesome!

Right when you walk in, you get this amazing uplifting feeling of energy. There was only 1 person working when I went in and he was handling orders, making the food, bringing the orders to the customers, all with a smile on his face. He wasn’t frustrated that his friend bailed on him and left him alone at the store, he still put the customer first and that goes a long way.
The food was delicious. I’m a vegetarian and I tried the veggie wrap with vegetarian samosas. The warm veggie patty wrapped around a warm pita bread and topped with cold veggies was the perfect blend. The vegetarian samosas were bite size and with the dipping sauce he gave me, it was perfect. A bit too spicy for me but it hit the spot.
I would reccomend going to this spot for a nice, simple lunch or even hanging out and snacking on samosas haha. Great service, loved the atmosphere, tables were clean, plenty of parking in the back. I will definitely be coming back with more friends.

UPDATE:
They have amazing customer service! Sage contacted me and hooked me up! Sa-​weet!
I got the Churchill again tonight along with fish n chips and they are so good! Love it!
Ultra friendly staff! Will return!
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Been here a few times and the last 2 times they were short on ingredients. The first time over half their menu items were out and this time they were out of pork sausage patties so no sandwiches were available. I’ve been wanting to try their Churchill sandwich… Bummer.
My husband is from Newcastle so we will return when he is homesick, but if this keeps up we may start looking elsewhere.

Hot Red Bus is located on Main St, right next door to Foo Foo Tei.
I haven’t taken the bus in a long time. But this bus is definitely worth taking because the food is surprisingly very good! With over 400 reviews and an overall rating of 4 stars (at the time of this review), I was happy that my husband and I ended up deciding to grab some dinner to go on a Sunday evening around 6 pm.
After looking over the menu board, we ended up ordering:
2 Piece Cod N Chips, $ 11.95 prior to tax– One of the best fish and chips that I have ever had. The batter was flavored right and not overly heavy or overly breaded. The cod itself was tasty and appreciated that the fried fish pieces were not overly oily (because they drained it before packing it for us). The fries were the thick cut, which is always nice. My husband got the creamy vindaloo sauce (you get one sauce for free), which was a little bit on the spicy side for me. But my husband didn’t think it was and he really liked the sauce and wished he had more of it.
Veggie Wrap, $ 7 prior to tax– When I ordered this, the employee who took my order asked me if I would like to have this mild, medium or spicy. I told him that I have to have mild and so he used the bombay ketchup sauce in this. He told me that the ketchup is not spicy, but just has some added spices to it to flavor it. I thought the ketchup tasted good and wasn’t spicy just like he said (I appreciate that because again, I am not a spicy eating person). This veggie wrap was pretty tasty. I especially liked the grilled mushrooms and onions. I only ended up eating half and giving the other half to my husband. Him being a true meat eater actually did like my veggie wrap.
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(Total= $ 20.66 after tax, prior to tip)
Because the food is made to order, we had to wait for it to be made to take it back home to eat. But the wait wasn’t too long and I didn’t mind the wait. The woman’s restroom has a funny little message over the toilet (check out my photo).
Parking is available on the street. You could also park at the structure behind the restaurant, but it isn’t in incredibly close walk (but you may want to walk off a bit of your meal afterwards).
In the end, I will definitely come back here (but not too often and not too soon because it isn’t the most healthiest for you) and hope to try some of their other items.
Also do want to mention that their malt vinegar is really good. The employee who took our order gave us a few little containers to take and told us the vinegar they use is from Britain. It was definitely one of the best I have ever had (not all malt vinegar brands are equal).

I felt as if I was having memories from London. I really enjoyed their Doner Wrap, as well as their English Sandwich, and of course the beloved Fish & Chips. The flavors really did remind me of England, especially closer towards the coast. I really enjoyed the swai fish as well. An unusual choice, normally the counterpart would’ve been haddock, but it was an interesting choice. I enjoyed it greatly.
I also ordered their shrimp. I didn’t really care for it, but it wasn’t bad either. Honestly, it is worth going to if you haven’t had the chance to. Worth the trip. Mind you I live 30 miles away. Thank you for the memories.

This place deserves way more stars than 5. Casual order at the counter spot, pay and wait for your food. Foods cook to order so it takes some time be patient. Love their buttery cod. Literally melts in your darn mouth. Don’t get me started on their addicting Crispy fries. So much flavor! Proper fish and chips like I’ve had in England. Owners are from England so it makes sense. Enjoyed their hefeweizen pale ale. Goes well with the greasy food. Don’t expect to be on a diet here or anything really healthy. Honest to goodness fish and chips spot. Can’t get any better than this. My love and I can’t stop venturing out here just for this. They are located right by our favorite burger spot Grill Em All! Oh and the service is always top notch, warm, and inviting!

First review for the new year!
We first heard about Hot Red Bus from a friend who was in search of a good fish and chips restaurant close to the Pasadena area. We’ve probably driven past this place more than a dozen times after eating nearby. We finally made it a point to come try after I got off of work.
Walked in and found the place empty. Was quickly greeted by one of the two workers and began browsing the menu. As others have stated, they offer two different types of fish, swai or cod. Not too familiar with the swai, I was skeptical ordering it as the guy recommended trying it. After just taking one bite, this was probably the best tasting fried fish I’ve had. The fish was moist, tender and had a buttery flavor to it. Boy was I impressed! The cod too was cooked perfectly but had a firmer texture to it. The batter light and both pieces of fish were fried to a perfect golden brown and remained crispy until the last bite.
I used to think that the fish and chips at Ye Olde Kingshead was the best until I tried Hot Red Bus!
Can’t wait to go back for more!

Great find in Alhambra.
Delicious! Now a fan of their fish n chips, I forgot what we ordered exactly but the person who helped us was super kind and helpful with suggesting their popular items.
The atmosphere is very relaxing, I like that you can sit out doors on their shack like patio. Love it.

This place is more like 4.5 stars, but I couldn’t give a 5 because of the fries. :(My favorite food, y u no more crispy?
Anyways, I love me a good fish and chip. I have been hard pressed to find a good place; I’ve even had it in the UK (Gibraltar to be exact) and that was pretty underwhelming. However, I think we’ve found a winner here. I came with two people on a weeknight and it was surprisingly empty but the restaurant was full when we left. We ordered the 2 pc swai fish and chips, an extra piece of swai, and the doner with chips with curry (seriously, get the curry, and gravy on the side if you really want to go HAM). Other reviews said that the cod was preferable to the swai but I thought the swai was just fine. Everything is made to order so when the fish comes out it has that wonderful crisp batter with steaming hot fluffy white fish on the inside.
How to eat: Apply liberal amounts of lemon and malt vinegar and dunk in the house tartar sauce, which is mild and not too heavy. Ketchup on the side with generous (and I mean REALLY generous) amounts of pepper on top to dip your fries in. Tuck in to the enormous portion of doner and fries (which, for the record, is a Turkish mixture of beef and lamb cut into thin slices. don’t be like me and assume it’s Indian food like a culturally ignorant pleb LOL). The fries are topped with a healthy pile of doner, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and curry. One bite into the crisp crunchy fish, then shovel a giant forkful of doner and fries down your gullet following. Repeat until you are satiated. Enjoy.

Get on this bus. Seriously, it’s the best fish and chips I’ve had outside of London in LA so far. We’re talking flaky, melt in your mouth fish with the perfect amount of tasty batter.
Bring all your mates here. And whether you’re rooting for Chelsea or Real Madrid, we can all just get along.
There’s a fun pub feel in this small hole in the wall, and if you don’t like fish and chips they have sandwiches and other things. They fry the chips up hot and fresh and when I came for lunch it was crowded with locals.
There are also 3 kinds of fish to choose from, ranging from smooth to buttery and so and and so forth. I forgot the 3 fish choices since I’m no fisherman and I have the memory of a goldfish but whatever we tried it was excellent.
So get on this bus and try one of the best fish and chips outside of London. And yes, I should know since I’ve been to London a dozen times or so and my father’s British. You can’t get a better endorsement than that!

I believe this place has changed a lot since the last time I was here (December 2013). I am from AZ, so I didn’t stop coming here for any reason… just so folks know.
Some of the menu items are now gone and there are now 2 types of fried fish (Swai & Cod) along with different sides you can order. Don’t get me wrong, I like their updated menu even more now.
We all opted for the 2-​piece cod & chips which even better than the Swai and I liked the Swai to begin with. The fries were different, a lot thicker and double fried, but something else… can’t put my finger on it… but, I highly liked it. I couldn’t stop eating them.
Their seating arrangements has changed too and appears to now accommodate more people from the last time and they updated/​added outdoor seating.
The guy that greeted us and took our order was very friendly and personable. Overall, this is a great place in the area for fish and chips.

Fried fish, hot and fresh is the best thing ever. Biting into the taste of oil combined with the moistness of the fish is a bit of a guilty pleasure (ideally you’d want to ease up on the former). With or without lemon, it still is tasty. I have to say that it was quite filling. I shared a 2-​piece cod with my boyfriend and we were full by the end of it. Each piece was bigger than the length of my hand! Whoa! The fries that came with were the double-​fried kind of crispy so overall this was quite filling.
We also shared a Doner wrap, which was a bit salty and greasy for my liking but pretty good. I still prefer Spitz in Little Tokyo and think that the Doner I had in Tokyo itself was better though. I think it was missing that little bit of oomph that I like, but then again, I had told the guy mild for the Doner. My fault there. Going to try their hot sauce legitimately next time!
Food took a bit to come out as the chef was just finishing his break, but when it did, it was fast for everyone. The cashier/​server came by and was friendly throughout, so I really enjoyed it here. I’m actually craving some fried fish right now, so I guess they’ve got me hooked! Ba dum tss!

I have only great things to say about this place.
My wife brought me here on my birthday and it was fairly mellow on a Friday lunch time.
Dave served us and he was beyond gentlemanly. He made our food that day and he makes the curry sauces dome scratch. I can concur that they are excellent and the quality of ingredients he uses to acquire that classic brown curry and chips taste is visibly superior to what chip shop brown curry is probably made of. His vindaloo sauce was excellent, and my wife the heat-​freak loved it.
Now the fish and chips. It has been a long time gripe of mine that American gastro pubs things fish and chips is an over-​battered fish finger with shitty American fries.
THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IN 8 YEARS OF LIVING IN AMERCA THAT HAS SERVED ME A CORRECT BATTERED HALF FISH AND ACTUAL BIGS CHIPS.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I WILL RETURN. ALL OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS SERVING FISH AND CHIPS NEEDS TO COME HERE TO SEE WHAT ACTUAL FISH AND CHIPS LOOK LIKE.
Now all this place needs is Kingfisher beer, full-​size battered fish and if they can figure it out (or anyone can for that matter), saveloys made from something not close to what saveloys are made of, but somehow manages to taste the same. I may be asking for too much on the saveloys.
Finally, this last comment is for the English transplants living in L.A. As a transplanted Brit, I’ve not been back home in 8 years and walking in got me tearing up. It got me in touch with how much I need to head back to reacquaint with my old haunts.
Thanks Dave and Hot Red Bus!

Update:
This place has changed a bit since the last few times I’ve been here (especially since 2013). Some of the menu items before in my last review are now gone and there are now different sides you can order. I like their updated menu much more now than before.
Another notable change is that there are two different types of fish you can order with your chips (or separate, if you prefer). We had opted for the 2-​piece cod & chips which were just as good as we remembered it. The fries are now thinner in size and I highly prefer it that way.
Their seating arrangements now accommodate more people from the last time I’ve been here and they updated their outdoor seating.
Overall, still a great place in the area for fish and chips. By the way, I was watching the morning news on a Saturday on KTLA and once the newscaster mentioned fish and chips in the SGV, I just KNEW it had to be Hot Red Bus. They were featured on a segment and they definitely deserve the attention! =)