The Frying Scotsman

Really yummy. It’s a food cart, not a full blown restaurant. I don’t understand some of the bad reviews. If you like fish and chips, go here! It’s very good. Great portions. Great prices. Considering it’s probably ran and owned by the same person. And the wait wasn’t even that bad. If you want something quick go to McDonalds and get a fish filet. If you want some really good Portland food, come here!!!

Decent food, expensive tag. Wait time is ridiculous even though there was only 2 people ahead of me.
Also, the cook is flippant and ugly but whatever I just wanted fish n chips.
Plus: Large portions

The Frying Scotsman has been featured in food programs worldwide due to its unique take on fish and chips. Our party tried the Mahi mahi, cod and red snapper small portions which are served with French fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw. Try the jo-​jo style fries with malt vinegar.
The variety of fish offerings is excellent and you will not go wrong ordering ahead. There is no seating room so make sure you either take it to go or are prepared to find a closed food truck to use as a counter.
The staff is friendly and the service is very fast and efficient. They accept credit cards which is good for those who only carry plastic. Hours of operation are varied; Mon-​Friday and Saturday hours vary. (11am to 3pm usually is the sweets pot.) Check their website for more info:
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As close to authentic fish and chips as you can find.
It’s better than the other places I’ve tried.
Get the Halibut. It’s usually $ 15-​$ 16 for the Large (2-​piece).
The chips are aight,
Coleslaw is coleslaw.
Piping hot everytime.

After being on deployment and traveling between sites, we stopped in Scotland for 30 hours. I ate the best fish and chips there I’ve ever had. AND this place brought back those memories!
I ate the Regular serving of Cod and Chips. Super light and crispy batter and the fish was delightful and fresh. Wonderful serving size and the coleslaw was spot on! I love the onions!
I’m only stopping in Oregon for the day to visit a friend of mine, while I’m transferring duty stations. SOOOOOOO glad I chose this food truck!
Keep up the great frying my man! I give this place two thumbs up! Maybe you all can open a food truck in San Diego!!! Hahaha :)

In short: Best fish and chips I ever had. I love that they have a variety of fish selections. I thought the tartar sauce was meh, though.

I had the fridge sausage and chips. It was definitely a cholesterol high, but it was awesome!!! Definitely love his tarter sauce as well, if you love the sauce as well too you might wanna think about buying an extra one. One just didn’t cut it for me Lol!

Got the Halibut fish and chips for $ 15 and they were delicious. The Fish was fresh and tasted so good.

Having ate fish and chips during my trip to London earlier this year, I was hoping to satisfy my cravings for them after I read all the rave Unilocal reviews for them at the Frying Scotsman.
I came here on a Monday around noon and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was only 2 people in front of me instead of the long meandering line that I expected. The service was fast and friendly from the Frying Scotsman.
At $ 11.50 for a larger order of cod and chips, it was definitely a good value. Two big pieces of fried cod resting on a bed of fries. It came with a small sauce container sized Cole slaw and tartar sauce.
The batter had good flavor and the fish was fresh even though it wasn’t as thick of a fillet as I would have hoped for. What I didn’t like about the batter was that it fell apart the minute I cut into it with my knife. I had to savage pieces of batter to go along with my fish and tartar sauce with every bite that I take. The bed of fries underneath the batter, though a lot in quantity, wasn’t as crispy as I’ve hoped for. As a result, I barely touched the fries.

Hands down the best fish and chips I have ever eaten.
I have tried numerous popular fish and chips places by the coastal areas (including Astoria, Victoria BC, Half Moon Bay, Monterey in California) and the fish here at Frying Scotman has the BEST batter.
The batter used here is never too thin or too thick. It’s just the right texture. I never feel super gross after eating it. It is also delicious by itself even without any tartar sauce or vinegar.
I have only tried their haddock and it’s hard for me to choose a different fish because the haddock is always fresh and texture is flaky and that’s just how I like my fish to be. Maybe one day I will be adventurous and try a different kind.
The chips are pretty good. They use actual potatoes, definitely not your typical frozen Mickey D frozen fries!

Recently having added fish to my diet, I’ve been all about fish and chips lately. The Frying Scotsman was another destination on my aunt’s Portland food must-​hit list, and I must say it sure lived up to the hype.
We arrived a little later in the afternoon, around 2pm-​ish, and I was surprised to see the lack of line. The other times I’ve been in Portland, I’ve noticed this cart was always one of the most busy. We stepped right up and were instantly greeted by the friendly frying Scotsman James. He had an accent, which I must say added to the experience and instilled faith in my high expectations of the food. Authenticity, right?
The menu offered cuts of cod, mahi mahi, and haddock, among others. I was intrigued by the mahi mahi, but figured I should try the typical cod first as baseline to compare it to other fish I’ve tried. My mom ordered a plate and we ended up sharing it. First thought: huge portions! There was more than plenty for us both. Second thought: super fresh and hot! And the cooking wait time didn’t even seem that long.
For tender fish and batter that is light, crispy, and not greasy. As well as a generous side of chunky fries. This is the cart to hit up! *Sigh* I love Portland food carts so much. Can’t wait to go back and try the mahi mahi or haddock!

This is definitely one of the best fish and chips I’ve had to date. Perfectly crunchy on the outside and super juicy and tender on the inside. We had the haddock and the halibut and the latter was my favorite. The 6 of us shared two large portions and it was a perfect afternoon snack. It’s a 4 for me because I thought the coleslaw was bland and could have used more seasoning. But definitely come for the main dish– you won’t be disappointed!

The Frying Scotsman serves up large portions of excellent fish and chips. Simple and delicious.
This little cart offers a good variety of options to choose from, but the standard dish remains the same – fried fish and French fries. I usually get the haddock, though I’ve had the cod before, too.
Today, I ordered the regular fried haddock and chips. While I expected it to be a small lunch, as I hadn’t ordered the large, I was mistaken. I was served one large piece of fish and once small piece, as well as a huge pile of chips. Definitely enough for a meal, unless you’re truly starving. Considering just how good a portion of fish and chips it is, it’s well worth the $ 9.50.
The haddock was flaky and white, and perfectly cocooned in a light, crispy batter. While it definitely had that fresh-​from-​the-​fryer taste, it wasn’t greasy at all. It tasted as fresh as can be, mild, but still the batter’s equal in making up the flavor. I was also impressed by how the battered exterior stayed intact as I ate the fish – never did it wind up coming off in large swaths, the way it does in some other places. The batter also nicely absorbed the malt vinegar and salt I poured on the fish.
The chips were thick, cut the way I’ve seen at chippies in London. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, every single one of these chips was in the Goldilocks zone. Like the fish, they took the salt and vinegar well. I wound up reapplying both at one point throughout my lunch, as I wanted a little more, and the flavor of the potatoes still came through.
I’ve also had the mushy peas here a couple times, and can vouch for them. I didn’t get them this time, but if you’re looking for even more pure comfort food and have a couple extra bucks, they’re a good option.
The counter at the Frying Scotsman features malt vinegar, salt, and HP sauce. Help yourself – in order to allow you to season your meal to taste, they don’t put anything on beforehand, save maybe a little salt. While there’s no seating area, if they’re not too busy, the counter also makes a decent table, if you’re down to eat standing up. This also allows you to re-​up your condiments.
All of this praise for the Frying Scotsman speaks first and foremost to the talent and care put into the food by the cook here. Fish and chips is a simple dish. To make it special means selecting great ingredients and perfecting a technique for making a meal out of them. The food at the Frying Scotsman does both of these things, and it’s served in generous portions, for relatively cheap. It’s definitely some of the best fish and chips I’ve had in my life.

By far the best fish and chips I’ve had in my life thus far. The breading was perfect and it didn’t taste greasy where you want to abandon it. The accompanying tartar sauce is home made and kicks ass. Cole slaw is small and so so. The fries are steak fries and very potatoey.
Great Scottish accent and honest guy. No BS here. Come get your fish and chips. Next time I’ll have to try the halibut. I tried the cod and wow it was amazing.
Go and get some! ASAP.

I’m a little torn on how to rate this humble food cart. Perhaps it was a little too hyped up for me, but my winner for fish and chips on the West Coast still goes to The Codmother in SF.
Pros: Ordered cod and haddock, which were generously sized. Both are white, flaky fish, but I preferred the haddock, as it seemed a tad tastier. Batter was very crispy and remained so hours later. Our fish and chips were piping hot and clearly made fresh.
Meh: Tarter sauce is supposedly made in-​house and is very mild. A very small cup of cole slaw accompanies each order and is overwhelmed with onions. For more flavor, add malt vinegar or HP sauce to fish.
Cons: Fries were very greasy. They were cooked thoroughly, so as to achieve a nice, soft, texture, but this also means that they got soggy quickly. Fish was unsalted. While I understand this allows one to taste the fish better, it’s bland and not very interesting. Even with just one order ahead of us, it took about 15 minutes to receive our orders.

When you are craving fish and chips this is the place to go. The fish is perfectly crispy and tender, the chips are potato magic. He makes everything to order, so it is piping hot and awesomely fresh.
I like the haddock, but everything is worth trying.
I spent my senior year of college in the UK, and this takes me right back to weekends in Edinburgh. He even has brown sauce at his cart!!! Its amazingly flawless, fried fish perfection.

Probably falls into the class of just not for me. I’ve gone twice and both times been disappointed. Excellent fries. Well cooked fish, though I very highly suggest springing for something better than cod. Not quite right tartar. Cole slaw is like biting into a raw onion! Yuck. Maybe it’s not traditional, but the plate could really use some lemon juice. It needs acid, and malt vinegar becomes overpowering.
Tip: make sure to salt your plate. It’s not presalted.
Despite the pros, I’d not return. 3.5 stars

Location: Downtown Portland where all of the food trucks are located!
Customer Service: Fast considering the line!!!
Décor: It’s a small white food truck.
Presentation of Food: Big portion of fried fish and thick cut steak fries.
How did the food taste?: AMAZING! I’ve had plenty of fish n chips back in the Bay Area but this place takes the crown. Nice golden crisp on the outside and smoking hot and soft fish in the inside. The fries completely compliments the fish. They are just as crispy and sooo gooooood!
Overall Experience: Hands down a must go to food truck!!!
Would I Come Back?: Yes if ever in Portland!

I remember seeing this food cart featured on the Cooking Channel show Eat Street.
The fried cod and chips was, indeed, very delicious. It was very comparable to the fish and chips which I love at Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica. The batter was light and not too thick and crunchy. The portion of cole slaw was so tiny.
This cart was getting more business than the surrounding carts. You have to be patient because it does take time to fry the fish.

Two huge pieces of cod battered and fried. That’s so simple, but so complex at the same time. To do fish and chips this well, it takes science and expertise. The fish were hand battered. Most people probably like a great deal of batter on their fish, so this would be perfect. I prefer my fish to be more lightly battered. I did appreciate that the wonderful man preparing my meal noted that he does not salt the fish, but had salt available for those who prefer their fried fish salted. Considering I can do without the salt, it was perfect. The accompanying tarter sauce was creamy and very tasty. The fries were a bit limp, and I wish I would have asked for them to be extra crispy. I know it’s just a personal preference.