Thistle

"I grew up in Kearny with the Thistle and the Argyle. My grandmother came through Ellis Island from Paisley Scotland in 1923. We'd get take out fish and chips a few times a year at her house. I had a craving for fish and chips the other night and there's just not many options left in this area. My wife and I stopped in on a quite week night and had a great meal that reminded me of all the meals I'd had at my grandma's house 30 years ago. Thistle isn't in Kearny anymore and things do change but it's still got excellent fish and chips. We also grabbed a clam shell container of empire biscuits on the way out. They were delicious and one of my favorite treats."

"What a neighborhood gem! It's super cute and authentic. Susan our waitress was wonderful. The fried oysters were fresh and delicious as were the soft shell crabs (call ahead and they will save you an order). I eat pretty healthy and while the fish and chips looked amazing I went with the broiled cod which was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The seared salmon was also yummy. I was excited that they had all the British candy bars for sale. What a treat!"

"Last night Kit and I were invited to attend a Fund Raiser for the Knights of Columbus that was a Fish Fry for $20 a person. Not knowing what type of meal it would be, we arrived around 16:00 as the gathering began and the crowd's arrived. As we sat waiting for the food with our friends, Francine and Bob Yamello, we enjoyed our relaxed conversations with them and other's from the surrounding communities... The food was catered by The Thistle Fish & Chip Restaurant from Northern New Jersey... When our food was brought to us, my eyes glazed over with joy as the presentation was reminiscent of what I consider to be the best Fish & Chips... It brought back memories of Argyle's, Stewart's and Thompson's Fish & Chips Restaurants in Kearny, NJ. The food is Old Country Style, large piece of cod deep fried to perfection with the families secret batter, french fries aka chips with a side of coleslaw and the always present malt vinegar that pleases the taste buds. Now in addition to my wanderings of New Jersey's premier Pizza offerings, I have another mission!!! To see if and where there might be other hidden Gems here throughout our state that we can find to reach the bar set by Thistle... The fish was delicious, moist with a hard crunchy, not oily outer crust, matched with tasty fries and a coleslaw that brought back memories... Those memories of my Grandfather's New England style coleslaw recipe that he brought back from Nana & Pop Pop's Summer Vacations in Vermont. The pictures are of the second meal that I brought home for Lunch on Friday... They have Food Trucks and a Trailer that they come to your location for gathering's and Social Functions throughout New Jersey. It would be great if there was a schedule of public events they were going to be at."

"Lovely place. Good food and service. Dinner portions are big! Fried fish was crispy but I took vegetables so the fish eventually became soggy at the bottom. Scalloped were slightly overdone but seasoning was nice."