Fredie's Fantastic Fish House

Fredie's Fantastic Fish House is a family-run fried-seafood counter tucked into the Junus Plaza at 8 Oland Crescent in Bayers Lake, a five-minute drive from the Halifax peninsula's western edge. It is the kind of place out-of-province visitors drive past twice before finding (strip-mall exterior, laminated menu, seafood fryer running all day) and it rewards the search with some of the most-loved fried fish in the Halifax region. Owner Tammy Frederick opened the original Fredie's in Tantallon as a seasonal spot before expanding to Bayers Lake, and the second location has since drawn a loyal following big enough that The Coast's food critic, ranking the city's fish and chips in August 2025, felt obliged to explain its fanbase: "often voted amongst the city's best." For the wider eating map, see our Halifax Dining Guide.

The name confuses people, and the story behind it is worth telling. Customers ask where Fredie is, "and they're normally surprised to discover that Fredie is a woman," as a Coast feature on the business put it — Tammy Frederick runs the show, and the "Fredie" is hers. The same feature tracked the growth from seasonal Tantallon counter to year-round Bayers Lake kitchen. Nothing about the expansion changed the format: you order at the counter, wait on a bench, and carry your basket to a formica table. Google's editorial summary calls it a "strip-mall seafood joint with a casual menu offering fish 'n chips, chowder & lobster rolls," which is exactly right.

The Menu: Family Packs, Lobster Rolls and a $8 Haddock Plate

• The entry point: Fresh haddock at $8.00 is the cheapest proper fish plate in the city — the price that keeps locals loyal.
• The signatures: Haddock tips and fries $19.99; clams and chips $28.99; scallops and chips $26.99; the lobster roll with chips $31.99 (roll only $29.99).
• The family packs: 5 pieces $50, 8 pieces $75, 12 pieces $115 — built for feeding a carload after a Peggy's Cove run.
• The sides: Hand-cut fries $6, "Newfie fries" $9, poutine $9, onion rings, sweet potato fries, coleslaw at $2 a tub — the add-ons stay in old-Halifax price territory.
• The chowder: Fredie's seafood chowder at $17.99 has its own following; the sampler plate at $20.99 is the way to try across the menu.

The Fried-Fish Debate: Where Fredie's Stands

Halifax takes its fried fish seriously enough that The Coast runs the ranking as a recurring feature, and Fredie's position in it tells you both sides. The 2025 critic's take: "This curious little spot, tucked into a strip mall in a quiet corner of Bayers Lake, has netted a loyal following. It's often voted amongst the city's best, but I've found the batter a bit thick and doughy, and the accompaniments uninspiring. Perhaps I caught Fredie on an off day. There is no denying that they have a strong fanbase." Reader votes over the years have disagreed with the critic more often than not, which is the honest summary: this is a fanbase place, and the fanbase is large and repeat-visit loyal. A 2017 Coast letter to the editor praised the "nice story and super-friendly people running the place" while wishing the fish crisper — the same split, a decade apart.

What the fanbase prizes is volume and value at a moment when the same plate downtown costs ten dollars more. The family packs feed four for what a single lobster dinner costs on the waterfront, and the kitchen's hours — 11:30 a.m. onward, and from noon on Sundays — make it an easy pre- or post-shopping stop for the Bayers Lake box-store run that half of Halifax does on weekends.

The Trade-Offs: Strip-Mall Setting and a Thick Batter

Fredie's is a counter in a plaza, not a destination dining room: fluorescent lighting, a bench, and a TV. If you want a sit-down fish dinner with a beer, The Coast's same article points you to the city's pubs — The Narrows on Gottingen among them. The batter style is deliberately old-school thick; if you favour a light, tempura-adjacent crust, the downtown kitchens lean that way. And the location means a car: Bayers Lake is a 15-minute drive from downtown Halifax and off the walkable peninsula entirely. None of this dents the queue at the counter on a Friday.

The Practical Details: Location, Hours and Essentials

Address and Location
8 Oland Crescent (Junus Plaza), Halifax, NS B3S 1C6 — Bayers Lake Business Park, minutes from Highways 102/103 and the peninsula's western approaches.

Hours of Operation
Monday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Sunday 12:00–7:00 p.m.; confirm on frediesfantasticfish.ca. The original Tantallon location runs seasonally.

Price Range
Haddock plate from $8; most meals $17–$32; family packs $50–$115.

Reservations
None — counter service, takeout-heavy.

Parking
Free plaza parking directly outside.

Fredie's is the Bayers Lake answer to the classic Nova Scotia question of where to get a proper feed of fish and chips — a family counter with a backstory, generous plates, and a fanbase that keeps the fryer busy. If you're touring the city's fried-fish scene, pair it with Willman's on the North End and Rudy & Olive's on the Bedford Highway for a three-stop tour, or see our Halifax Local Guide for more local favourites.