Discontinued Fast Food Fish Sandwiches We Still Miss

In the world of fast food, nothing is quite as devastating as your go-to order being discontinued. While some menu items are so integral to a restaurant's identity that they feel like they'll be around forever — such as McDonald's Big Mac or Burger King's Big Whopper — there are always those slightly less popular options that could be snatched away at any minute.

Some of these items disappear without much commotion (for example, did anybody really blink twice when McDonald's axed its salads?). Other times, the revelation that a menu item is gone for good forms a full-blown resistance, with the likes of the fried version of the McDonald's apple pie and the KFC potato wedges still sensitive topics for some customers years — if not decades — after their departure.

Unfortunately, when it comes to fish sandwiches, it feels like these always get the short end of the stick. Customers are normally too swayed by beef or chicken options to pay much heed to the humble fish. This has led to some restaurants axing their fish offerings for good. Alternatively, some only wheel them out for Lent, when traditional fasting rules restrict some Christians from eating meat (fish excluded) on Fridays. Even then, some fast food chains have found demand too low to keep certain fish options around from year to year, with the following 10 sandwiches all long gone from restaurants nationwide.

We'll preface this by reassuring you that no, McDonald's has not got rid of the Filet-O-Fish. The iconic fish sandwich — which combines wild-caught Alaskan Pollock with a slice of American cheese and tartar sauce — has been a year-round staple since 1965, with a quarter of its sales made during the Lenten season. It may not be the most popular sandwich on the menu, but it's a classic (and an underrated, tasty one, if we do say so ourselves).

In 1996, however, McDonald's made the rookie move of trying to fix what ain't broke. The Fish Filet Deluxe was brought in to replace the Filet-O-Fish, following a similar formula of tartar sauce and American cheese but with lettuce and a bigger fish patty. This was a part of McDonald's Deluxe line, which tried to push the restaurant as a place for adults, not children. As its tagline asserted, "It's McDonald's with a grown up taste" (via Consumer Time Capsule).

Sadly, the Fish Filet Deluxe, along with the rest of the Deluxe line, was scrapped in the late 1990s. Customers had already pressured the restaurant into restoring the Filet-O-Fish to the menu in 1998, with the sandwich actually adopting the Fish Filet Deluxe's larger patty upon its return. With complaints racking up in recent years that the Filet-O-Fish has shrunk back down in size, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if McDonald's decided to bring back its long lost successor.

"Chicken" may quite literally be its namesake, but Chick-fil-A has branched out beyond its poultry origins in the past. For those fasting over Lent, a select range of the chain's restaurants offered both the Traditional Fish Sandwich (which combined two battered cod fillets with cheese, lettuce, and the choice of a lemon tartar sauce) and the Deluxe Fish Sandwich (distinguished by its addition of tomato, lettuce, and cheese) in previous years. 

Considering Chick-fil-A's staunch alignment with its founder's Christian beliefs — which also dictate that it close on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas — this observance isn't the biggest surprise in the world. What's more surprising is that while both menu items would routinely disappear after Easter before returning with the dawn of the next Lenten period, this tradition was axed in 2021 and hasn't returned since. 

As per whispers from alleged Chick-fil-A employees, this had nothing to do with whether people liked the sandwich or not. Instead, employees claim that the sandwich was permanently removed from the menu due to "fryer capacity restraints" (via Reddit), which left some restaurants with one fryer short for fries (of which Chick-fil-A obviously sells a significant amount) come Lent. Sales were reportedly also inconsistent from restaurant to restaurant, making it tough to justify taking an entire fryer out of action for more popular items. As some workers noted, however, the restaurant rarely did a good job of advertising the Fish Sandwich, which probably contributed to poor sales.

Like most fast food chains, Jack in the Box only pulls out the fish come Lent. In the past, the burger joint's Lenten lineup included the Deluxe Fish Sandwich — an extra-thick mountain of a sandwich that contained two panko-breaded fish fillets, tartar sauce, American cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. First introduced in 2019, this sat alongside other fishy offerings like the Classic Fish Sandwich (one panko-breaded fish fillet with tartar sauce and lettuce). It racked up some pretty positive reviews during its run, with customers praising both its flavor and size. "It was huge," wrote one X, formerly known as Twitter, user, "really good value for the money. A really fantastic loaded sandwich."

In 2024, however, Lent rolled around with no sign of the Jack in the Box Deluxe Fish Sandwich. While the Classic Fish Sandwich returned in February, it was joined by new Fish Wraps, available in both regular and spicy varieties, and combining wild-caught Alaskan Pollock with cheddar, lettuce, tartar sauce, and pickles in a soft flour tortilla. The chain never directly addressed its departure, but fans certainly noted its absence, rushing to Reddit to complain that "the fish sandwich that's selling now tastes exactly like McDonald's." While we wouldn't necessarily say that's a bad thing, it seems like the Deluxe Fish Sandwich had a much more elite spot in some customers' hearts than the Filet-O-Fish, making its loss all the more difficult to accept.

We used to live in a real society — by which we mean, a world where the Whatacatch was a year-round menu item. Sadly, those days are long gone. For years, Whataburger offered a deep-fried, wild-caught Alaskan pollock filet sandwiched with lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce, and optional creamy pepper sauce or American cheese. But in 2022, customers started noting (and mourning) that their local burger joints had scrapped the sandwich for good alongside a number of other menu items.

Today, the Whatacatch still makes annual cameos at Whataburger for Lent, as does the Whatacatch Platter, which combines two of the fish filets with fries and tartar sauce, fish and chips style. However, the sandwich no longer has a spot on the chain's permanent menu. While there's never been an official explanation is to why, we can only assume that sales just weren't up to scratch compared with its more popular items, like the eponymous Whataburger or the Whatachick'n Sandwich.

Whatever the reason, it's deeply missed. "They took the Whatacatch off the menu at Whataburger please keep me lifted in prayer," said one disappointed X, formerly known as Twitter, user. Meanwhile, one Whatacatch enthusiast reminisced on Reddit, "I used to brag to people how the Whatacatch was amazing, just like how the old fish from McDonald's used to be. Big and juicy." Those were the days.

Despite what the name would have you believe, The Whaler was not, in fact, made of whale and has zero connection to whaling. Instead, Burger King's OG fish sandwich was a fried fish patty served on a bun with tartar sauce and lettuce. First launched in the 1960s, The Whaler was Burger King's direct attempt at competing with McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, and initially made its appearance in cities with a significant Catholic population before leveling up to a nationwide fixture in the '70s.

As Burger King proudly noted in its commercials, The Whaler was physically much bigger than the Filet-O-Fish. "The Whaler doesn't get swallowed up by the bun like some others do," it bragged, with the McDonald's equivalent at its side for comparison (via The Museum of Classic Chicago Television). Sadly, its actual reputation was never big enough to eclipse McDonald's fish offerings, leading to Burger King reformulating and renaming its burger multiple times over the years. By the 1990s, it was the Ocean Catch fish fillet sandwich, which was breaded differently and used a different bun (and is still sold in Cyprus).

Today, we have the Big Fish, which doesn't hit the spot quite the same as The Whaler for some Burger King customers. "Still get the occasional craving for these damn things," admitted one Reddit user, while others have described it as the best fast food fish sandwich they've ever tried and far superior to the chain's recent ventures.

Fish sandwiches are an annual tradition at Wendy's, popping up in stores every February to ring in the Lenten season. These used to come in the form of the Wendy's North Pacific Cod Sandwich, containing panko-breaded North Pacific cod, dill tartar sauce, three dill pickle slices, and lettuce. As per Wendy's, this was "a premium sandwich so so-fish-ticated, we only serve it for a limited-time."

However, it seemingly wasn't "so-fish-ticated" enough to stick around for the long haul. In 2021, Wendy's ditched the cod and introduced its new Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich. Notably, this uses pollock instead of cod, despite the fact that in 2019, Wendy's bragged that "while other QSR brands focus on Pollock for its price efficiency, Wendy's has your back with a sandwich made with Cod — a fish you actually recognize." Awkward.

While the Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich has its fans, there are plenty who miss its predecessor. Customers have noted that it was much bigger and packed with more flavor. "It's very bland and a huge downgrade from the cod sandwich they had years ago," lamented one Reddit user about the Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich. Others have ditched Wendy's Lent offerings altogether since the switch, with another Reddit user noting, "Wendy's used to have the best fish sandwich when it was cod ... The pollock they introduced last year or the year before was terrible and [I] stopped going for it."

Back in 2022, Arby's put a new spin on its Lent menu by offering the Spicy Fish Sandwich. This took the usual building blocks of an Arby's fish sandwich — a crispy fish fillet, lettuce, and tartar sauce — and combined them with tomato, jalapeños, and extra seasoning to give it an extra kick. We're not exaggerating that kick part; this was one heck of a spicy sandwich. "Their fire roasted jalapeños are a nice change from the pickled that you'd find everywhere else," raved one Reddit user at the time of its release. "Highly recommend."

There's a chance that this sandwich could've been too spicy for some customers as come 2023, it was nowhere to be found. Arby's Lent menu for 2024 consisted of the Fish 'N Cheddar Sandwich and the King's Hawaiian Fish Deluxe Sandwich, both of which are perfectly decent but lack the uniqueness of the Spicy Fish Sandwich. Multiple Spicy Fish Sandwich devotees have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, over the years to mourn their loss — and manifest their speedy return. "A couple years ago they had a spicy fish sandwich and that thing was next level," said one X commenter. "Every year now I look for it and they haven't brought it back." Similarly, another X user wrote, "Can Arby's bring back that Spicy Fish sandwich they had a little while back? It dunked all over the Fish Filet." The ball's in your court, Arby's.

The Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich is the only sandwich on this list that doesn't involve deep-fried fish. Instead, its fish patty (made of Atlantic cod, hence the name) was — you guessed it — charbroiled. Launched in 2013, it received what was then the normal Hardee's treatment of being promoted by a scantily clad Sports Illustrated model, Nina Agdal, who was filmed chowing down on the burger on a Hawaiian beach for an ad that premiered during the Super Bowl. ("I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis," the chain's former CEO Andrew Puzder told Entrepreneur in 2015 by way of an explanation for its advertising choices).

Anyway, back to the fish. The Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich — available at Hardee's and Carl's Jr. – made a few appearances on the menu during Lent. The cod was accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes and tartar sauce, all encased in two sesame honey wheat buns. It was pretty popular with Hardee's customers, with YouTuber Noyjeetut declaring that it was "way better than a [Filet-O-Fish] or a BK Big Fish" and food blogger The Impulsive Buy praising its seasoning and tartar sauce. Regardless, it still inexplicably faded away after just two years when Hardee's brought in the Redhook Beer-Battered Cod Fish Sandwich as its replacement. For those craving non-deep-fried fish, a void still remains in the fast food sphere over a decade later.

We'll be honest, we still mourn the KFC Snacker on a regular basis. Launched in the mid-2000s, this was a fried chicken sandwich with shredded lettuce and pepper mayonnaise that cost just 99 cents and scored record-breaking sales for the chain. Slightly less popular (but still extremely popular) was its fish equivalent. This launched in 2007 and swapped out the chicken and mayo for Alaskan pollock and tartar sauce, just in time for Lent.

Potentially the most famous detail about the Fish Snacker was that KFC decided to ask Pope Benedict XVI, the then-head of the Roman Catholic church, for his blessing of the sandwich. While the Vatican confirmed that it had received KFC's request — which came in the form of a personal letter from its president at the time, Gregg Dedrick, that offered the Pope a chance to try it for himself – there was never an official update on whether it blessed said sandwich (which we'd hazard a guess means "no").

Blessings aside, the Fish Snacker benefited from the same perks as the regular Snacker. It was affordable, tasty, and much less messy to eat than some fast food offerings. Regardless, KFC still made the inexplicable decision to axe the Snacker range in 2012, leaving fans so bereft that they're still petitioning KFC for their return over a decade later. (And by "fans," we mean us).

Like KFC's Fish Zinger, the Catfish Po'Boy was an offshoot of a popular chicken sandwich. While Popeyes' standard Po'Boy used fried chicken tenders, lettuce, and mayo, the Catfish Po'Boy used two Cajun-seasoned, breaded catfish filets, and sandwiched them in a French roll with lettuce, a few slices of pickle, and tartar sauce. The finished product was hefty and, most importantly, delicious.

However, just like the Chicken Po'Boy, it met its end in the late 2010s when Popeyes decided to discontinue the Po'Boy line for good. While today we have the Flounder Fish Sandwich — which uses an Alaskan flounder filet that's marinated and breaded similarly to the Chicken Sandwich, and is admittedly so good we wish Popeyes would offer it beyond Lent — the Catfish Po'Boy's absence is still deeply felt. "Had a dream about the Popeyes catfish I had back in 2007 last night," wrote one X, formerly known as Twitter, user, with many others mourning its loss and sharing their desire for the chain to reinstate it in its rightful permanent place on the menu ASAP. One X user said best when they posted, "I act like everything's ok but deep down inside ... I wish Popeyes would bring back Po'Boys and catfish."