Hand-breaded perch on Mill Street, a German Friday supper at the 1912 depot, bluegill on Highway 67 and a take-home option.
On a Friday night, the fish fry Plymouth argues about comes in three styles: German sides at an old railroad depot, hand-breaded perch at a Mill Street tavern, or bluegill at a grill-bar on Highway 67.
The order below runs from downtown out to the county roads, with the fish each kitchen lists. Distances are straight-line from the center of downtown.
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Days, hours and the fish on offer change, so call before you set out on a Friday.
Downtown fish fry: the Depot and City Club
Its listing promises homemade food in plentiful servings, so a Friday at the Depot is a sit-down supper rather than a quick basket. Travel Wisconsin's undated listing names Patrick Campbell as owner and chef. If you want one fish fry that tastes of the town's German roots, this is it.
The kitchen runs until midnight Thursday to Saturday, per its listing, so ask whether the fish fry runs late. Lunch runs Tuesday through Sunday, so ask whether the perch is on the lunch menu.
City Club has served seasonal beers since 2008, and the steak sandwiches come on City Bakery buns with Schwaller meat, if someone at the table does not want fish.
Perch and live music at Turner Hall
Humphrey's Turner Hall Bar & Grill on Elizabeth Street, about 0.2 mile north of the center, lists breaded perch on its menu and a space for live music. Its listing names performers such as Anthony Nix, so a Friday perch dinner here can run into a set.
Check what is on before you go if you want a quiet supper.
Out on the county roads
Bluegill is the less common choice in a perch town, so it is worth the drive if you want something different.
Racer's Hall on County Road C, about 3.2 miles east, serves fresh perch, and its listing names hand-breaded perch among its daily food specials, along with all-you-can-eat ribs. It has an outdoor pavilion with horseshoe pits, a children's play area and an outdoor bar, which suits a family Friday in summer.
The listing also mentions daily drink specials, such as discounts on tap beer and domestic bottles, plus garden tractor pulls and cribbage nights on the calendar.
Nap's Place on County Roads C and J, about 3.8 miles northwest, is a neighborhood bar whose kitchen serves bar food and fish plates, with a pool table and TVs. Its listing does not name the fish, so ask when you call.
Roadside Bar & Grill on Highway 57, about 2 miles east, appears on Travel Wisconsin with a Friday fish fry and a kitchen open seven days a week. Travel Wisconsin's listing is undated, so confirm the fish fry before you drive out.
Roadside's own listing leans on breakfast, with a breakfast burrito and a pecan waffle, so it is also the Saturday-morning stop after a Friday out.
Fish fry on a Road America weekend
On a Friday race weekend, two of the out-of-town bars are closer to the track than downtown is. Nap's Place sits about 0.9 mile west of Road America, and JAAAGZ on Highway 67 is about 1.2 miles southeast of it. Call ahead on a race Friday.
The track's schedule, camping and corners are covered in Road America from Plymouth.
Fish fry to take home
Roots Bar & Grill on County Road C, about 4.6 miles east of downtown, lists a fish fry option for take-home, with prime rib and cheese curds on the same menu. That is the answer for a hotel room, a rental house or a family that would rather eat at home.
Roots also does a BLT pizza, and the rest of the town's pies are in Plymouth WI pizza, for the Friday when someone at the table votes against fish.
Why Friday, and why perch
Milwaukee Magazine, in 2018, traced one origin story of the Wisconsin fish fry to Prohibition, when taverns used it to draw customers on Friday, which was payday and also fit the Catholic custom of meatless Fridays in Lent. In heavily German Sheboygan, the same piece said, the fish fry stood for Gemutlichkeit, a warm and sociable evening, and was cheap to put on.
Lake Michigan perch used to come from the local fishermen, Milwaukee Magazine wrote, and while perch is no longer fished locally, cod and walleye have joined it on menus. Plymouth sits inland in Sheboygan County, about 13 miles west of the lakefront city of Sheboygan.
Ask what comes with the plate when you order, since the sides differ from kitchen to kitchen.
Planning a Friday fish fry in Plymouth
On a Friday in Lent, call ahead.
Downtown, the Depot and City Club are about 0.2 mile apart, so you can look in at one and walk to the other if the wait is long.
After supper, the taverns on Mill Street are a short walk away, and the Mill Street taps and county-road bars are compared in full.
For the town's other kitchens, from breakfast cafes to Mexican grills, see where to eat in Plymouth.
For a weekend plan around the fish, start with Plymouth's sights, trails and racetrack.
Frequently asked questions
Published July 20, 2026
