Captain Jack's Restaurant

The halibut at Captain Jack's comes two ways, and choosing between them is the first thing the kitchen asks of you: English-style in a light, crisp beer batter, or breaded under a coat of panko. Either one arrives with coleslaw and a side you pick yourself — red skin mashed potatoes, fries, or rice. What sets this Guelph counter apart from most fish-and-chips windows shows up a few lines further down the menu, where that same halibut reappears inside a full gluten-friendly section. A fryer kitchen that takes gluten-sensitive diners seriously is rare enough to be the reason a certain kind of regular drives out to the Woodlawn Road corridor in the first place.

Haddock runs alongside the halibut for anyone who wants the lighter fish, prepared in the same two batters and built onto the same plate. Past the fish, the menu works through the rest of what the fryer and grill can do. Breaded Shrimp Meal and Garlic Butter Shrimp are the strongest add-ons — one crisp, the other slick with butter — and a Grilled Garlic Shrimp starter covers anyone who would rather skip the batter to begin. Battered Mushrooms, Onion Rings, and Mac and Cheese Bites round out the starters, and a five-ounce grilled halibut waits for diners stepping off the batter entirely. Chicken Fillets from the From the Land section handle whoever didn't come for seafood, while burgers, sandwiches, and a children's lineup of fish and chicken fingers fill in the corners of a longer menu than the storefront lets on.