Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures HERE. This week: fish fry #658, at Highland House in Mequon, Wisconsin
I was expecting a marlin or sailfish to be swimming in the epipelagic zone of my deep bowl of clam chowder. They were everywhere else: on the exterior sign, on the building to the left of the entrance, on the building above the entrance, on the wall immediately after opening the front door, in the waiting area, in the dining area where I was seated, on the shirts of the workers, and probably four billion other places. But I didn’t find any sailfish on the way down the thin yet smooth chowder ocean, and really didn’t find much of anything, with most of the potatoes, celery, and clams near or on the bottom, hanging out where flounders or halibut do in the oceans. A sailfish couldn’t have survived this chowder anyway, because it was steaming hot, and remained that way until I made it to the end of it.
All these decorative sailfish and marlin, as well as cod and perch, albeit in fried form and only on Fridays, are at Highland House in Mequon (12741 N. Port Washington Rd.; 262-243-5844), an establishment that’s been around longer than I’ve been around—heck, it’s been around longer than most things have been around—for 44 years, since 1982. Tom DeMarsh opened it, and still owns it today, with records showing Frank Stemper has been managing partner since 2022, following time as general manager. The building dates to 1952. Those who can remember far enough back may recall it being home to Roaring Twenties in the 1960s and then to Martinka’s Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, First Place East, McJuan’s, and Peking Gardens East.
Highland House describes their food as having California, Caribbean, and Mexican influences, and the restaurant’s decor is bright and festive with coastal and tropical energy. Their slogan is “where you’re always on vacation,” and they even have a promotion where patrons who bring in a photograph of themselves wearing a Highland House T-shirt on vacation get it hung on the wall and receive a gift card. When I arrived around 5 p.m., the second thing I noticed after all the fish on the walls was what must have been hundreds of these photographs. While the parking lot was already filling up, and people were streaming in nonstop, I managed to be seated right away in the dining area in the front barroom. The place is so large, with ample staff, that it is set up to withstand a lot of patrons (although soon after I sat down people started having to wait).
The fish options on Fridays are breaded Atlantic cod ($16.99) or breaded lake perch ($20.99), each served with french fries, and baked cod ($16.99) with rice and sautéed veggies. Clam chowder is available by the cup ($3.99) or bowl ($6.99). I ordered the perch, as well as a cup of chowder. The chowder was brought out immediately and my first thought was if this is a cup I’d like to see the bowls. I eventually realized I had been brought a bowl. I didn’t complain. How can more chowder be something to complain about?
The perch plate arrived quickly, quite remarkable given how packed the restaurant was getting at this point. The presentation caught my attention. Not only was the plate colorful, mirroring the decor of the restaurant, but there was something colorful in both the coleslaw and the tartar sauce, and I took note of the breading on the perch and that there was a rye roll instead of rye bread.
If the chowder was filling, the rye roll was equally so, and these two together felt like a meal to themselves. How can I get to the fish with all this in the way? The roll was dense, hearty, and packed with caraway flavor, and presumably could provide sustenance for a few days for someone shipwrecked on a windswept island. The coleslaw was built by moderately coating somewhat larger pieces of red and green cabbage and adding dried cranberries and walnuts. The dried cranberries brought sweetness and the walnuts a mild crunch, but there weren’t so many of them to turn the mix into a different type of cabbage salad besides coleslaw. The straight-cut, skin-off french fries were dusted with a coating that provided texture and crispiness.
There were four pieces of perch. The breading was rugged yet not overly crunchy, maintaining its malleability and finding the right balance between being light and having immense character. It was rather subdued in flavor, but for a salty kick. The perch was well-sourced, of moderate size and mildly meaty, and tipped the scale just over the middle point when it came to flavor: it didn’t pop with it, but not much was needed to find it either. The tartar was untamed, with a punch of capers at the forefront, making it some of the most caper-forward tartar sauce I’ve ever had, and pushing it to the brink of being too much of something good. Looking from afar I wondered if the orange-red pieces in the tartar were shredded carrots. Alas, they were not, and when I got to them my puzzlement changed to wondering if they were pimentos or pieces of roasted red pepper. I still couldn’t figure it out, but they didn’t get in the way of capers, whatever they were.
Highland House may have billions of marlin and sailfish, but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that they also have perch and cod and offer a decent fish fry. The coleslaw and tartar sauce are as bright as the decor, the rye roll is a fulfilling upgrade, and the perch has enough going for it to hold attention. They say you’re always on vacation at Highland House, and it’s not hard to know what they mean.
Takeaways: Billions of marlin and sailfish, but also perch and cod; deep bowls of chowder with potatoes, celery, and clams hanging mainly in the depths; hearty rye roll; dried cranberries and walnuts in the slaw; breading that’s light yet full of character on mildly meaty and medium-flavored perch; untamed capers tartar.
Note: Speaking of vacation, I’ll be taking some paternity leave because I have a son coming soon, but will be back with some more articles later in the year.
Want more Caleb? Hire him for all your 100%-vinyl DJ needs and follow him on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Enjoy Every Fish Fry main page
• Enjoy Every Fish Fry: Wisconsin fish fry reviews
• Enjoy Every Fish Fry: The best Milwaukee-area fish frys of 2025