Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures—sponsored by Miller High Life—HERE. This week, fish fry #558: Relish Supper Club in Germantown, Wisconsin.
A couple walked in the building and moments later walked out. This didn’t portend well for my own chances of quickly securing a table at Relish Supper Club (N116W15841 Main St., Germantown; 262-415-7043). It was the restaurant’s third day of business. It was the first night they were serving a Friday fish fry. It was 4:36 p.m. I held my breath and pulled open the door.
I must have held it too long, because I blasted right past the host stand, completely missing it, and found myself on the far end of the square-shaped bar, near the entrance to the dining room, looking around like I was a child standing in the parent-child reunion area at Chill on the Hill. It didn’t take long for me to be found, but when I inquired about a table, I was told I wouldn’t be able to get one until 6:30 or 6:45. The dining room wasn’t completely full, but the tables had been reserved to as full as the restaurant was going to use them. Eating at the bar was also suggested to me, and that seemed much more preferable than a two-hour wait. The bar was at least half empty, so I wouldn’t be hitting anyone’s elbows, and it looked like the type of bar that would be easy to dine at, so I almost instantly decided that’s what I’d do.
I ordered the WI Old Fashioned ($9), one of two specialty Old Fashioneds on the menu along with the Relish Old Fashioned ($10). The WI version comes with a choice of Berens Old Fashioned Brandy or Maker’s Mark, along with simple syrup, bitters, orange, and maraschino cherries. I went with the Berens Brandy, my first time trying it.
Settled in, I cranked my head over my shoulder to study what had caught my eye when I had arrived. Was it a little buffet? An appetizer bar? Was it complimentary? What was it? It turned out to be Relish’s $5 Relish Tray Buffet. I couldn’t not have it at a place called Relish, on the week of their opening, a week after having another relish fry for $1.50.
Along with the Relish Tray Buffet, I ordered a fish fry. Relish offers four options under the Friday special section of their menu: fried or baked cod, and fried or baked perch ($18). It’s worth noting that the perch is available baked, a bit of a rarity on Friday fish menus. I went with the fried perch and the potato pancakes. The menu lists “potato pancake” as the potato choice, and I never looked any further than that to see if substitutions could be made. Accept no substitutes for potato pancakes. (Scallops, crab cakes, walleye, salmon, and fried shrimp can also be found on the menu under the seafood section.)
After I ordered, I was asked if I wanted some homemade bread. I hadn’t seen rye bread listed alongside the fish fry, so I asked if it came with rye, or if this bread was the bread of the meal. The bartender wasn’t sure, but they did tell me this other bread was complimentary and baked fresh, which was more than enough for me to accept its offering.
The Old Fashioned was rich, heavy, and sweet. It was garnished with a dark, syrupy cherry, with another deep in the glass beside an orange slice. I have tried your brandy, Mr. Berens. Now I challenge you to have a fish fry with me.
I made my own relish tray. I built it with a pickled beet, carrots, celery stick, radish slice, cucumber slice, pickles, olives, a cherry pepper, a peperoncino, a deviled egg, and grissini with port wine cheese spread.
As the loaf of bread floated to me, it was obvious adding it was the right choice. It was top drawer. Large, warm, and soft, with a sweet and buttery top, it was just about perfect. I ate about half of it and took the rest home.
For a place where I possibly could have waited two hours for a table, the fish fry came out incredibly quickly. It was in front of me about 15 minutes after I arrived. I hadn’t yet even finished my relish tray! While it might not have been the first Friday fish fry Relish Supper Club ever served, it was one of the first.
There was rye after all, in roll form. It had a crusty top, but was rather soft otherwise. I didn’t get to it until late in the meal because I kept eating the other bread, which was the superior of the two by a long shot (and that is not a slight on the roll). The slaw didn’t have much seasoning, but it was sweet throughout. It got creamier as I dug into it, but maintained a mild crunch, not getting soggy. There were two potato pancakes. They were lightly crispy on the outside, delicately soft on the inside, and accented with onion.
While everything that preceded the fish was satisfactory, the six fillets of perch garnered most of my attention. Some of the pieces were near excellent. While a few weren’t quite of the same caliber, overall they were very pleasing. Oodles of buttery sweetness, not unlike that found on the freshly baked bread, permeated the breading on the fish. The breading was thick and breadcrumb-like, but still let a pleasant perch flavor come through. Both the texture and flavor of the breading were near-perfect, and the perch flavor blended well into it. Those three elements made the fish. My only criticism of the perch is that a few of the pieces could have been a bit meatier—and if they would have been meatier, they probably would have been a little less tough. The tartar was exceptionally sweet, yet not saccharine, in an appealing way. It was neither too thin, nor overly thick, and it coated the perch well when it was dipped into it.
More than once during my meal I heard patrons reference the building’s recent past as a Big Boy restaurant. Milwaukee Record covers a lot of Big Boy news, including at this location. Tyler Maas went there the day it opened in 2021 and returned last summer to try their fish fry.
So here is some Big Boy news: What are the people of the Germantown area saying? “Big improvement from the Big Boy,” said one. Someone else, also not a fan of the building’s stint as a Big Boy, remembered the times they had at the spot when it was Jerry’s Old Town and asked a bartender, “Are you returning it to its former glory?”
I never made it to Jerry’s Old Town, which was there from the 1970s into the ’00s, so I don’t know its former glory, but Relish Supper Club is starting off strong. The breading on the perch and the homemade bread are as good as can be found anywhere. The tartar isn’t far behind. The perch is generally good—maybe the only thing I’d change is making sure all the pieces are consistently meaty. And I have nothing unfavorable to say about the potato pancakes, coleslaw, and rye roll—Relish could keep them as-is and please plenty of people.
Plus, there’s a $5 Relish Tray Buffet, which they should absolutely keep—not everything needs to be necessary to be worthwhile. The staff was friendly—multiple people checked in on me during my meal—and seemed to be organized, even though it was only their third day at it. Even if the reservations are full, even if you go in and there isn’t an available table, if it’s early, chances are good you’ll be able to find a seat at the bar. That’s where I had one of Relish Supper Club’s first fish frys, and I hope they serve many more.
Takeaways: $5 Relish Tray Buffet; speciality Old Fashioned options; top drawer homemade bread; near-perfect perch breading; largely satisfying perch; memorable tartar; a thread of buttery sweetness throughout the meal; a great start to a supper club.
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