Where to Catch Fast-Food Fish Sandwiches and Seafood This Lent

The season leading up to Easter means eating more seafood for a lot of people, whether they're religious or not. Fast-food chains, always eager to please, release new fish sandwiches and other seafood items right before Lent to cater to the seasonal trend. (Of course, there's no shortage of year-round fish sandwiches, like McDonald's Filet-O-Fish.) With Mardi Gras coming up fast, it's time to check out which drive-thrus offer fish sandwiches that'll satisfy your Lenten cravings.

Related: These Are the Best (and Worst) Fast-Food Fish Sandwiches

Popeyes has brought back its flounder fish sandwich again this year. The popular sandwich is made with a crispy fried flounder filet on a brioche bun with pickles and either tartar sauce or spicy spread. If shrimp is more your style, the fried-chicken chain also brought back the $6 tackle box, filled with eight fried butterfly shrimp, a side, biscuit, and cocktail sauce.

Related: The Most Popular Chicken-Centric Fast-Food Chains, Ranked

Walleye has arrived at Culver's again this year, and fans are thrilled. Wisconsin is known for its fish fry, which is why this Dairy State chain knows how to do it right. The battered and fried walleye filet is available on a sandwich or as a dinner with two sides and a dinner roll. Fried cod and shrimp are also available year-round.

Related: Local Burger Chains the Rest of the Country Needs

Hardee's coats its fish sandwich filet in panko, crunchy Japanese breadcrumbs. It's made with pollock and comes on a bun with lettuce and tartar sauce for a crispy, if uninspired, fish sandwich.

For more food ideas and tasty recipes, sign up for our free newsletters.

Seafood is on the menu all the time at Long John Silver's, but it did add some new options for Lent this year. For $6, you can get one of three shrimp baskets: six grilled shrimp over rice, six batter-dipped fried shrimp, or popcorn shrimp. Each comes with your choice of side and two hushpuppies. 

Del Taco has a long lineup of Tex-Mex shrimp items this year. New are the buttery garlic Parmesan jumbo shrimp taco and the buttery garlic Parmesan stuffed quesadilla jumbo shrimp taco (say either of those 10 times fast). Both are filled with crispy shrimp, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and buttery garlic Parmesan sauce, while the quesadilla taco variation comes with cheese between two flour tortillas in place of a single tortilla. You can also get plain crispy shrimp tacos without the sauce, as well as a burrito.

Wienerschnitzel is all about hot dogs, but it's also debuted a seafood sandwich for Lent. The shrimp po'boy is inspired by the classic New Orleans sandwich and is full of fried shrimp, sliced tomatoes, and creamy remoulade sauce on a steamed bun. 

Freddy's, a frozen custard and burger chain, is getting ready for seafood season with a new sandwich debut. The deluxe crispy fish sandwich includes a 4-ounce piece of battered and fried flounder along with American cheese, lettuce, pickles, and homemade tartar sauce. 

Forget sliders because shrimp nibblers are back at White Castle. The Lenten favorite are essentially popcorn shrimp, though a bit larger. They come in classic or sriracha flavor, with sweet chile peppers in the breading.

If you're looking for a seafood sandwich that isn't fried, Quiznos should be your stop. The classic lobster sub is back, made with a creamy lobster and seafood salad along with your favorite veggies on toasted bread. New for 2023 is a lemon herb version that comes with lemon-herb dressing for a little variety.

Qdoba, too, offers a unique seafood option. The citrus lime shrimp protein option is back this year, made with a tangy lime citrus sauce. You can order it as your protein in any bowl, burrito, quesadilla, or salad, or order a citrus lime shrimp burrito or bowl topped with chile crema, cotija cheese, and pico de gallo, or a surf and turf burrito or bowl that adds steak to the mix.