What is Arby’s Fish ‘N Cheddar Sandwich?
“WE HAVE THE FISH,” declares Arby’s new Fish ‘N Cheddar Sandwich wrapper.
I guess it does because Arby’s has THREE limited time fish sandwich options: the Crispy Fish Sandwich (crispy fish, tartar sauce, lettuce, sesame seed bun), Fish N’ Cheddar (crispy fish, cheddar cheese sauce, tartar sauce, lettuce sesame seed bun), and the King’s Hawaiian Fish Deluxe Sandwich (crispy fish, cheddar cheese, tartar sauce, lettuce, tomatoes on a King’s Hawaiian bun).
We’ve seen the Crispy Fish and the King’s Hawaiian Fish Deluxe before, but not the Fish N’ Cheddar. But let’s be real. It’s basically the crispy fish sandwich with cheddar cheese sauce.
Arby’s also boldly declares that the fish lineup is “Hang Off The Bun Huge.” As someone who lived in Indiana and has experienced a Pork Tenderloin sandwich, which is known for the meat outsizing the bun, I can appreciate this.
How is it?
If the meat is going to outsize the bun, it better be dang good. Unfortunately, in this case, the fish wasn’t. The flavor was fine, but the texture was its downfall. To be fair, it wasn’t like a soggy wet nap, but it simply didn’t have that desirable deep-fried crunch.
In my opinion, they were way too fair on the breading-to-fish ratio. I wouldn’t have been upset if Arby’s skimped just a bit to make the breading a smidge more robust to create a delicious, crispy exterior.
Now on to what makes the sandwich “new” — the cheddar cheese sauce. This sauce was basically a less liquid-y nacho cheese. I concluded that even though it provides a more favorable melted texture than a square of American cheese, its flavor doesn’t complement the rest of the sandwich.
Is there anything else you need to know?
I ate this side-by-side with McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. Arby’s offering was bigger, wasn’t doused in tartar sauce, and contained iceberg lettuce and cheese sauce, but these differences didn’t really give it an edge over the Filet-O-Fish and is not worth the extra couple of bucks.
Conclusion:
I would pick the Filet-O-Fish over this any day. If Arby’s brought back its Nashville Hot Fish Sandwich, I may consider making it my fast food fish fix. But, when it comes to a basic fried fish sandwich, I prefer the McDonald’s classic.
Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 540 calories, 22 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1030 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 20 grams of protein.
Now I love cheese. I mean, I REALLY love cheese. But…cheese on fish just seems…wrong to me on so many levels.
Why do people always say that? It’s such an arbitrary “rule.” I mean, many people eat tuna sandwiches with cheese on it. And then you have the tuna melt. Shoot, the Filet o Fish has cheese it.
It’s like the celebrity chefs yelling at us on TV to NEVER break spaghetti in half before putting it in boiling water. Whatever…LOL
I’ll reiterate my two main complaints. Cheese should never go near fish, and since they’re calling this the Fish ‘n Cheddar they should put it on the onion roll. I like that Arby’s experiments with fish every year though. The Cajun was good and the flatbread option was great. Makes me think an Arby’s fish gyro might just be the thing I’ve been missing.
But why? Because some celebrity chef told you so?
I don’t know, which celebrity chef is of that opinion? My beef is that cheese doesn’t taste good with fish, period.
*Rolls my eyes at the cheese and seafood debate* Cheese can go perfectly well with seafood depending on which type either one is or the dish. A slice of cheese on a cheap fish fillet can be decent(probably because fast food restaurants tend to use cheese that’s not very flavorful), but that’s a solid no for me if it’s nacho cheese.
Went to Arbys, Daytona Bch, worst thing I had ever tried to eat. Threw mine away. Had the 2@$6.00, took one to cashier at local Mart, now I have to go back and apologize. Normally Love This place.. I’ll stick to Reubens. Thank You
I looked so forward to having the fish & cheddar sandwich, & was a huge let down! The cheddar was some fake sauce, & the sandwich was put together sloppy. Yikes!!!
Fish sandhwich was rolled into ball when wqrapped and bun was broken
Suqeeze cheese not real cheese like MCd
Had to add more tarter sauce when I got home
Some of the lettuce was wet and old
Fileit was thin but tasty
I really like the fish sandwich that they sell in the spring around Lent and Easter. But, the new beer batter fish is not good