The Alaskan cod basket at The Wharf includes three generous cuts of fresh, fried house-battered fish served with steak fries, a lemon slice, a paprika tartar sauce and a lemon slice. The Medford seafood restaurant also offers fried halibut and salmon for an additional cost.

Sometimes when a craving strikes, only the best will do. When that craving is for fish and chips, there’s only one destination and it’s in west Medford.

The Wharf Fresh Seafood Market & Eatery, located at 827 W. Jackson St. in Medford, has long been one of the top restaurants I’ve recommended to visiting friends and family. Despite that high esteem, I realized I’d yet to stop in since before the pandemic. 

That changed last week, when I had a sudden craving for that hit of salt, vinegar, crispy beer batter and cool tartar sauce. The restaurant that’s been a mainstay in west Medford since 2007 continues to surpass expectations.

The full-color menu has plenty to choose from, ranging in price from the Wharf Tuna Melt at $14.99 to the Surf and Turf at $68.99. I went for the three-piece Alaskan Cod basket at $18.99, but a two-piece is available for $16.99. Alaskan salmon is available for $1 more, and Alaskan Halibut is an option for $3 more.

I found the three-piece cod basket to be more than enough food for the heartiest of appetites, but it was their quality that made them all the more satisfying.

The restaurant uses high-quality cuts of fish, and makes it in-house with their own beer batter. Delivered to my table straight from the fryer and sizzling hot, the basket was faultless in its freshness.

Diners craving British-style fish and chips may want to manage their expectations, however, as The Wharf’s implementation skews more on the Cajun side of things. Mine came served with coleslaw, a lemon wedge and a cup of tartar sauce tinged pink with paprika.

Everything was well executed — even the coleslaw. It’s normally something I can take or leave, but The Wharf’s rendition was crisp, cool, creamy with a touch of citrus acidity. I finished my cup well before I drizzled malt vinegar on my cod.

I wanted to try an appetizer that wouldn’t break the bank, so I went for the Twice Baked Poppers, $10.99, beer-battered mashed potatoes mixed with bacon bits, green onions and a five-cheese blend. They are easy to recommend by themselves, but it was only after they got to my table that I realized they’d make a better starter for grilled entrees than fried fish.

My list of nitpicks is a small one limited to parking. The spaces in front of the restaurant fill up fast. There is some street parking, but west Medford residents may prefer to hoof it.

I went in knowing that The Wharf offers some of the freshest fish cuts in the valley, but what really surpassed my expectations was the restaurant’s high level of service from its waitstaff.

When I arrived shortly after 5 p.m., the restaurant struck me as well-staffed and prepared for a dinner rush that only started to pick up steam by the time I left within the hour.

Table service was swift, friendly and overall commendable. Bonus points because my Diet Pepsi — served with soft crushed ice — never ran empty.

Good help seems to be hard to find at many restaurants these days, but The Wharf clearly found it.

The restaurant also offers non-seafood options and a kids’ menu.

The Wharf is open from 11 am. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and from 11 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.