After much anticipation and many market tests, the McDonald’s Fish McBites are finally here. What on earth is a Fish McBite you might ask? According to McDonald’s, they are “Tender, flaky wild-caught Alaskan Pollock in crunchy bite-sized pieces”, but according to me, they are cubes of Alaskan Pollock floating in a massive chamber of breading. The Fish McBites are available in three sizes: snack, medium, and shareable and come with tartar sauce for dipping. I purchased a snack sized Fish McBites for the price of $2.29.
How Do They Taste?
When I opened up my little box of Fish McBites I noticed a holder in the lid for tartar sauce. This is not unique to the Fish McBites and has been featured on other McDonald’s boxes for similar items like the Chicken McBites. The holder would have been great if they had actually given me a tartar sauce container that would have fit in the holder. What I instead received was a plastic cup that you’d get a hot fudge sundae in with the tartar sauce squirted into the lid. I’m not complaining though, because it allowed for easier dipping than the usual plastic sauce container.
These little battered and fried balls of fishy wonder are actually quite good. They taste exactly like the Filet-O-Fish minus the cheese and bun. Although a perfect clone tastewise, they didn’t seem as satisfying as the actual sandwich itself. I blame this purely on the fact that the Filet-O-Fish exists. Take these Fish McBites and stick them in another fast food restaurant, and I probably would be able to enjoy these in an unbiased manner.
The outer coating of the Fish McBites is fairly stiff, kind of on par with the outside of a mozzarella stick. The pieces of fish inside the Fish McBites are quite a bit smaller than the entire Fish McBite itself. The breading probably makes up half or more of the entire McBite. The outside of the Fish McBite peeled away easily to reveal the glistening, cube-like piece of Alaskan Pollock, which confirmed my suspicions that it is indeed the same fish that the Filet-O-Fish is made of.
Overview
While the McDonald’s Fish McBites fared well tastewise, I couldn’t help but wish that the bun and cheese were there. As far as fast food seafood goes, the Fish McBites rank pretty high up there. They do contain a lot of breading, but there is a decent sized piece of fish in each Fish McBite. Overall I was content with my order of Fish McBites.
The Score
Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 9/10
Pros: Upper echelon of fast food fish, fun to eat, good tartar sauce
Cons: Wished it was a Filet-O-Fish with each McBite, tons of breading
Nutrition Facts
Fish McBites (snack size)
Calories: 250
Calories from Fat: 120
Total Fat: 13g
Sat. Fat: 2g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 25mg
Sodium: 420mg
Carbs: 21g
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 11g
9 Comments
Tracy W on February 10, 2013 at 10:35 am.
Just finished my first regular sized fish mcbites and I disagree about the amount of breading. the breading on my mcbites was not thick, nor did it make up about half of the mcbite size. with mine, I got 2 tartar sauce dip.
Anyway, just my opinion, but not too much breading.
Taylor on February 11, 2013 at 12:40 pm.
I think I just got a very bready batch that day. I got these again the other day and there seemed to be more fish in them than the first time. When I reviewed these, I pulled all of the breading off of one Fish McBite and compared it side-by-side to the fish cube. The breading won.
Tracy on February 11, 2013 at 7:14 pm.
Glad you gave the McBites another chance.
I enjoyed your blog.
Taylor on February 12, 2013 at 11:54 pm.
Thanks! Glad you liked it
matt on February 14, 2013 at 10:43 am.
I just had some and they were delicious,plenty of fish,snack size was a dollar and plenty in the carton.How drunk do you have to be to enjoy these? I give them a 9 plus
Linz on February 19, 2013 at 11:59 am.
I just had these and i am not a fan (though my 3 yr old niece loved them). I agree about wanting a bun with each bite. They seemed too greasy (yes i know fast food) but then again i didn’t care for the chicken mcbites either. I also think that i was wanting a crunchier coating.
John on March 19, 2013 at 5:26 pm.
I work for a franchisee McDonald’s and I can tell you the fish we use for the McBites is different than the sandwich. As you said the fish for the McBites are Alaskan Pollock but for the sandwich we use “WhiteFish.” Love your reviews helps me understand the customers perspective. Thanks for the info.
Cathy on April 12, 2013 at 6:57 am.
Like everything McDonald’s, all i taste is onions. Can’t anyone start making things that don’t reek of onions? I can’t eat them, and that’s all I taste with all Mcdonalds foods. Sorry, I waited years to go back and decided the fish bites would be a good test. Won’t waste my time or money again
Terry on May 24, 2013 at 6:00 pm.
I enjoy breaded fried fish so gave these a try. Awful mushy stuff in my opinion. No distinguishable flavored…certainly not fish. They amounted to a bunch of soft deep fried very salty mush. Not impressed here.