Six pieces of perch? Now lunch is making a statement.
This Ohio stop keeps the focus tight with Lake Erie perch and walleye served as sandwiches or platters. Both come hand-breaded, so the choice is really about how hungry you want to be when you sit down.
The harbor setting gives the meal extra personality. Boats move through Put-in-Bay while lunch lands on the table.
This makes the whole stop feel like part of the island day instead of a break from it.
Go smaller with a sandwich, or let the platter turn lunch into the main event. Either way, the ferry ride just found a pretty good excuse.
Hand-Breaded Perch And Walleye Take Center Stage
Some menus need a paragraph to explain what the restaurant is about. Fish Shak needs two fish.
Lake Erie perch and walleye are the core specialties at this Main Deck counter, offered as sandwiches and platters. Both are hand-breaded, keeping the focus squarely on the freshwater fish that gives the stand its identity.
A perch sandwich comes with lettuce, lemon, and house-made tartar sauce. The walleye sandwich follows the same straightforward formula.
The platters go bigger. Perch and walleye can each become the center of a fuller meal with fries and house-made coleslaw, and there is also a combined perch-and-walleye platter when choosing one Lake Erie favorite seems unnecessarily difficult.
Perch and walleye are different enough to make that comparison interesting. Perch is generally the smaller, thinner fish, while walleye produces a larger, thicker fillet. That gives the menu a local identity without requiring a long list of specialty preparations.
No tasting notes are required to enjoy the decision. Pick one, try both, and let the empty basket settle the debate.
Baskets And Sandwiches Let You Choose How Hungry You Are
Not every island lunch needs to become a project, which is where the sandwich side of the menu earns its keep.
Fish Shak serves both perch and walleye as sandwiches, and each comes with fries. Lettuce, lemon, and house-made tartar sauce keep the setup simple enough for a quick Main Deck meal between other Put-in-Bay plans.
When the appetite is bigger, the platters take over. Those meals add more fish along with fries and house-made coleslaw, creating a more substantial break even though you still order from a casual counter.
Fish Shak is at The Boardwalk, 341 Bayview Ave, Put-in-Bay, OH 43456. The stand is part of the Main Deck, where several food counters share the waterfront complex.
That setup works well for groups. Someone can commit to a full platter while another person keeps lunch smaller with a sandwich.
There is also a practical benefit to thinking about the rest of your island day. A sandwich leaves more room for wandering. A platter says the sightseeing can wait until the fries are gone.
Both are reasonable positions.
Six Pieces Of Perch Make The Platter Live Up To The Headline
Here is where “generous” stops being vague and becomes a number.
The perch platter comes with six pieces of perch, lemons, and house-made tartar sauce. Like the other platters, it also includes fries and house-made coleslaw. That is a substantial counter-service order even before the sides fill the rest of the basket.
The walleye platter takes a different route. Instead of several smaller pieces, it comes with two large walleye fillets, plus lemons and house-made tartar. Fries and coleslaw complete that platter too.
Those two formats match the fish themselves. Perch lends itself to multiple smaller pieces, while walleye arrives as broader fillets that can dominate a basket with fewer pieces.
If you want variety, the menu also includes a perch-and-walleye platter. Sometimes putting both Lake Erie staples on the same order is enough.
The portion sizes also make a useful case for scouting the menu before ordering. Six pieces of perch can change your plans for onion rings rather quickly.
Then again, Island lunch is a forgiving place to discover you ordered ambitiously.
Cajun Shrimp And A Shrimp Basket Give The Fish Some Competition
Perch and walleye may run the show, but shrimp has found a way onto the program.
Fish Shak serves a Cajun shrimp wrap made with fried shrimp, coleslaw, Cajun dressing, and Thousand Island dressing. It gives you a different sandwich-style option when Lake Erie fish is not where your appetite is headed.
There is also a shrimp basket platter, keeping the larger-meal format available for diners who would rather make shrimp the main event. Like the other platters, it comes with fries and house-made coleslaw.
The menu even adds a fish sandwich value meal built around fried Atlantic white fish, fries, and a soft drink. It is not a Lake Erie perch or walleye order, but it gives the counter another straightforward seafood route.
Tacos create one more detour. Fish Shak offers a two-taco platter with house-made slaw and its own sauce, served with fries.
That option keeps the menu casual while giving you something different from a traditional bun or basket, which can be useful when everybody at the table seems to want seafood in a different format.
The result is still a focused menu rather than a sprawling seafood encyclopedia. Fish leads, shrimp gets a strong supporting role, and the sides know exactly where they belong.
Sometimes a small menu is easier on everyone, especially when the harbor is waiting.
Fries Onion Rings And Slaw Keep The Fish-Shack Formula Familiar
Fish may be the reason you order, but the sides decide how much room is left in the basket.
French fries are built directly into the Fish Shak menu. Sandwiches come with fries, and every platter includes fries plus house-made coleslaw. That keeps the basic formula consistent whether you choose perch, walleye, shrimp, or a combination.
If standard fries are not calling your name, the side list also includes onion rings and sweet potato fries. Coleslaw can be ordered on its own as well.
Tartar sauce, lemon, fries, slaw, and a crisp piece of perch already know how to share a table.
The onion rings also give you an easy way to change the texture of the meal without adding another entrée. Order them for the table, steal one before anyone notices, and suddenly sharing has become a very flexible concept.
Because the platters already carry two sides, it is worth checking what arrives with your order before adding extras. Six perch pieces plus fries and coleslaw is not exactly a snack.
The fish gets the headline. The sides make sure the basket looks properly occupied.
The Main Deck Puts Put-In-Bay Harbor Beside Your Lunch
There are easier places to eat fried fish. Few come with this much water in the background.
Fish Shak operates on The Boardwalk’s Main Deck, a waterfront part of the Put-in-Bay complex with three distinct food concessions.
Fish Shak handles Lake Erie perch and walleye, Book’s Seafood covers a broader seafood menu, and The Little Galley serves choices such as burgers, chicken tenders, and fries.
That setup is handy when a group cannot agree on lunch. Everyone can order from the counter that suits them and meet back in the same Main Deck area instead of forcing the entire table into one menu.
It also means one person can stay loyal to perch while somebody else heads for a burger or a broader seafood plate without splitting up the group.
The Boardwalk puts harbor views at the center of the property, and the Main Deck brings diners close to the water. Boats moving through Put-in-Bay harbor provide a much better backdrop than a parking lot.
Fish Shak also fits the pace of an island day because it is counter service. Order a sandwich or platter, settle by the water, and continue exploring when lunch is finished.
The food is casual. The location does the dramatic work.
A basket of walleye beside Put-in-Bay harbor does not need much decoration after that.
The 2026 Season Keeps Fish Shak On An Island Schedule
Put-in-Bay dining comes with one important piece of fine print: the calendar matters.
The Boardwalk opened for its 2026 season on May 1. Main Deck hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Those hours make Fish Shak an easy lunch or dinner stop, though island schedules can change as the season winds down. Checking current hours before a later-season ferry trip is sensible.
The Boardwalk has been a family-run Put-in-Bay business since 1985, and the Main Deck remains built around casual waterfront dining. Fish Shak fits neatly into that history with a menu that does not overcomplicate the island-food assignment.
The menu gives you six pieces of perch when you want to go big, two large walleye fillets when that sounds better, and sandwiches when you would rather keep the meal easier to carry.
That leaves one final decision for the ferry ride over: are you starting with the perch, or giving those two big walleye fillets the first shot?