For being so seemingly simple, the English classic dish fish ‘n’ chips can be difficult to accomplish. But that’s the thing about simple food, isn’t it? It seems so basic, a foundation of cuisine — and yet, there are years, decades, even centuries behind perfecting it.

Now I’ve never been to an authentic English fish ‘n’ chips shop, but I can only hope that Alder Street Fish Company is as close as you can get in Eugene. The fish and the chips are fresh out of the fryer and mouth-burning hot — which is comforting on such a rainy day as today. The cod is flaky and juicy and just tastes incredibly fresh. Instead of the traditional salt and vinegar (though they keep vinegar on the condiments table next to the ketchup), there’s a choice of several dipping sauces, the most popular being Alder Street aioli and tartar sauce. The aioli is a little zesty and perfectly paired for their fish batter. The tartar sauce is a classic combination with the comparably plain cod —both are delicious.

But Alder Street Fish Company is so much more than an English chipper imitation. Claire Ory, an employee since the restaurant opened, describes the food style as pure “American.” It’s a hand-picked selection around the coasts of the US — from clam chowder made famous in New England, Cali-Mexi fish tacos on the Pacific Coast, to the Southern classic po’ boy sandwich — there’s a little bit of everything from the vastly different American cuisines.

Really it’s about the versatility of fish, specifically buttercod, which is used in their fish ‘n’ chips, tacos and po’ boy sandwich. Adding creative elements and flavorful sauces to each dish highlight different flavors of the fish.

For example, the buttercod tacos are coated in Panko rather than dredged in the fish ‘n’ chips batter, bringing a crunchiness that stands up to the soft corn tortilla. A cilantro sauce and corn and black bean salsa refresh the taco from being just another greasy piece of fish. Finally it is topped with, again, their delicious Alder Street aioli and a bit of shredded cabbage, lending a zesty hand to the entire ensemble.

“Fish and chips is definitely the most popular choice on the menu, but I always recommend the po’ boy sandwich,” employee Amanda Hammons said. But every employee has their personal recommendation that deviates from the most popular item. This is something that Ory attributes to having a “small, simple menu and everything’s delicious.”

“Our menu is branching out. We’re always throwing around ideas to add new items to the menu,” Ory said. “We change the specials all the time.”

But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s been a year and a half since they opened their doors, and even without advertising, promotion or having their own website, the campus restaurant has succeeded in ways beyond the bottom line. As a fairly frequent customer, every dish I’ve had there has been delicious and I feel encouraged to branch out to other dishes rather than sticking to what I know — and this is an achievement for a to-go restaurant such as Alder Street Fish Company.