Iowa & Illinois Fish Fry Events You Can Check Out This 2026 Lenten Season

Here we are already: welcome to Lent 2026.

If you're observing Lent this year, what are you giving up for 40 days? So many Roman Catholics, Methodists, Anglicans, Lutherans, and more denominations across Iowa and Illinois are getting into the reflective season.

One of the common things to give up for Lent is eating meat on Fridays. Because of that, many local churches, catholic schools, parishes, and restaurants host Friday fish fry events this time of the year.

This is a special Lent, as we have the first American Pope in place, and not only that: he's from Illinois!

Traditionally, we give up meat on Fridays during Lent because (according to USCatholic.org): "Some say that forgoing meat was forgoing a luxury, as meat was relatively rare for most people. This certainly would have been true in the ancient Mediterranean world in late winter—our time of Lent. Today this hardly seems true, since seafood is the luxury and hamburger costs pennies. And besides, the tradition is to abstain from meat, not necessarily to eat fish. Eating vegetables suffices."

Fish is also just really healthy. It's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, high in protein, and we don't have to talk about the greasy goodness it's fried in.

Where To Get Fish In Lent

To help you get your fish fix, we’ve compiled a list of places in the Quad Cities Area that offer fish on Fridays during Lent. We also included the fast food chains because we know you'll crave a Filet-O-Fish at least once during Lent.

Did we leave somewhere out? Let us know in our app!