Trattoria and chips, with a Waterloo on the side!! (Harry Ramsdens in general)

Member Name: Emma1973

Product:	Harry Ramsdens in general
Date:	29/05/05 (1034 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The chips, Good service

Disadvantages: Vegetarians are going to be limited

I went to Harry Ramsdens on Saturday night. Blunt and to the point eh? Well, its Sunday and I should still be in bed, not being woken up by my daughter playing her new ‘My Chemical Romance@ cd. So excuse me for being a bit grumpy.
Anyway if you live in, or have ever been to Bristol you will know that there’s an absolute dearth of restaurants to choose from (God knows, I’ve tried most of them!), catering for every taste.

On this occasion it was my daughters birthday and being 14, was past the age of McDonalds. She didn’t want a top notch restaurant, and we’re all quite sick of TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut and Frankie and Benny’s. So after having a look through the Yellow Pages I happened across this place and rang up to book as there was 6 of us. But I fell at that hurdle as you can only book for 8 or more, but was assured that if it was busy I would have to wait long.

I’m sure any of you are aware that Harry Ramsdens if a fish and chip restaurant, so I guess vegetarians are going to be more than slightly limited! I was a little worried about what I considered to be a limited menu, but I’m willing to give anything a chance. The Bristol Harry Ramsdens is a purpose made building on a delightfully named road called Catbrain Lane, which is by the Mall in Cribbs Causeway. (I’m so childish I always have a giggle at the BMW garage next door which is called Dick Lovett! Dick Lovett on Catbrain Lane, I ask you!) It was a little gaudy from the outside, all red and green, but the smell emanating from the take-away from fantastic. Stepping inside was a real surprise, not least because it was very quiet for a Saturday. Its also more Georgian tea room, with panelling and chandeliers, than a seaside chip shop.

A very polite chap escorted us to our table which was small to say the least, more appropriate for four, and then I had a rather pleasant surprise with the menu. Yes there was lots and lots of fish but there was a whole other section dedicated to things without fins! Try Ham and Leek Pie, Pork and Leek Sausages and Beef Stew with Dumplings. Of course there were steaks but mostly of the swordfish and tuna verity. The vast majority were around the £8-9 mark.

Being greedy gluttons on this special occasions we all opted for starters. My Leek and Potato soup was piping hot, chunky and delicious. A mound of battered chicken strips and breaded mushrooms satisfied the others palettes.

Our drinks were here at this point and a wide selection was had again. One of the few restaurants I’ve been in with Boddingtons on tap as well as Stella. There was also bottled beers and a range of spirits. The advertised wine were not available but their substitutes were not particularly brilliant and a bit on the ‘rough’ side.

On to the main course and rather unsurprisingly we all chose cod and chips, available in lite bite, medium, large and the Challenge (eat this meal of a whole piece of cod and chips and get a certificate and free dessert. Yes, proudly proclaim to the world that you’re a complete greedy fat git!) Being the health bunch we are we all chose chips rather than another potato derivative, you also got peas, beans or mushy peas (Bleuurggh, and that’s to the beans as well) Not forgetting the huge plate of bread and butter.

I’m not a huge fan of chips, unless they’re chip shop ones, and I was well impressed by these. Hot, fat, fluffy inside and gorgeous! Soggy batter? Not here, just the perfect crispness on a good size piece of fish which was so well cooked it just flaked apart and everyone else was the same. Being the nice generous people that they are, they will also willingly supply more chips and bread and butter should your pit of a stomach require it.

Desserts? Even though we were stuffed full of fat, fluffy crunchiness, it had to be done. Dairy milk ice cream, Crunchie ice cream, Bread & Butter Pudding, Spotted Dick, Apple Pie and Chocolate Puddle Pudding and available with custard, cream or ice cream.
And they were good! The most enormous glass of ice cream I’ve ever seen! Spotted Dick pumped full of sultanas and cinnamon, and my Chocolate Puddle Puddle was, quite frankly, in Bristolian terms, gert lush! A sponge pudding, filled with white chocolate sauce, covered in chocolate sauce and cream was divine.

So all in all, a pretty successful meal, but Harry Ramsdens about more than the fish, it also quite like a bit of a tune. Once a month, they have opera evenings! They also hold regular tea dances and in the upcoming months an Elvis and Abba tribute. This happens all over the country you lucky devils!

P.S
I thought I’d better have a look for those non-meat eaters of you and afraid you might be a little disappointed! You get a choice of…….wait for it…….one dish! And you are buggered if you don’t like mushrooms! A mushroom casserole is yer lot. Although it did mention something about a vegetarian dish of the day, but no idea what that was! Sorry, no vegetarians in our house, we’d probably get chucked out of the house, called a hippy and told to go hang off the side of a whaling ship in the North Atlantic if we renounced meat! So I will apologise on behalf of Harry Ramsdens for their vegetarian options being so bad!

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