It's fish & chips, only better! (Harry Ramsdens in general)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Harry Ramsdens in general
Date:	04/11/08 (217 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, generous portions, a lovely atmosphere

Disadvantages: Inattentive staff at times

I've eaten at a few branches of Harry Ramsden's, the most recent being the restaurant at The Regent Palace Hotel in Piccadilly.

My sister and I were asked to choose our own table when we visited, it was only just 12 o'clock so it was quite quiet although there were several parties already seated at the larger tables. We chose a nice table and a friendly lady came to take our order. The restaurant is very attractive, all the tables were laid with cutlery and napkins ready for diners and the decoration inside is crisp and clean looking. It doesn't feel like a glorified chippy at all!

We had decided to eat at Harry Ramsden's simply because we wanted a nice fish and chips meal so I did not take very much notice of the other sections of the menu, I saw someone eating gammon while we were there so they definitely serve other foods apart from fish and chips!

I had battered cod and chips but I noticed that I could have had my fish cooked in a variety of ways such as poached or plain fried. The chips can be replaced with salad but I figure there is little point in visiting a world famous chip shop such as Harry Ramsden's if you're going to eat lettuce!

Piglet that I am, I had a starter of prawn cocktail salad which was absolutely delicious and cost just £3.95. There were plenty of prawns which were fresh and very tasty, mixed in with flavoursome seafood sauce and interesting salad ingredients. Harry Ramsden's were clever to serve me a substantial salad, but it was also light and didn't spoil my appetite for fish and chips at all.

My sister and I paid £8.99 for each of our meals and it was certainly money well spent. The battered cod is better than any chip shop or pub I've ever eaten at, it's a very large piece of chunky fish which is coated in a crispy and flavoursome batter. At no point does the meal seem greasy and my plate was certainly not swimming in fat at the end of my meal as it is in my local sit-down fish and chip shop.

The chips are delicious, absolutely wonderful. They are thick and chunky and taste like a more upmarket version of normal chippy chips, again these aren't greasy and I ate every single chip on my plate which is unusual for me as I find chip shop chips to be too stodgy for my stomach to eat too many. My meal was served with a generous pile of the rich mushy peas which I could tell had been cooked with care, rather than the usual practice of simply boiling peas to mush!

Harry Ramsden's is licensed and there is a good wine menu, also beers and ales are available as well as a plentiful selection of soft and hot drinks. I drank small pots of tea throughout my meal as I'm not much of a drinker, my sister had a bottle of real ale which she said complimented the fish well and was refreshing. The tea was excellent and surprisingly reasonably priced considering the average price of a cup of tea in London!

I felt the staff could have been a little more attentive. The lady who took our order was excellent; she made recommendations from the menu and was friendly and patient as we decided what to order. The problem was she disappeared off the face of the earth and we were left with young members of staff who hovered around the tables but didn't seem particularly interested in how well we were enjoying our food. My sister had cause to complain about a knife which hadn't been washed properly and although a new knife was quickly brought to the table there was no apology, it was an efficient replacing of the cutlery but there was no personal touch.

Harry Ramsden's would be fine for any disabled visitors, while we were there a gentleman in a wheelchair was eating and he got around the restaurant with no problems. I think I would find it equally easy to use my mobility scooter inside because there is plenty of room and there are no stairs to navigate. I used the disabled toilet because it was the closest to my table and I was wheezy, the bathroom was perfectly clean and beautifully maintained with white tiling and attractive fittings.

Our meals and drinks bill came to a shade under £30 which I think was very reasonable for delicious fish and chips in a lovely environment such as this. At no point did I feel hurried and my sister and I were able to spend a couple of hours catching up in the comfort of Harry Ramsden's.

Summary: If you are a lover of fish and chips then do give Harry Ramsden's a try!