Waiting for Haddock (Magpie Cafe)

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Magpie Cafe
Date:	24/09/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic food, great atmosphere

Disadvantages: The queue

When we told people that we were going to spend a weekend in Whitby, almost everybody said the same thing: "Are you going to visit the best fish and chip shop in Britain"? The fame of the Magpie Café can be partly attributed to Rick Stein, who found that the Magpie had, "opened my eyes to how good a chip shop could be". By telling Britain that they could get the best fish and chips in the world in Whitby, he created the longest queue in Britain at the same time!

We must have been mad - we had been on the motorway for hours, it was 7.30pm, our Whitby landlady said, "well, it's nice enough, but there are lots of other good fish and chips in Whitby". Nevertheless, we found ourselves queuing in the rainy dusk outside the Magpie. The queue was cheerful and friendly. A local lady just ahead of us in the queue told us that once we were past the outside menu board, we would not have to wait longer than 30 minutes - and her acceptance of this waiting time encouraged us to believe that it would all be worthwhile. The queues for the Magpie are notorious and have even led to other shopkeepers taking legal action to stop the pavements becoming blocked. Yet people still wait for hours to get in, day and night, day after day.

The café is located in an ancient black and white building, dating from 1750. It stands opposite Whitby fish market, enforcing the statement on the menu that all the fish is fresh off the Whitby boats. As the queue moves up the worn stone steps, you can look inside, through the lovely bay windows to see laughing customers with huge plates of food in front of them, which only serves to increase your determination to get inside.

The Magpie has been serving since 1939 and since that time has scooped up numerous awards for the quality of its food. As you wait in the queue the smell of fried fish alternates with the delicious smell of wine sauce - the Magpie serves everything from basic fish and chips to lobster and moules mariniere. By this stage we were actually dribbling!

Near the front of the queue we were asked if we minded sharing our table, and as we would have killed for food by that stage, we readily agreed. Inside the atmosphere was warm and lively, and our window looked out onto the now darkened Whitby Abbey and the harbour. The menu offered us starters of Whitby crab or Whitby kippers for around £5, as well as oysters, mussels, salmon, goats cheese and much more - but we just wanted the fish and chips - and soon!

We both chose basic haddock and chips for £8.95 - the small size, as the menu warned that the larger size was for Yorkshire portions, and would not leave room for pudding! A regular size fish was available for £10.95 and cod was a pound extra on both sizes. Woof, plaice, halibut, skate were also available, but quickly crossed off the blackboard as supplies ran low. Mushy peas were £1.30.

As well as the fish and chips that most people were ordering, Lobster Thermidor was available for £20.95, and many other dishes such as chowder, fish pie, and monkfish skewers were on offer. For the vegetarian there was pasta bake, vegetarian shepherds pie, or vegetables en croute. Those watching their weight could order their fish poached or grilled. A crab salad was another option. There was just too much choice!

The availability of beer was disappointing - my husband tried to order a Polish Zywiec beer, but it had sold out. He then asked for Newcastle Brown Ale but this was also not available. In the end he finally opted for a bottle of Scoresby Stout, brewed in honour of the local Scoresby family - whalers who lived in the building around 1800. Perhaps this was the best choice after all! My first request for a bottle of Peroni was more successful.

The food arrived very quickly, with a pot of home made tartar sauce. The fish was very fresh and totally delicious, and even the small portions were very large indeed. The chips were big and moist, like most Yorkshire chips - a cut above the rest! Like most northern chips, the flavour has been achieved through frying in lard. As the main menu choices are fish in the café, I would not think this would be a problem for vegetarians, but the café will offer to fry in oil if this is preferred.

Hot and cold deserts were all £4.95. I chose treacle sponge with vanilla custard, my husband had apple and blackcurrant pie with ice cream. Both were beautiful.

The entire meal came to around £35, which some may think is a lot to pay for fish and chips. However, I can assure you that it was well worth it. The service was friendly and efficient, the food was excellent quality and the portions were large. In other words, the Magpie Café totally lived up to its reputation!

The customers were obviously a mix of both tourists and locals, and I overheard one of the waitresses receiving a bunch of flowers as thanks from a local customer. It was very reassuring to know that this was not a tourist trap.

Would I queue again to have a meal in the Magpie? Absolutely! It was very much worth the wait.

~~~

The Magpie Café is open every day of the week between 11.30am and 9pm.

Next door is a takeaway fish and chip shop, which also has the most enormous queues coming out of the door. I have tried this in the past and can confirm that the takeaway is just a delicious as the sit down version!

Summary: Worth waiting for