Fish and Chips at Catch22

Fish and chips, the signature British takeaway. Synonymous with seaside trips and post pub munchies. The humble chippy has made an appearance in most of our lives at some point. Fish and chips, so British it puts an appearance on every pub menu and if you watch American sit-coms it’s what they think we eat every day. However unless you are by the seaside it can be difficult to find a chippy to sit down and enjoy the crunchy golden delights at your leisure. Catch 22 opened at the bottom of Park Street earlier this year in what used to be a recruitment agency. I was invited by them last month to test out their wares and so one Wednesday evening I took one of my closest friends, Steph for a fish supper.

After sinking a pint at the nearby Hatchett, a pub where we have spent many a weekend dancing away, we headed the short distance to Catch 22. As you enter the counter and frying station are the first things that greet you and it is just like stepping into your local chippy, but with a restaurant with seating out back. The back is actually more spacious than I imagined the walls are covered with 50s B-movie posters, which greatly appealed to me as I enjoy kitsch very much. So you can happily dine whilst being watched by the creature from the Black Lagoon.

There are a number of options on the menu, the standard fare but for those looking for a healthier option they will also pan fry you some fish with garlic and herb or chilli for a bit of pep. They also have a separate fryer for gluten free fish and chips which I know can be a hard thing to track down for the gluten intolerant. A friendly waitress buzzed amongst the tables and we ordered cod and chips, the classic, and steph went for scampi and chips with some battered mushrooms and curry sauce for dipping. We waited about 15 minutes whilst we chatted away about up coming plans, the smell coming from the fryers was intoxicating to rumbling bellies such as ours. The waitress arrived with two plates filled with golden treasures and with gleaming eyes we got stuck in.

The batter on my fish was as crisp as you always hope for it to come but often are disappointed because it has come into contact with steam or rogue water from peas and become a bit too soggy.  My cod had a good batter to fish ratio and the fillet was plump and very fresh. Chips were just as enjoyable, with enough chunky fluffy ones but also some good salty crisp ones to satisfy all fried potato enthusiasts. The portions for both the scampi and the cod were generous, you certainly won't go hungry.

The only real disappointment were the battered mushrooms, no real effort to flavour these with anything that might make them sing out and worth ordering as an extra with your fish supper.  Catch 22 is definitely worth a visit, you'll be warmed by a very enjoyable British classic, that's a cut above most offerings in the city. Plus afterwards you can pop up the road for a scoop of Swoon gelato, if you have enough room that is. Although this meal was complimentary it did not sway my opinion. To find out more about Catch 22 visit their website.

Tuesday Night Dining at Fishers

Summer in the UK seems to consist of a few fairly hot spells punctuated with multiple days of humidity. It was on one of these humid evenings that I headed over to Clifton Village to meet friend Naomi for dinner. Fishers had invited me to sample their menu and I was delighted to accept. The menu at Fishers has a host of tempting fishy options, a couple of token meat and vegetarian options for those that way inclined.

We were warmly received by the restaurant and eagerly began glancing through the menu. There were many options that caught my eye but what I decided to go for in the end was the calamari with sweet chilli sauce followed by herb crusted cod fillet with spinach and puy lentils. Naomi opted for home cured Scottish smoked salmon with horseradish creme fraiche and a kilo of steamed mussels with white wine, cream and garlic for her main. Most mains come with a choice of new potatoes or chips as a side, unless stated otherwise. Whilst we waited we sipped at our rather enjoyable glasses of Pinot Grigio and nibbled at the freshly made bread.

The calamari was perfect a good portion with a crispy light coating. I personally thought the sweet chilli dip was a little too sweet for the calamari but it was just a small issue. Naomi's salmon was wonderful the quality of the salmon was excellent and the horseradish creme fraiche gave it an extra lift.

moules with cream, garlic and white wine

cod fillet on puy lentils

My fish was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin and the herbs and lemon made the whole dish wonderfully fresh. Naomi was delightedly making her way through the kilo of mussels plenty of cream and garlic sauce to mop up with some of the bread. We were both really impressed with the flavours of the mains. The one thing that I was disappointed in was the chips. They were quite dry tasting and floury so I left most of them to concentrate on the citrussy lentils below my cod fillet. We still had room for pudding so I ordered one of my all time favourite desserts, sticky toffee pudding with ice cream and Naomi had a scoop of elderflower sorbet.

Oh my word. This was quite simply the best sticky toffee puddings I have had in years. Super soft and sticky with a lovely toffee sauce I would return just for this alone. We left Fishers nicely full having been well fed. Fishers offers some great fish dishes, some classic some a bit different but what you can be assured of is a good meal. The offer a early evening deal 5.30 - 6.30 you can have two courses for £9.50, this is also available at lunch. Although our meal at Fishers was complimentary it did not impact my opinion or the outcome of this review. We were so pleased with the service we left a tip on what the bill would have been. To see what else Fishers have to offer check out their website.

A Weekday Evening at Fishers

Rich and I were invited to preview one of the restaurants for Clifton Foodfest and I chose Fishers. Fishers is somewhere I've never been before but wanted to try, fish is something I just don't eat masses of and that is something I want to change.  Clifton Foodfest, a new food festival, which will be running from Monday 31st March til Sunday 13th April gives people a chance to eat out in 16 restaurants in the village for £10, great for those restaurants you want to try but don't have the money to splurge on. Details of the restaurants participating are on their website.  

We arrived at Fishers, glad to be out of the biting wind that seems to have arisen in the last week, and  were greeted warmly by the staff and shown to a table in the window.  For a weekday evening Fishers was pretty busy, which is a good sign in my book. The menu is mostly fish, as you would expect but there were a couple of meat dishes which sounded just as excellent, my money for next time is on the giant fish and chips that I saw being carried to the table next to us. The offer for Fishers on the Clifton Foodfest deal is a hot shellfish platter at £10 each which is normally double. So being we were there to sample the deal we chose that and were promised a bucket of bread to mop up any juices, and a bottle of zingy Pinot Grigio to accompany it. 

hot shellfish platter

here fishy fishy (langoustine portrait)

An abundance of mussels, prawns, langoustines, crevettes, although I imagine the contents does change with what they buy at the fish markets, all in a cream, garlic and white wine sauce.  All the seafood was so well cooked and that sauce, light enough to not feel heavy was indulgent enough to be completely moreish. Be prepared to get messy if you order this, although perhaps this is just my messy ways, I managed to splash sauce all over the table and it coated my hands, napkins at the ready people. My personal favourite were the giant Atlantic prawns, closely followed by the mussels. Our pot of moping bread contained some super soft olive bread which was lovely it soaked up all the white wine and garlic sauce like a sponge, absolutely delicious. Despite feeling fairly full of seafood we felt we could just about manage some pudding and so I chose the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream and Rich the dark chocolate brownie.

sticky toffee pudding

Best sticky toffee pudding I've ever eaten, hands down, so moist and it melted in the mouth, Rich's brownie was more like a dense torte, it was too rich for me, but then I don't have that sweet a tooth. All in all I was really impressed with Fishers and will be returning, the service was friendly and warm, it did feel a little bit like eating at someone's home which I found quite comforting. We received a generous discount for this meal but it did not impact the authenticity of this review, I am known for my brutal truth givings after all, and we actually left a 100% tip on top of the small bill they gave us because the food and service really deserved it. To find out more about Fishers visit their website, where they state that most of their food is or can be made gluten or dairy free, which I know will please a lot of people. I leave you with a parting shot of this lovely fish mosaic, what a fabulous beast.