Warwick – The Chip Shed
Today is Thursday and I have a new little saying, “when in Warwick on a Thursday, get fish and chips for lunch”. The Chip Shed has what I consider to be an inspirational name (there’s a market I think for a restaurant called the Chicken Strips Shed), so I opted to try them. The reviews are broadly positive, although they seem to have annoyed some locals with the quality of their takeaways recently.
I was the only customer dining in when I arrived, and indeed, the only customer they had in the restaurant for the entire time that I was there. The front section is the takeaway area (visible at the rear of the above photo, through the door) and that was a little busier, but a Thursday afternoon in January is not really going to be their busiest time of the year. The interior feels modern and clean, with plenty of inside tables available. When I was seated I asked if it was OK to sit anywhere and the staff member looked slightly puzzled, I suspect knowing I’d likely be the only customer that they got.
The fish and chips was priced at about the same level as a pub, but the quality was high. The whole thing came to £14 which includes the fish, chips, a side (mushy peas in this instance) and a drink, which isn’t as cheap as some places, but the dining environment was comfortable and the table service was efficient. Indeed, all of the staff members were friendly and helpful, although they had the luxury of being able to lavish their time on their only customer. They had run out of the San Pellegrino flavours that were listed on the menu, but the Fanta option was just as sufficient for my needs.
The cod was light and seemed fresh, whilst the batter was thin and rich, with a decent taste to it. It was only slightly greasy on the underside, but not to the point that it was a problem. The chips are cooked in beef dripping and were cooked appropriately with a pleasant flavour to them. The mushy peas tasted of peas, which is hardly a complaint, although for my own personal taste I’d rather had them a little lighter and had mint riven through them. The vinegar is branded as their own and I liked the tomato ketchup dispensers, I haven’t seen them like that for a while.
Portion size, that was as much as I could have eaten, it was a large piece of fish and there are rather more chips on the plate than the wide angle photo I took suggests. Absolutely no issues here for me, a very decadent lunch.
