A Christmas trip to Glasgow to see
friends provided the chance for a
lovely fish and chips meal. We found ourselves, by design, in the well-heeled
Hyndland area of the city and were very lucky to get a large table in the very
very popular Epicures, who have a beautifully minimalistic website.
It was defined as Posh Fish and Chips on the menu, which
meant they could charge £10.95 and that the slivers of fillet had to be done in
a tempura batter. The fish was a beautifully fresh and expertly cooked Pollock.
My only complaint was the portion size, which consisted of two small pieces
which were not the major element of the meal, where I like to see the fish
dominating the presentation especially as Pollock is a relatively cheap
sustainable fish.
I often find that tempura batter can either be too oily or
too dry if not cooked well but this was excellent but I would have liked to
have seen what the chef would have done with a traditional batter. Maybe next
time.
The fried potato wedges were well cooked, probably well
cooked twice, but they were still potato wedges with an un-peeled side.
However, they were very crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the
inside which made me think they were chips after all.
There were no mushy peas.
As it’s posh it has to come with a celeriac remoulade and a
rocket salad. No I haven’t gone mad and I did just write celeriac remoulade and
a rocket salad. While both would be
lovely with something like a smoked fish I didn’t think they lifted the dish at
all. The celeriac with its cheeky acidity was obviously a replacement for the
tartare but whilst tartare allows you to put a dollop on the end of the fish
the remoulade just tended to fall off. The remoulade (which I’ll never tire of
writing) came with a mustard dressing but it still didn’t have the lovely kick
of a good tartare. Rocket salad should never appear with a portion of fish and
chips, even if it’s green like mushy peas.
One corner of the board was dominated by a laughably large
lemon which had been custom sliced to sit on upright and would only have made
sense with a huge portion of fish and therefore for this meal didn’t merit its
presence. Lemons should be a quietly
spoken early compatriot to any good fish and chips but shouldn’t be caught
sight of from the corner of your eye on a regular basis. There was a trustworthy
supporting cast of Sarsons vinegar and Heinz tomato ketchup.
Yes, I said board.
One of the joys of fish and chips is seeing a range of brown
shades, and the green of the mushy peas, set against a bright white shiny
ceramic background. This meal came on a cheese board and my favourite thing to
come on a cheese board is a selection of cheese. Cheese boards apart it was a
lovely meal, with good company in lovely surroundings and if I go again I will
phone ahead and ask for a tartare sauce rather than the celeriac remoulade and
a rocket salad.
