The Kinmel Arms, Llansansior/St George

 

On the way to see mother and father we stopped off for posh fish and chips at the Kinmel Arms.

The Kinmel Arms has popped up on a number of ‘best of’ lists over the last few years so it was great to be able to try it finally. Fish and chips were on the menu, handsomely priced at £13.95.

The fish itself was incredibly fresh, perhaps even the freshest I can remember tasting, and it came without its skin. The flakes were both big in size and in flavour. Very enjoyable.

The batter was very light in texture and had a very good crispy outer. It was a deep brown colour and an excellent taste which was subtle enough not to overpower the fish.

Crisp would be the only way to describe the chips. They were incredibly crisp. So much so that it actually took a big of effort to bite into them. Luckily the inside was a beautiful soft potato with a glorious taste. Clearly they’d been cooked more than once to get the crispiness – the colour of them was a lovely deep brown.

The peas were of the crushed variety and were simply superb. They had an intense flavour with just a hint of mint and a very good consistency.

Big chunky bits of vegetables had gone into the tartare and mixed with the light mayo (which was very good in itself) to make for a very enjoyable accompaniment. The lemon was OK and had had the pips removed.

I had to ask for salt and vinegar.  The vinegar came in a container that when using it even the most dextrous couldn’t avoid delivering anything short of a torrent of vinegar onto the fish. I didn’t try it a second time.

Oddly the meal came with a green leaf side salad. I did look at it and wonder what business a green salad had with fish and chips, and decided that the best strategy was to leave it untouched on its plate.  If I had wanted a salad I’d have probably asked for one.

Great food but just a shame about the vinegar disaster and the green leaf conundrum.