The Seacroft, Treaddur Bay near Holyhead

As a Holyhead lad I was a frequent visitor to the Seacroft in my youth. It is a handy watering hole near the stunning beach at Treaddur Bay and it seemed a good place to turn a visit home into a mini-break. In former times there was a separate bar and restaurant - now it is almost all dedicated to The Anglesey Grill.

When my favorite meal appears on the menu as ' "Fish & Chips” - fresh Timothy Taylor beer battered haddock £12-50 with chunky chips, crushed peas and sauce tartare', I start to worry. Why the quotation marks for the fish and chips and the mix up with the words tartare sauce? And maybe why £12.50 as well.

The meal didn't start well. Before the traditional eating part could begin I first of all had to remove the watercress from the plate and put it to one side. Then I had to carefully remove all the flakes of salt that had been generously dropped on top of the fish.

The fish was tasty but sadly far too watery. The water in the fish made the bottom of the batter pretty wet pretty quickly and therefore a little unappetising. The batter, made with Timothy Taylor beer, was OK but lacked any strong flavour. I was tempted not to use the lemon as it was so damp.

I had actually gone for fries on this occasion, just for a change, and they were really enjoyable with a great texture and taste.

The peas had a lovely minty hint to them which didn't dominate them. The tartare, although a bit too finely processed, has a good balance of flavours.

Salt and vinegar - which were straightforward to sprinkle and pour were provided on the table.

Unfortunately the plate was cold when it arrived and as I'm a slow eater the food was luke-warm by half-way through the meal which didn't help at all. 

The ambiance of the place was very pleasant with just the hum of conversation on a busy Saturday night. 

The menu also appears in Welsh - the translation of fish and chips is "Pysgodyn & Sglodion" but I suspect the fish would still be too watery.

The Greyhound in Tong

Tong village sits on the outskirts of Bradford and is probably best known for its large garden centre. The Greyhound pub is in the middle of the village and sits in a lovely setting in front of Tong Cricket Club.

The pub itself has grown over the years and has a large extension to cope with the number of diners who come for its pub grub.

We were out for a Sunday lunch with family and were all ordering from the lunch menu that could do me two courses for £12.95. Unfortunately I’ve only ever got enough room to eat one.

Being a good Yorkshire pub I had expected to be surprised by the amount of food on the plate but when it arrived I was underwhelmed. During the week they have a choice between ‘The Whale’ at £11.95 or ‘The Tiddler’ at £8.50 and I think I know which one this was. It was a surprisingly small piece of fish or it may have been two even smaller pieces stuck together. It just didn’t taste of much at all and certainly didn’t have that distinctive fresh fish taste. The batter was OK if a little too greasy.

The chips had clear evidence of skin on and although they were well cooked they also were a little on the oily side.

In contrast to the fish the mushy peas portion was enormous and had a really good classic mushy pea flavour and texture, but for me, there were simply too many on the plate when considered in the context of the size of the fish.

The tartare came in a little pot and looked and tasted as if it had been decanted from a catering pack with a dull, formulaic, mass produced taste.

No lemon – and the vinegar, as is becoming more and more the case these days, came in a dispenser which needed more concentration and dexterity than should be necessary to add a dash of acetic acid to some fish and chips.  

The meal was washed down with a pint of Leeds Best which was just OK.

For me it felt like the food was being dished up without too much thought and care for the ingredients and that the quicker we could be fed and watered the faster the table would become available. But maybe the staff were just being as efficient as they could be.

I did pass my thoughts on to the management who were genuinely apologetic about the experience and were good enough to provide a token for another meal. They admitted that they struggled at Sunday lunchtimes, due to the pub’s popularity, to provide the ‘home-cooked’ food that they have a reputation for. So maybe I’ll have to try another time – and try and combine it with a Tong Cricket Club home match.

Midnight Bell, Leeds

Leeds Best Battered Haddock, Pea Puree, Handmade Tartare Sauce and Home Twice Cooked Chips £11.95

A meeting of friends and family brought me to Leeds for a late Sunday lunch and we ended up at the Midnight Bell. The pub used to be the Leeds Brewery tap, but their official tap is now at another pub near to Leeds station. And very near to the fabulous Friends of Ham.

It’s a little out of town in the urban village of Holbeck. It appears every city needs to have an urban village these days.

We arrived just in time to order and therefore the Sunday lunchtime crush had settled down and we were able to grab a quiet corner at the back of the ground floor. The staff were brilliant and made sure we were all sorted and could enjoy the afternoon in the pub.

The fish was lovely and the batter was outstanding. The big chunks of fresh fish were elegantly surrounded by a perfectly seasoned beer batter. Really pleased to have a beer batter that had been cooked with such care.

The chips had a fantastic taste and were definitely twice fried but not quite as crispy as I had hoped. Although they has been pre salted, this wasn’t over the top and I did add a little salt and vinegar.

The pea puree had been generously distributed on the plate and formed a base for the fish and chips. It had a good depth of flavour and a texture that worked well.

The green leaves didn’t need to be on the plate and just served as a distraction especially when a stray leaf made it onto my fork. This sadly happened more than one.

The tartare was good in terms of both flavour and texture and had big chunks of gherkins.

No lemon – and I did have to ask for the vinegar.  

The meal was washed down with a pint of Leeds Pale which was just OK.

Good friends in a good pub with good fish and chips and some fantastic music in the background on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Perfect.