Pier House Bistro, Beaumaris

My sister’s 50^th birthday party was the reason for this visit to Ynys Mon and as we’d made good time on the journey to Beaumaris, there was an opportunity for something to eat before we headed for the main event.

There was a difficult decision to be made. The Bistro had fish and chips which sounded good but it was only a few metres away from the Café Neptune chippy. The Neptune was a big modern proper chippy whilst the Pier House was a posh looking place, but as the name suggests there was a great view of Beaumaris’s charming pier and it wasn’t rammed with tourists. We decided to go to the quieter venue.

I went for the “Pier House Haddock - Fresh fillet of haddock coated in our very own gin & tonic batter, served with chunky chips and crushed garden peas” for £8.95.

The haddock was moist with a clean, fresh taste and had been cooked perfectly. This was supported by the batter which was only let down slightly by the fact that it has cooked a little inconsistently, but from the perspective of taste it was very good. Couldn’t tell that the G+T had made a difference but it worked.

The chips looked like they’d come from a bag in the freezer and tasted of absolutely nothing. A real shame that this fairly crucial part of the classic combination had gone so wrong.

The crushed peas looked really good but the mint flavour was so overpowering I couldn’t really taste the peas. As the mint tasted so vinegary I have to assume it came from a jar.

The tartare had all the right things in the right proportions but they sadly didn’t work as a whole. The capers and the gherkins were too acidic and the cheap tasting mayo was a perfect match for the overwhelming taste of vinegar.

The samphire on the top was a really nice touch and an enjoyable salty surprise, the lemon was a good big piece and salt and vinegar were readily available on the table.

A meal that got quite close to average, but a lack of attention to detail in not sourcing better ingredients, cooking proper chipped potatoes and checking to see what the food tasted like before it went out could have improved the meal significantly.

The whole thing was washed down with tap water.

Cennin, Beaumaris

We were on Anglesey visiting my family for Christmas and as my parents’ favourite place to eat, the Bull in Beaumaris, was full we decided to try the Cennin. The restaurant – its Welsh name means ‘leek’ in English – is the creation of chef Aled Williams and is a reflection of his passion to bring creativity and great Welsh ingredients together.

‘Fish in Chip’ was a starter on the menu and met most of the criteria of what I think of as a good fish and chips. It was defined as crispy Plaice and potato ballotine with crushed peas, lemon confit and tartare butter sauce and at £8.45 for a starter it needed to be pretty good.

The plaice was wrapped inside the potato to create the sausage ballotine shape and was then battered and deep fried. The crispy batter was very, very light in taste and texture and was easy to cut through to get at the soft mashed potato filling and the light delicate plaice in the centre. The potato was fluffy and delicious and didn’t dominate the sliver of plaice it surrounded. The meal was topped off by cress-like material which, of course, was discarded.

Yet the stars of the meal were everything else on the plate. The crushed peas were out of this world with a vibrant, intense taste which was beautifully balanced by the lemon confit and tartare butter sauce. The tartare was just the right consistency and supported rather than fought against the other flavours on the plate. This was important due to the subtle flavour of the fish and potato. The depth of flavour in the tartare was amazing and the use of the lemon, which had had time to develop an intense flavour, added a fresh zesty acidity that was a genuine pleasure.

There was no need for a lemon wedge, salt, vinegar or other sauces as the kitchen staff had got it all spot on.

It was washed down with a bottle of Snowdonia Ale from Bragdy Mws Piws / ThePurple Moose Brewery which was the perfect accompaniment to a superb and innovative dish.