XIII Oceans

For previous posts referring to fish and chips, please click here

Prior to visiting the chippy over in Leeds that a colleague recommended I figured it would be wise to start my assessing at a local chippy and at the one that is the best in the village, which is actually in Blackbrook and not Haydock. Not that that matters because it is one of three that are owned by the same people and produces similar quality fish and chips to the other two.

I’ve always found the product and service to be slightly better at Blackbrook Supper Bar compared to Haydock Supper Bar and The Crispy Cod (located opposite The Ram’s Head down the post-apocalytic end of Haydock). There’s probably little difference inbetween the three shops, however Blackbrook has certainly tasted better to me when I’ve gone and unlike Haydock Supper Bar there’s not an endless cue of people which usually means that you aren’t waiting for chips so they can develop some colour in the fryer.

What is the product like then? What is the order? Straight up fish and chips, cod or haddock doesn’t really mind, although that kind of option is rare in Haydock due to the complexities of learning seven letter words. So cod and chips it is, normal portion size, salt and vinegar applied as per personal preference, wrapped up with a plastic fork in hand to tackle what is the pinnacle of Haydock fast food cuisine.

First up, the incidentals, for the sake of argument I’ve included the menu from the other two sister chippies so that there’s no deliberate marking down of the three just because I went to the Blackbrook branch of this ever-increasing business empire. Both Haydock Supper Bar and The Crispy Cod offer various stock foods like burgers and kebabs (the hot chilli sauce is surprisingly good) so there’s an alternative for those of you that have abandoned British culture. The speed of service is good and the chippy is clean placing a lot of emphasis on the importance of the food.

Sadly, the food is variable. Starting with the chips, it’s good sized portion (as is the fish) and they generally look tasty and attractive to the average consumer. I’m obviously not going to describe the taste sensations that swirl around your mouth when you eat a chip because it’s a chip not art and my vocabulary is limited enough for me to be aware that such an attempt would be littered with ill-conceived or contrived comments. It’s enough to say that the chips go from tasty to edible without generating any love for them.

Onto the fish and for some reason that I have yet to fathom out, it’s half-battered. Now when I say half-battered, I don’t mean that it really is half-battered but as you can see from the photographs half of the fish remains uncovered by batter whilst the other side presents this battle-hardened case that’s hiding denizens of uncooked batter, giving the fish a bit of a sickly taste. Presenting the fish unbattered side up gives the food a gleaming and crispy look that’s betrayed by a bite into what is sadly another inconsistent product. This is not to say that the fish is terrible, appalling or givememymoneybackable, it’s just decidedly average.

OVERALL VERDICT: Varied non-fish menu, relatively speedy service even with long queues, clean, helpful staff with an inconsistent product that doesn’t really scale any heights.