George’s Fish and Chip Kitchen in Nottingham is to be I hope a welcome addition to the restaurant dining scene in the city centre. George’s Traditional has been present in and around the city for a while now and has been a pretty reliable place to get your fill of Fish and Chips. If you ask around the ‘town’ (that’s what we locals call it) many people will suggest George’s. I have eaten quite frequently from their takeaway on Melton Road in West Bridgford, and over in the sit down restaurant just outside Chilwell, and have found them both to be pretty good. So when I heard a few months back that a sit down restaurant was opening in the city centre I was kind of getting excited.

The Fish and Chips Section of the Menu

This George’s has a lot more that your basic or classic Fish and Chips on their menu, but having said that, on this first visit I was only ever have been going to order a plate of Fish and Chips. There was a straight menu throw-down between the Cod and the Haddock, but it wasn’t a fair fight as I am a Haddock man, I just love those flaky chunks.

I had to wait about 15 minutes or so for my plate of Haddock and Chips which wasn’t too bad, but it was a bit weird that the two tables alongside me, who were both there well before I did, all got served at the same time as me. Having said that, I wasn’t complaining as I arrived last, so I think I did quite well there. One side were questioning where their food was when I was reading the menu, which worried me briefly, Once the plates all arrived everyone was tucking in so it was all fine, just early day teething.

It was a deceptively large piece of Haddock, it hung over the edge of the plate width ways and it kind of dwarfed the rather small ‘scoop‘ of chips. Yep you read that correctly, they serve those on the plate in a metal scoop, I didn’t ask why, I was just happy that it wasn’t one of those metal bowls, mini-wire baskets, or enamel cups. To be fair this was a new type of presentation that I hadn’t seem before. Please can we make a rule that we just put everything on a plate normally. (insert ‘smiley face with a raised eyebrow’/or ‘I am actually serious but trying not to be mean comment’). There did not seem to that many chips, but maybe that was because the fish was quiet big? It was a fair piece of Haddock, a bit thin to be honest and coated in a plain batter. Texturally and ‘mouth feel’ wise it was probably a really good batter, as it was nice and flaky and airy, but for me I just needed to add a little bit more, or perhaps, even some seasoning to make it more interesting. Having said that though perhaps a plain batter is good as it then doesn’t detract from the fish that lurks beneath its crispy folds.

The sides or condiments

When that plate arrived, for a brief moment I was going to ask where my sides were, but then I found that my Mushy peas were in a jar on the side of the plate (a very hot jar), as was the tartar sauce and some random pickles. I liked the mushy peas, they were more of a mushy pea sauce than a side of peas, but they went well with that small pile of chips. I liked the tartar sauce as well, I would have liked perhaps a little more, but I did not want to appear greedy. I did not even try the pickles.

Altogether the whole plateful worked really well, I had no real complaints, and also I was totally stuffed. I could not have even contemplated having one of their puddings!

As I sat I stared over into one of the Beach Hut Booths, which looked to be a much more comfortable dining experience I think that you musty have to reserve on of these. The one directly opposite to me was named Padstow and that brought back some happy memories of eating other Fish and Chip meals, in particular from Rick Stein’s Fish and Chip shop (still some of the best I have eaten). Next time I am getting a booth!

I quite enjoyed my dining experience though here at George’s Fish and Chip Kitchen, it is a great big space and was packed out when I visited at the weekend. It will be interesting to see how the Nottingham Public take to the place. It’s a bit ‘fancy pants’ for some (in a good way), and I would like to think that it would be somewhere to come for a nice treat once in a while.

I will be back myself, and already have plenty of people who want to come with me to try it out

George’s Fish and Chip Kitchen is Located at 13 Queens Street just up from the Old Market Square

 Check them out on Twitter and on Facebook

It is not just about the Fish and Chips, they have a quite extensive menu that I took a few picture off  (just for future planning purposes).

Why not have a look;

More Menu Options

Sandwiches type things

The Pie Shop Menu