Whatever the weather I can not resist the lure of a decent plate of Fish and Chips.

When I am in the City Centre I am increasingly finding myself drawn in to eat at Georges Fish and Chip Kitchen on Queens Street in the old Post office building. Back in December, when it was just opening, I visited (read about that here) and at the time I did say that it will be interesting to see how the Nottingham Public take to the place. It did seem quite expensive and there is plenty of competition either side as it is wedged in between Reds True BBQ and Bills.

“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”.

In that sense I have been true to my word as I have been back and brought some of my ‘out of town’, ‘out of state’, and most recently ‘out of country’ friends from North Carolina to eat here.

Those Americans do like a plate of Fish and Chips, and while I have tried to extol the virtue of Red True BBQ and Annie’s Burger Shack, both of which I find to be quite excellent, well lets be honest its a hard task when they want to try English Food.

What I am saying really is  can they get good Fish and Chips back in the States? hell no, well not often anyway. I have found some gems on my travels including the excellent ‘A Salt and Battery’ in New York’s Greenwich Village.

But I digress we were not in NYC we were walking down Queens Street into the Square and my mission (which I had chosen to accept) was to feed them bountiful plates of Fish and Chips and any other yummy British treats that I could get away with.

Starters for Conversation

 

In the past I have tried to persuade my American visitors that they HAVE to try a Scotch Egg. I am biased as is it one my most favourite snacks. When I was living in New York I would ride the subway down to the village to buy one (or maybe three) from Myers of Keswick and when in Chicago for a while we could get them as a bar snack in The Globe Pub a regular haunt for the expats looking to watch football. I spent a lot of time seeking them out is the take home message here.

Anyway I have (not for the first time in this post) digressed quite badly, lets get back to the Scotch Egg or as my Friend Cindy from the States called it ‘Scottish Egg’, and see if it was actually any good?

 

Now more often than not the Scotch Eggs we get to eat in the UK are served cold and they have solid hard boiled centres. Here though at George’s we were getting them served hot and freshly cooked from the kitchen, sliced in half with the yolk all gooey and runny.

Just look how golden that yolk is and if you are not smitten with the beauty of this, well I just don’t know, I am not sure that we can be friends anymore. Sorry? what was that you said? Are you offering to eat the pickle for me? OK then lets call it quits we are friends again.

Seriously though, served like this, these are some of the best Scotch Egg I have eaten. They almost feel decadent! The Wild Boar meat encircling the soft boiled egg was a nice light juicy wrapper and the contrasting flavours of the ginger and the leek piqued the interest of my taste buds.

It may be a tad overpriced at £5.95 for just one egg, but worth it for the quality.

Verdict from the guys from North Carolina was mixed. Thumbs up from Cindy! A begrudging ‘well it was better the last one that you tried to make me eat’ from Mike, however, he did say later that they were ‘quite decent’ so I think that was progress!

Verdict from myself? heck you already know don’t you? “Somewhat Awesome”

The Main Event

So I did hint that we had been here to Georges Fish and Chip Kitchen a couple of times, Mike and I twice, and this visit we both wanted Cindy to try.

I am very much a traditionalist and on both occasions I had Haddock and Chips with Mushy Peas.

I am putting up the best picture, although I will say that the second time I had chunkier chips and a bigger bit of fish!

Perhaps that was my imagination, but then again perhaps not. I really do quite like the Fish and Chips here, my preference always being the haddock with its chunky flakes of fish. The batter is generally pretty decent too at George’s although on one occasion it was a little soggy and soft on the inside. It didn’t detract from the enjoyment though, I just add plenty of squeezed lemon and copious vinegar onto my plate most of the time so I like it. I like it to all start of crunchy though.

I will be honest and say that I WOULD not have ever contemplated ordering the Haddock and Chips in a Smoked Paprika batter? but hey what do I know? Both time I have brought Mike here he has ordered this and both time pronounced it to be excellent and very tasty. I think it is the red wine and honey drizzle that makes the dish.

This last visit he did try some of the ‘plain’ or shall we say ‘traditional’ style and he liked it a little better as you can ‘taste the fish and the seasoning’. All I can say is that if he orders the one with the onion bhaji batter next time I will make him eat the bubble and squeak! 🙂

Mushy Peas

The last word on the food front at Georges Fish and Chips Kitchen has to go to the Mushy Peas. I really like their efforts here it is nice and creamy and they pair really well with the fish and chips. I am not going to forgo my sampling at Goose Fair yet in preference, but they are still quite excellent. But perhaps I could be in luck? in another menu twist, there is an homage here to the famous Nottingham Fair. They have on the things in buns section of the menu The ‘Goose Fair Dip’, which is a saveloy in a brioche bun topped with sage and onion stuffing and mushy peas.

Sadly though I may never eat that as when I come here all I want is a lovely big plate of Haddock and Chips!

Georges Fish and Chip Kitchen is located at Queens Street in Nottingham, NG1 2BL

Contact them at 0115 950 5521, email  letusknow@georgesfishandchipkitchen.co.uk or on Facebook and Twitter