I have been checking out some of the places on the new tram routes over the last couple of weeks and so seeing as how it was Fish and Chip Friday, I decided to seek out some of the options on the tracks heading through the Clifton Estate.

The ‘Quality Fish Bar’ in Clifton seems to one of the options to eat at the Holy Trinity Tram Stop on Route 2 from the City into Clifton. Officially the address is 360 Southchurch Drive on the Clifton Estate. The Tram stop name coming from the nearby church.

Although it is called the ‘Quality Fish Bar’, it seems to sell a lot more than just Fish and Chips. It is the sort of place that you can get a whole load of those standard takeout options, in their own words “Pizzas, Kebabs. Burgers, Chicken”. It is perhaps not my usual kind of hunting ground, but it is on a tram line and to me that means I have to investigate further.

Lunchtime Fish and Chips Special for £2.90

Whichever way you look at it, it is hard to complain at the value of getting a tray of chips and a piece of battered fish for £2.90 for your lunch. In the evening it seems that a ‘small fish and chips’ will set you back £3.10. I think we have to take it in turns to put 50p in the meter to pay for the lights. OK so all joshing aside, I know that you want to know if it is worth making the effort to get off that Tram and try eating the Fish and Chips? (once the tram starts running that is).

Well I liked the chips, they are pretty much in that moment between crispy and soggy, which is where I like my chip shop chips to be. In a restaurant or a pub I would be asking for something finer, but from a place where my meal comes in a tray wrapped in paper? well I like them like this. I didn’t get quite enough salt and vinegar to my liking, but then again I do like to douse my chips in tramp juice, so I am not your atypical diner.

How about that fish? Well now here is the thing, the batter started off OK as it was quite crispy with a nice crunch ‘on the top side’, but when I flipped it over, it was really pretty greasy underneath where it had rested on my chips . It might be Ok if I got it fresh from the fryer at a peak time, but maybe I just walked in at the wrong time of lunch, it also had a bit of an aftertaste from the fryer oil.

As for the fish, well I would say that it was moist, but really it was a bit wet, and didn’t have that much flavour. I still ate it though, I know I didn’t get a freshly cooked portion, so just be aware that I am being a bit critical in the knowledge that perhaps I didn’t hit the “Quality Fish Bar” at the optimum moment in the day. That is probably why it is a cheap £2.90 for a lunchtime portion, and a whole lot more coinage in the evening rush?

I tried to find a website or more information about the place, but all I could find was their posting on JustEat.co.uk

I did ask one of my friends in Clifton what he thought and he said he liked it. I asked if he ate the fish and chips and he said “no, I like the Chilli con carne with chips”