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Fred’s Fish and Chip Shop, 55 Pier Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex

Fred’s Fish and Chip Shop, 55 Pier Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex

55 Pier Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex

If you ever look at the Restaurant Spy messageboard (see top of home page for a link) you will be acquainted with a quantity called Mark White. He helpfully suggested Fred’s chippy when I was looking for one in Littlehampton in November. Well, I finally took him up on his suggestion during a bitterly cold March Easter.

‘Situated by the banks of the picturesque River Arun,’ says Fred’s website, ‘in the old town of Littlehampton in West Sussex, Fred’s Fish and Chip Shop is a traditional family owned English Fish and Chip shop… Fish and Chip Shop of the Year for 2002 and in SIX previous years, Fred’s has been serving high quality fish and chips for two generations.’

By Perry Stalsis at 31/03/2008 - 19:48 | 2008 | Approved | British | Country | Review | Takeaway | Traditional | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 227 reads

Phoenix Bar, Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green, London, N22 7AY

Phoenix Bar, Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green, London, N22 7AY

Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green, London, N22 7AY

I went here for lunch. This bar, which is at the western end of the palace, must have one of the best dining views in London. Through the large windows you look out across the terrace, with its wrought iron lamps and wooden tables and the whole city is spread out before you, the Gherkin and Canary Wharf clearly visible, until it all vanishes into the mists of North Kent. The inside is almost as good. It is spacy and wooden with a high ceiling and a central bar with mirrored pillars. Tables are marble with metal chairs or wooden. The music is terrible. Sort of sub techno garbage when I was there. Next door there is a huge (and silent!) palm court with sphynxes, fountains and full size palm trees towering into a vaulted sky-lit roof. There are about a dozen tables, maybe less. I had a coffee here the other afternoon and had the whole palm court completely to myself. Talk about a hidden gem. It was wonderful.

By Harry at 17/02/2008 - 22:08 | 2008 | Approved | London | North | Review | Traditional | Views | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 153 reads

Trawlers, 32-34 Church Street, Seaford E. Sussex BN25 1LD

Trawlers, 32-34 Church Street, Seaford E. Sussex BN25 1LD

32-34 Church Street, Seaford E. Sussex BN25 1LD

There's only one good thing about Trawlers - everything else is abysmal. When we walked in, we could have lowered the average age significantly, but we had our 86 year old Uncle with us. However, he walks with a stick, which is right on trend for Trawlers. The tables are densely packed, and all the chairs have splayed legs, so manoeuvering around this dismal restaurant is a challenge even for the young and able bodied. When we arrived at 12.30 on a wet Friday, the place was already packed with wrinklies, we had to go up the rubber ramp to the even dingier bit at the back.

By Daisy Middleton at 30/06/2007 - 10:39 | 2007 | Approved | East Sussex | Review | Traditional | ££/$$ | add new comment | read more | 142 reads

Two Brewers, 30 High Street, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 7TD

Two Brewers, 30 High Street, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 7TD

30 High Street, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 7TD

After a pleasant evening walk along the Darent Valley Path we arrived at the Two Brewers in Shoreham looking forward to a nice evening meal. Little did we know we were in for the meal from hell...

Three quarters of an hour after ordering, our food finally arrived. My chicken curry was bland, very bland and quite tasteless. True this isn't a curry house but I've had far better pub curries in the past which ACTUALLY HAD FLAVOUR IN THEM. That was just the start of our problems.

By The Who at 31/05/2007 - 12:35 | 2007 | Kent | Pub | Rejected | Review | Traditional | UK | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 166 reads

Princes Marine Hotel, 153 Kingsway, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 4GR

Princes Marine Hotel, 153 Kingsway, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 4GR

153 Kingsway, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 4GR

You know how some dining experiences are so crappy they cross the line into farce? Well eating out last night at the strangely named Princes Marine Hotel, a hideous red cube on Hove seafront, was one of those times.

I should explain that this was an official function and that the table had been laid for 50 or so of us in ‘The Boardroom’. The strip lighting had been turned off so it was mildly gloomy, but there was still enough light to see the nasty stainless steel cutlery and the cheap paper napkins folded into a special decorative feature on everybody’s plate, and the ghastly chairs.

By Perry Stalsis at 22/03/2007 - 11:29 | 2007 | British | East Sussex | Rejected | Review | Traditional | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | read more | 110 reads

Yellow, 94b Longueville Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066, Australia

Yellow, 94b Longueville Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066, Australia

94b Longueville Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066

We've been staying in Lane Cove , a short bus ride from Sydney's CBD and full of good restaurants. Yellow looked promising, and we good a good seat in the window. I ordered the lamb shank, but the waiter made a face and looked at his watch "twenty to eight - it's a bit late" This was on a Friday night, but Aussies do eat incredibly early and most restaurants are closed by 9.30 or 10. He said the lamb shank would not be ready till 8pm, and as we were not having starters...so I changed my order to Salmon. L chose the T-bone steak, which was described on the menu as "medium rare" in other words, that's how they serve it. As it happens, that's the way L likes it, so we did not get the chance to see if this was negotiable. Guess what - our food did not arrive till 8pm anyway. My salmon came with asparagus, saute spuds, and the steak with veggies, mash and gravy. With a fantastic bottle of Shiraz, called "Beyond Broke" for $19, we were so happy, we ordered the fruit plate to follow. At this time of year we expected mango, pineapple, papaya, etc. but we got a miserable little plate of underripe strawberries halved, some squeaky apricots also halved, a nectarine cut up and half a kiwi sliced but not peeled. It was poor quality and poorly presented - a miserable disappointment. They should simply have said "Sorry, we have no fresh fruit left" and offered to serve something else. Friendly waiter, decent enough mains, but quite average really. OK DM Jan 2007

By Daisy Middleton at 21/01/2007 - 08:25 | 2007 | Australia | OK | Review | Traditional | £££/$$$ | add new comment | read more | 89 reads
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