Newly arrived in Muscat, London Fish & Chips promises the real deal. Kate Ginn tries it out and is impressed.
I’m British so it goes without saying that I love fish and chips. It’s our unofficial national dish and pretty much every town across the UK has its own local “chippy”, as we like to colloquially call the shop that sells us this magnificent meal.
When I was growing up, every Friday night in our house was fish supper night. The four children would wait expectedly by the door for our dad to return home with piping hot fish and chips, wrapped in white paper with a wonderful smell emanating from the parcel.
When you’re a Brit living abroad, finding great fish and chips is like looking for the Holy Grail: you’re always hopeful but frequently disappointed.
I’ve been searching for a first-class fish and chip supper in Oman but have always been left dissatisfied. Which is why, as soon as I heard on the grapevine that London Fish & Chips had opened in Muscat, I was down to Panorama Mall faster than you can peel a potato.
One of my colleagues had been to a franchise in Dubai (there are also outlets in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia and one opening in Egypt soon) and assured me it was “very good”.
I roped in my friend, the Grumpy Welshman, to join me in the quest.
London Fish & Chips is in the food court, which is not my ideal place to dine at all but I was prepared to overlook this to get my hands on some fish and chips.
It was busy with quite a few customers milling around. All were different nationalities including Omanis, who seem to have enthusiastically embraced this most British of dishes.
Most chippies in the UK are takeaway only; the joy is eating your fish and chip bounty, still wrapped in the white paper, in the comfort of your own home in front of the television.
Here, we would be sitting on plastic tables and chairs, with plastic trays, which slightly detracted from the experience but not enough to put me off. But you can opt for takeaway instead and recreate the “at home” experience.
The menu, handed over by very friendly staff, was more extensive than I expected, ranging from fish suppers with suitably apt names such as Mayfair, Trafalgar and Park Lane – all places in London – to chicken fillets, soup, salads and baked potatoes. There was even, rather incongruously, paella, which being a Spanish dish has, in my view, no place in a fish and chip shop!
I was tempted by the Big Ben – a juicy fish fillet with crispy batter, shrimps and chips, but decided it had to be the classic cod and chips, here known as the Piccadilly.
The Grumpy Welshman, who is also a fish and chip connoisseur, selected fish fillet, shrimps and calamari rings – a veritable treasure trove of seafood called the Buckingham, as in Buckingham Palace. Both come with chips and a soft drink included in the price (RO3.9 and RO3.5, respectively).
Other than my cod and haddock for the Trafalgar dish, all the other fish used is unnamed, so presumably it’s local hammour. The staff told me that all the fish comes from Dubai.
On the side, we ordered the obligatory mushy peas and threw in some onion rings for good measure.
As it’s cooked to order, you have to wait for your food but for no more than five to eight minutes. Our dinner party expanded to include Paul from Manchester, who had dropped in for a fish supper before heading to the cinema.
I noticed with approval that staff members were using an authentic “chippy” fryer for the fish and chips.
Soon our meals were on the table, served in paper trays, so not the traditional white paper but a good effort. My cod looked spot on, being of a good length in a golden yellow batter, and tasted even better. It was like fish from the chippy at home! There was a little burst of moisture from the fish when you bit into it, showing it was fresh, and the batter was light with a perfect crunch.
Across the table, the Grumpy Welshman was equally happy, pronouncing his fish as “awesome”.
We both loved the mushy peas, which were near perfect but the onion rings could have been a little thicker.
Paul from Manchester – already a frequent visitor to London Fish & Chips – described it as “one of the best fish and chips in Oman” and it was hard to disagree.
I was a bit disappointed with the tartar sauce and vinegar served in plastic pots but, as the Grumpy Welshman pointed out, we were eating in a food court so you have to make allowances.
The chips were excellent too; crispy with fluffy centres. It’s just a shame they were prepared frozen and not made fresh on site but perhaps this was asking too much. As frozen chips go, however, they were delicious.
All that was missing for me was some buttered bread or a roll to make a “chip butty”, that most heavenly concoction from my home island. Next time, I will come armed with my butty-making material!
Unusually we were too stuffed to contemplate either of the two desserts offered – apple pie or a sweet trio (which looked like a chocolate mousse with an Oreo biscuit base).
By now, it was also 7.45pm and the food court was starting to fill up, which meant lots of noisy, hungry kids running around and it was time for us to leave. Again, you have to make allowances for being in a food court but I couldn’t help thinking that London Fish & Chips deserved better.
Still, I’ll definitely be back for more. The search for the fish & chip Holy Grail is not quite over but we’re getting very close
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Info Box
London Fish & Chips
Food Court, Panorama Mall, Ghubra
Tel: +968 2459 1828
Open: 11am-midnight
Takeaway available
Facebook: London Fish & Chips
Dinner for two with drinks: RO9.27 (incl. municipalty and tourism tax)
Verdict :
8 / 10 Service
9/10 Food
7/10 Ambience
Fish as good as that served in a British chippy. Nice service.
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