Years ago I went with friends from Canada who were very impressed by the look of The Horniman on South Bank (by Hays Galleria). I wasn’t keen but they were seduced by the lovely looking pub by the river. I ordered something small that time, maybe a cup of tea, and warned them against pub fish and chips. Still stubborn, they ordered them. And they looked pretty good! I was shocked to silence, but relieved they seemed like the real deal.
I’ve been exploring Southwark a little since my guy is spending inordinate amounts of time at Guys Derm Centre. On this day we planned a walk from Hays Galleria over to Tower Bridge - it had been years since we’d been there. And we were really hungry. South Bank is notoriously bad for any kind of food. Tourists lap it all up and there was The Horniman.
Still a gorgeous pub. We sat by the window. My seat was so wobbly I feared for myself. My guy offered to swap. He’s steadier than I am. I persuaded him that we would only share a fish and chips ‘just in case.’
I’m glad we decided that. It took an age to reach us, even though it was quiet. It arrived looking dubious, it tasted even more so. The fish had a hard oily batter, there might have been a dozen chips lurking beneath, and the mushy peas were blander than a bland thing. The tartare sauce was OK! We were hungry, ate it and scarpered.
Please don’t bother with this place no matter how pretty it looks.
It did look an absolutely gorgeous space. Each time I passed it, I had to fight this compulsion to walk in.
Thanks for the warning.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
3
It’s a long time since my fellow northerner, PhilD, has contributed to the forum but I well remember his advice about eating fish & chips in pubs, as follows:-
DON’T. Unless it is (a) a pub in sight of the sea and (b) has a reputation for good fish & chips.
It certainly is, John, and I freely give it. Not taken this time since I’d seen (and tasted) my friend’s F&C those years ago and was so shocked at how good it was. Must have been a one-off!
In researching fish & chips, this thread popped up. Can you recommend ANYWHERE accessible from S Kensington by tube for GOOD f&c? Or even a pub that’s less worse than the others?
Wow tall order since I firmly believe all the best F&C are from local chippies no one else has heard of. However, here are Eater’s recommendations https://london.eater.com/maps/best-fish-and-chips-london. Anyway I’m in Hackney so West London isn’t well known to me. Good luck!
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
7
I concur with its mention of Masters Superfish (at least as of a few years back). It was then good enough to be a northern chippy.
