Fish Central

Since starting way back in 1968  Fish Central has come through leaps and bounds offering London some of the best fish dishes, prepared with honesty and from the heart. Back then in old London town it was a place that people would go and enjoy their Friday fish supper. Now its evolved with the times, not only offering the great British favourite traditional fish and chips but also fresh lobster, scallops and oysters all sourced from Billingsgate market. You only have to go to the main homepage of the website to see that big media names like Time out and celebrity chef Rick Stein give it the thumbs up. http://www.fishcentral.co.uk/

 

 

The restaurant is a ten minute or so walk from Old Street station on Central street, Kings square. On a cold winters Friday night what better than to have Fish and Chips and I definitely was in the mood for it. The place has a real buzz and on a Friday night, is packed out with couples and families all there to scoff their faces with delicious sustainable fresh fish. There's no faffing around, its short and simple and the dishes on offer does all the explaining.

Salmon fishcakes

 

Whilst waiting for the starters, I was offered salmon fishcakes which was a really nice touch and certainly set me up for what was about to come from the kitchen.







 

 

 

 

The griddled squid and the pan fried scallops was a great way to start the evening off. The squid was
 tender and the warm Asian slaw was vibrant and still had that lovely crunch.

 I'm a sucker for scallops and most of the time would order them at a restaurant. (that's if steak tartare is not on there).

 However on this occasion I'm so glad that I had these beauties. They were succulent, plump, sweet and juicy .

 

 

 

 

 

 



Hake and Chips



 

 

 

 

 





Hake and chips is an absolute favourite of mine. The batter was golden brown and so brilliantly crispy. The fish itself was flaky, succulent and meaty. That served with a good dollop of homemade tartare sauce made me a very happy chappy.




Grilled cod

The one thing I love about this place is that not everything is  battered. Sure everyone likes to be  naughty now and again and eat food that is deep fried. Who doesn't? But if you want to be good and go for the healthy option then the variety of fish on offer can be grilled. The Cod on this occasion was cooked perfectly. There's nothing worse than rubbery over cooked fish, but the way the chefs do it is clean, fresh and simple. Moreover I like the fact that its presented with the just the fish on the plate. Why garnish when there's a beautiful piece of fish waiting to be devoured.







Panna cotta

My stomach was about to burst from the enormity of the dishes but being a coffee lover and always having a mug after dinner there was no way I could turn down dessert to go with my drink. The panna cotta was the perfect pudding to finish of what was an epic evening.

 

There are no gimmicks at Fish Central and it very much gets straight to the point. It is what it is and its very proud to showcase that. Yes it is known for being fish and chips, but whether the fish is deep fried or simply pan fried, its done with passion and that goes a long way. Like I said earlier you don't have to go for the traditional option, there are more varieties such as having lobster and oysters which I'm sure that if you're a fan of both it wont disappoint. Ziya and his family have got an absolute little goldmine of a restaurant and I'm grateful to have been invited to eat there. Fish Central definitely gets the FoodPunk seal of approval.