Eating ‘posh’ fish and chips at Rockfish, Torquay

It had been my plan to do a full write up of the various restaurants we ate at when we were on holiday in Devon.  But it’s now weeks later and I’ve forgotten most of what I wanted to write.

Instead, I’m just going to share one place which really stuck in my mind, because it was a lovely place to eat and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Torquay.

Really, being on a seaside holiday should mean fish and chips eaten out of paper, sitting on the sea front.  We didn’t quite achieve that (would probably be a total mess with N doing that), and I’m not really a big fish fan.  However N is, and we really couldn’t go home without having had fish and chips.  So on our last evening there, I said we’d find a fish and chip restaurant of café to eat in.

We did struggle – you’d think with 5+ chippies overlooking the harbour that we’d have been spoilt for choice, but wanting to eat prior to or around 6pm with children, is always a nightmare waiting for restaurants to open for dinner.  One chippy was shut, the next one looked quite busy on the takeaway side, but they told us they no longer opened the eat in part.  So I asked them to recommend where to go for fish and chips to eat in.  A couple of places were suggested, but one looked a bit garish, and despite us being told the alternative Rockfish was more pricy, last night on holiday should always be a treat.

Rockfish isn’t like your usual fish and chip shop.  My experience of them has been quite old school chippy, formica tables, metal chairs, uncomfortable, cramped and not a particular nice place to eat out.  Hence we tend to take away when we’re at home.

But Rockfish is a really gorgeous modern restaurant with beautiful sea themed pictures and décor.

Without being tacky.

To top it off, it’s multiple award winning, and sustainable,so if you want somewhere that covers both good food and good ethics then it’s the place to go.

They also provide THE best children’s Squid pack.  N loved it, and even now months later, still has some of the items.  He had pencils to colour in his place mat (lots of fishy undersea information and pictures), stickers, a little colouring/note book, a velcro wallet which he adores because it’s like Dad’s work wallet and a couple of other bits and pieces In a big carry ‘folder’ bag.   There was only one waitress (I presume the owner or manager) when we arrived and the service wasn’t fast, but this kept N from asking where his food was non-stop.

The choice of dishes is brilliant – although we opted for cod goujons for me and N had cod fish fingers. His children’s meal with ice cream dessert is £5.95, with high chair equivalent meal at £3.95).  The chips are unlimited which is a great idea because it was a perfectly reasonable sized portion, but also reduces waste.  I didn’t need any more than what they first served up, and in a busy restaurant, we only heard one person ask for more chips.

Because you need to order your chips and accompaniments separately, it does end up being more expensive (I hate that in pubs, where they don’t make it clear what is or isn’t included – how many times have you ordered assuming you’ll get veg or salad and don’t?!).  Both of our meals were delicious and got demolished.

Along with a good wine menu, there’s an interesting mix of soft drinks – juices,  pink lemonade, old school root beer, ginger beer and dandelion & burdock, plus delicious ice cream floats (yes, I did choose one of the latter – juvenile, me!).  The drinks were the only problem for me with N.  He doesn’t really have fizzy drinks (maybe lemonade), and I prefer him not to have lots of juice, so the option for a juicy water type of thing would have been nice.

Even though we ate quite early, there was a steady stream of people coming in to eat and to takeaway.  The service wasn’t the fastest, but it wasn’t the slowest I’ve experienced, and what they delivered on customer service was good.  There were a mix of customers – friends, families, students, couples, business people, and a nice level of buzz.  We really enjoyed our meal and while it wasn’t takeaway prices, the food was good, the portion sizes were just right, the presentation and décor was great, and it’s definitely somewhere we’d go and eat at again.

Are you a big fish and chip fan?  Do you tend to eat in or takeaway?