Archive for the ‘Fish & Chips’ Category

The Seafood Shak

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

It was an unseasonably warm September evening, so fish and chips seemed in order. I had two new fish and chip shops to choose from, The Ol School Fish & Chips (566 Brunswick St, North Fitzroy) and The Seafood Shak (150 Scotchmer St, North Fitzroy).

I’d already had a burger and chips from the latter, so that seemed like a safe bet. There are nine different types of fish to choose from, but I opted for the standard flake. Three pieces of flake and minimum chips (not all for me) cost $18.60 and arrived pretty quickly, despite it being a busy night.

Each piece of flake was a generous size, very fresh, and cooked perfectly in clean oil. The batter was crisp and flavoursome, and the fish nice and moist. The chips were also well cooked, again in clean rice bran oil. This oil gives the chips a distinct flavour that’s quite hard to describe, and may not be be to all tastes, but I don’t mind them.

Next time I’ll try The Ol School Fish & Chips, but it will need to be good to better The Seafood Shak, which I think is the best fish and chip shop in Melbourne.

Posted in Fish & Chips, North Fitzroy | 1 Comment »

Builders Arms Hotel

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Despite my disappointment with the cheap dinner at the Rochester Castle, I was fairly confident that my half price dinner at the Builders’ Arms Hotel (211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) was going to be less of a compromise. And it was. I ordered fish and chips, and despite seemingly being downsized to reflect the $11 (normally $22) price tag, particularly the fish fillet, the quality was still there. The fish tasted fresh, and the batter was perfectly crisp.
My girlfriend ordered a beetroot and feta salad ($8), which wasn’t up to the same standard. The feta didn’t to be particularly good quality, and the flavours were not particularly interesting. You can certainly get better at Alimentari down the road for a similar price.
Another thing to watch out for, the half priced offer (Mondays only) only apply to meals priced $22 or less, which rules out some of the more interesting and substantial offerings.

Posted in Fish & Chips, Fitzroy, cheap | 1 Comment »

Ink

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Inspired by a post in Fitzroyalty, I went to check out Ink (5 Rae St, North Fitzroy) for some take away. After all, good quality fish and chips are hard to find in inner city Melbourne.

I ordered a piece of flake, the grilled fish of the day (marlin) and chips. The flake was very good, crisp batter surrounding a nice juicy, fresh piece of fish. Equally well done were the chips. Unfortunately the meal was let down badly by the grilled marlin. It was obviously left on the hotplate for 2 or 3 minutes too long, and as a result was very dry.

Still, the take away prices are reasonable, and the fried fish was pretty good, so I’d give it another shot. There’s a small bar with a good range of beer, so it might even be worth eating in.

Posted in Fish & Chips, Fitzroy | No Comments »