George’s – Fish & Chips – Nottingham

Whilst Good Friday and the fish-fest is over, it served to remind me that I was yet to bring you my review of George’s. It hardly had a low key opening and has proved a popular addition to the city centre. In fact prior to this visit I attempted to go at 1900 on a weeknight and couldn’t get a table for 2.

The interior is really attractive, downstairs is stripped back with brickwork and tiling whereas upstairs runs the booth/beach hut theme. The place seems to have maintained its level of interest as it was packed when I eventually visited in early March. The menu was presented as a newspaper, which was a nice thought, though it was a little unwieldy. It was also larger than I expected steak, pies and burgers as well as the obvious fish choices. If you aren’t offering a burger these days, how could anyone take you seriously….right?

Starters were a little limited in options, I went for the calamari, a trusty favourite. The plate police would be out in force here, though the unnecessary board was probably the most exciting thing about the dish. The squid itself was a little overcooked though a little seasoning on the breaded rings did add a nice bit of something different. The aioli was also pepped up, but it was little better than a standard version.

Calamari – George’s – Nottingham

Between courses let me have a rant. In a restaurant that reminds you at every moment that it is “Proper British”, their vegetable of choice all year round appears to be asparagus. Picking such a seasonal vegetable seems odd as it’s almost certainly imported from a far off land. Frustrating to someone like me but probably barely noteworthy to everyone else!

For a main course I decided on a steak burger. Only joking. Battered cod with chips and mushy peas were, of course, the choice. The long, crisp, golden fillet was simply presented and attractive for it. I was impressed with the quality of the cod, the batter crunchy and greaseless. I have a controversial chip preference, I like them soggy. I couldn’t have hoped for these to meet my tastes I know, but the consensus from my friends was pretty positive. Mushy peas & tartare were ok too but certainly nothing special. Possibly the most exciting element were the pickles, it doesn’t state whether they were homemade, but were definitely a level above anything I’ve had from a jar.

Fish and Chips – George’s – Nottingham

Overall the meal at George’s was pretty enjoyable and I couldn’t have asked for too much more from my fish and chips. They were almost as good as the Cod’s Scallops (still my favourite), but not quite. What I haven’t mentioned to this point is price, the calamari was £5.45, the cod £11.45. I wouldn’t say this was unreasonable for what I ate. I do feel though that this British staple shouldn’t be an expensive meal. I guess it’s the city centre premium but I couldn’t help feeling it was a couple of pounds too much.

• Food

  7.5

• Value

  7

• Service

  7.5

• Overall

  7.5

Restaurant website: http://georgesfishandchipkitchen.co.uk/