Harden's survey result
Summary
“Thoroughly reliable, good fresh fish at sensible prices for London” justifies a trip to this trio of seafood bistros in some of the capital’s most expensive areas – Covent Garden, Marylebone and Swallow Street (just a step from Piccadilly Circus). The cooking may not be hugely exciting, but “they do pretty standard fish dishes very well” – “including excellent cod and chips”. Each branch has an in-store fishmonger, so you can pick up something extra to cook at home.
Summary
“Good fresh fish, simply cooked” is the offer at this trio of seafood bistros (entered via a fishmongers at the front), which are “solid and reliable without being spectacular” – with the bonus, in the case of the Mayfair branch, of finding “really good value so close to Piccadilly”. The May 2019 opening of the new Covent Garden venue signals an upswing of a brand that has been in the doldrums since its peak in the late 1990s.
Summary
“Good fresh fish, simply cooked” is the offer at this trio of seafood bistros (entered via a fishmongers at the front), which are “solid and reliable without being spectacular” – with the bonus, in the case of the Mayfair branch, of finding “really good value so close to Piccadilly”. The May 2019 opening of the new Covent Garden venue signals an upswing of a brand that has been in the doldrums since its peak in the late 1990s.
Summary
“You enter through the front shop full of fresh fish” at these straightforward seafood bistros just off Piccadilly Circus and in Marylebone (surviving branches of what was once a national chain). You don’t get fireworks, but you do get “excellent simple fish”, “reliably prepared” at “reasonable prices” and the Swallow Street branch in particular is brilliantly located.
For 31 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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