Ian Waller and his family enjoy a very tasty midweek meal treat
Shout it loudly – we might just have discovered the best fish and chips in Bath! Yes, it is a mighty claim, but having tried a good few of the alternatives over the years, our home delivery last night from The Oyster Shell on Moorland Road in Bath will take some beating.
With restaurants closed, we’re all kind of getting used to takeaways these days, and to be fair, there are some decent ones on offer across the Bath area. We had been hoping to eat out at The Scallop Shell restaurant – we’d heard very good things about it from friends but hadn’t made it along ourselves – but with venue temporarily only open for takeaways at weekends over the lockdown, we plumped for their high street take away option, The Oyster Shell, instead.
By ordering on line, we booked in a home delivery slot for 6pm on a Wednesday (you can also book in for Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with takeaways available throughout the week). With two adults and three children to feed, we went for one prime North Atlantic cod loin (£9.50), crisp fried prawns (eight tails) (£9), two free range chicken breasts coated in a panko lemon and thyme crumb (£9.75 each) and one small cod loin (£5.50) from the Lighter Meals menu – perfect for smaller appetites – all served with fresh cut chips, and a side order of fennel coleslaw (£2.95) and tartare sauce (£1).
Elsewhere on the menu you’ll find line caught haddock fillets, cod and parsley fishcakes, Scottish langoustine tails, Cumberland sausages and bubble and squeak Scotch eggs.
Check out The Oyster Shell website and you’ll learn that the fish served is the result of sustainable and responsibly sourced catch, with the sausages, chicken breasts and potatoes all coming from very local suppliers. This is genuinely great to know as we make a real effort to support local businesses wherever possible.
Bang on time the meals turned up and we were in for a midweek treat. The portions are very generous – we could probably have done with half as many chips – while the food was perfectly prepared and ready to eat. And yes, barely half way into the meal, we had decided that this was the best fish and chips in Bath. The cod was wonderfully firm and moist, the prawns full of flavour and the chicken breasts benefitting from a well-seasoned coating. As for the chips – a big ten out of ten from all concerned, with the left overs warmed up the next day and served with soup for lunch!
All in all, this was restaurant quality fish and chips, delivered to our home and turning our midweek evening meal into a real lockdown treat.
Now we’re just waiting for The Scallop Shell to reopen to find out if it’s as wonderful as we’ve heard…