Fintans Fish and Chips – Newport

When this fish and chip shop opened in Newport it was called Newport Fish and Chip Co.  Subsequently it was renamed to ‘Fintans’.

I believe it was run by the organisation called ‘Top Gun’ which has outlets in Cardiff and that ‘Fintans’ is a rebrand for all the former ‘Top Gun’ outlets.

Anyway to the food.  It was a night time when my wife and I visited for the first time (called Newport Fish and Chips then) and we were impressed with the bright interior with a seaside theme similar to the outlet in Cardiff Bay.

We opted to eat in and were served Fish and chips in a box.  The fish, which was cooked to order, was fine but we were not too keen on the chips.  This may have been because the establishment had recently opened for business.  Subsequent visits found the chips had improved.

The interior was inviting and rustic with a seaside theme and was clean and tidy.  Prices were quite reasonable.

There are toilets for customer use.

Located at Canal Terrace, Unit 2, Newport, NP20 2BL there is a car park and a Greggs in the same block.  This is a good location being near to the Passport Office and the Old Town Dock area which is being developed.

Update

Fintans closed early 2016.

Sidoli’s Fish and Chips Porthcawl

It’s always a pleasure to visit Porthcawl, not for the sandy beaches or the surfing but for a visit to Sidoli’s fish and chip shop!

There are other good fish and chop shops but this one, being in the town centre, is easy to visit on foot once the car is parked in the central car park about 100 yards away.

I always have beans with my fish and chips!

Located at 13 Well Street, Porthcawl, CF36 3BE which is in the end of the town nearest the promenade. 

Have visited more times than I remember at all times of year.  Food has always been good if not a little expensive in my opinion.

Well decorated and kept clean.  It has good ratings on Tripadvisor and is open all days including Sunday.

The Draton Restaurant and Takeaway – Shrewsbury

It was my birthday Friday 3rd October and with a day off work we took an expensive train trip to Shrewsbury, a place we had never been. I had failed to do advance research into where to eat for lunch but hoped we would stumble upon a chip shop or two.

Managing to avoid a pub that looked like a Wetherspoons we chose the first restaurant we came across that did fish and chips and this was the Draton.

The waitress joked that not many people sat at this table but we are not superstitious!  The inside was quite spacious and tiled and the toilets at the rear of the restaurant were clean and well appointed.

  We chose off the special menu that offered 2 courses for £7.50 and I had cod beans and chips and my wife cod peas and chips.

  The cod seemed like a loin while my wife’s was a tail.  Because the loin was quite thick I think it was slightly undercooked and I did not really enjoy it but the chips were OK.

If I had to mark the meal out of 10 I would give it 6.

For afters we both had apple crumble and custard.  There was a long wait before it arrived but it was quite tasty and piping hot.

Conclusion

A busy town centre restaurant that serves a good range of food as well as fish and chips but the meal could have been better.  Another visit is required in case this was not typical of the food quality.

5 Shoplatch, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1HF
http://www.thedrayton.co.uk/

 

Nearby was the Loch Fyne Seafood Bar and Grill and the Town Fryer.

       Another time…………..

 

Vacara’s Fish and Chip Restaurant/Take Away

M Vacara & Co – Newport

Vacara’s in the centre of Newport is a busy take away and restaurant in Llanarth Street which has been there as long as I can remember and was always noted for good quality fish and chips.

The restaurant is rather small and in need of a facelift.  I remember we walked out of the restaurant once because the service was so slow.

UPDATE

The Facelift was done in November 2015 as shown below:

I would buy a bag of chips here but not eat in.

http://ratings.food.gov.uk/business/en-GB/418803/M-Vacara-%26-Co-Newport

39 Llanarth Street,
Newport,
South Wales
NP20 1HR

New Cardiff Central Chip Shop

Now open opposite the Capital Shopping Centre is Parc Lane fish and chips.  I have tried to get my wife to go in but so far failed!  It is possible to sit inside, or in good weather, outside to enjoy the atmosphere of Cardiff.

If you are shopping in the main street then this is the nearest fish and chip shop without going down ‘chip shop alley’!

Website is http://www.parclane.co.uk

Sheppards Fish Bar – Newport

Sheppards is located on the way out of Newport to the west, is just a take away but the quality is second to none. I am always trying to find excuses to visit this takeaway. It’s about 2 miles from home and I pass 3 other chip shops, 3 Chinese and 4 Indian takeaways to get there.

The premises have been updated fairly recently and is now very smart looking. Best time to go is when its busy about 6:30pm.

Prices are average and you can pay by card but the card machine was out of order the last two visits in October 2016.  Two cod and a large chips will probably come to £10. 

  

Looks cold but was not ’cause I ate it!

If you have a long way to travel, and want the batter to stay crispy then don’t have the fish put on the chips and don’t have salt and vinegar.  Also take a bag of the type that keeps frozen food cool.

I could not help noticing the appropriate name on the shop next door (see pic) which is Codielocks but I was told by Sheppards staff that it is nothing to do with Cod but is the name Codie!

‘Sheppards’ Food Hygiene Rating=5

205 Cardiff Road, Newport. NP20 3AG

Caspian Fish Restaurant – Cwmbran

The Caspian, located in Cwmbran town centre, is a favourite of mine.  It is a busy takeaway and restaurant so the fish and chips tend to be freshly cooked.   The service is rapid and a waitress will appear as if by magic within seconds of taking a seat.  The food will also be quickly cooked and served.

Caspian Cwmbran

The restaurant is long and narrow with the takeaway at the front and there is sometimes a wait for a table.  There are mainly 4 seater ‘booths’ and a lesser number of 2 seater tables.

It is quite noisy with the hustle and bustle of the waitresses and the music which is sometimes a bit obtrusive. Noise levels can reach 70dB.

Fish and chips with a choice of peas or beans is very reasonable and will be accompanied by free bread and butter.  Two can eat for about £13 including a drink (A can of coke about £0.95). The other items on the menu are also tasty and reasonably priced and I have been known to have the breakfast.

The toilets are on an upper floor so this makes it difficult for people with disabilities.

If you just want good fish and chips at a keen price and can put up with the less than ideal surroundings then this is the place for you.

The Caspian is not usually open on a Sunday apart from busier times near Christmas.

23 North Walk, Cwmbran, Gwent

“Caspian Fish Restaurant” Food Hygiene Rating

Page’s Fish and Chips – Cwmbran

Cwmbran, although only a small relatively new town, has more chip shops than you would expect, some of which are to be recommended.

On the periphery of the town centre, near Asda and Lidl, is Page’s which has not been open long (2011) although the original chip shop in Sebastopol has been there as long as I can remember.

The building was occupied by a tool hire company and has been converted to good effect into an upmarket fish and chip restaurant (upstairs and downstairs) and takeaway (downstairs at the front).

We have been to the restaurant many times and been happy 99% of the time.  With drinks, the bill for two fish and chips is about £18.  There is a large restaurant upstairs and a smaller area downstairs with a view of the cooking area.

Upstairs Restaurant

 New Menu

The toilets are situated upstairs and are kept spotlessly clean and have high velocity hand driers that make a sound almost as loud as a jet taking off.  There is a disabled toilet downstairs.

This is a family owned and run business and they have managed to bring high-class fish and chips to Cwmbran.  The premises is well designed and always clean and tidy and I am surprised that the Food Hygiene Rating is only 4.

http://www.pagesfishandchips.com/

Page’s Restaurant
Woodside Road
Cwmbran
NP44 3EW
01633 862539

Later Visit 15.10.15

This was a Friday evening and we just managed to bag a space in the car park.  Downstairs was busy, but we prefer to sit upstairs anyway where there was pleasant music playing at a volume that was not too loud.  There are some fantastic pictures on the walls provided, I think, by Cwmbran amateur photographic society.

We ordered our usual, cod peas and chips for my wife and cod beans and chips for me – why come to one of the best fish and chip establishments and not order fish!

The cod and chips came to £7.45 each to which we added one portion of tartare sauce, which is enough for the two of us, and this was free.

 My meal – can’t wait!

For drinks we ordered ‘Draft Ginger Beer’ not bottled but from the pump.  This is a refreshing drink and costs £1.60.

The wait was a bit longer than usual probably because the restaurant was busy as was the take away, but the wait was worth it to receive a freshly cooked meal on a nice hot plate.  Many eateries forget that if you put hot food on a cold plate that the laws of physics demand that the plate will absorb the heat of the food to equalise the temperature.

Anyway enough of the science, the meal can only be described as ‘perfect’ and we left well satisfied but with £18.10 less in the bank.

Friar Tuck

One of our favourite towns in the Cotswolds is Cirencester where, by happy coincidence, there is a fish and chip shop called Friar Tuck.  Have been there twice and enjoyed the food at reasonable prices.  Would go again.

Best time to go will be when its take away counter is busy thus ensuring fresh fish and chips.

 

 64 Dyer St, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2PF

Unusual Chip Shop

In our travels on the way to the Cotswolds, we stop off in a small town called Thornbury, just north of Bristol.  I was amused where the local chip shop was located.

It is in a converted Grade II listed Registry Office in the High Street: very apt since some say Fish and Chips is a marriage made in heaven!

We are always there early in the morning so sampling the product will have to wait.

http://www.thornburypeople.co.uk/groups/generaldiscussion/Fish-amp-Chips/story-4570112-detail/story.html