Portside Fish & Chips is a place which always holds a sentimental place in my heart. My late grandfather used to take me there regularly when I was a young child, back in the days it was called Atlantis.
I always marvelled at how my Grandpa Dov was always so outgoing and matey with the staff behind the counter at the Harrogate Road chippy in Moortown. The takeaway’s name and staff may have vastly changed but it still retains that friendly element.
The staff were chuffed they’d managed to rank in the nation’s top 50 fish and chip takeaways across the country. And ninth throughout Yorkshire.
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“We’re loving it!” said one of the men behind the counter, looking fondly at the display for their 2022/2023 Fry Awards. His colleague chipped in: “We never expected it. We only entered to see if we were getting anything wrong.”
I’d ordered a regular fish and chips with curry sauce just minutes before over the phone. In the whole, it must have only taken them about ten minutes to have it all ready for me.
My server laid out the chips on the counter, which had a golden crisp appearance – the skin of the chips looking course and more brittle than I’m accustomed to. For just a moment, I was dazzled as the sunlight beamed from off the stainless-steel counter and flickered across the chips.
The staff member asked me how I’d like them seasoned. There was something distinctly different about the seasoning process which will forever change the way I season my own chips from now on.
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Portside offer a spicy chip seasoning, similar to the seasoning in Nandos, and it tasted absolutely stupendous with the chips. They have tubs on sale packaged behind the serving area and I’m tempted to nip back down there and buy it from them. The ample portion size was also good - these days I'm relieved when the chips aren't piled onto the tray, often it's too much and I can't control myself! The portion in this instance was just right, I was amicably sated.
The battered haddock also had crisp appearance with a rich golden hue. Thankfully, by the time I had driven home it retained its crunch. There was also substantial amount of fish within and seemed good value for money.
The curry sauce was really great, it seemed far more textured than what I am accustomed to. There were little chunky slices of vegetable within the sweet sauce which was a nice touch.
The meal went down really easily and was a pleasure. Especially washed down with a diet coke on sunny April day.
The bill
Meal for 1 + bottle upgrade - £12.80
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