Rock and Sole Plaice

I recently headed down to the Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden which is officially Britain’s oldest fish and chip shop, founded in 1871 which means it’s been serving fish and chips for over 150 years!

We all know by now that London struggles to compete with the Yorkshire’s of this world when it comes to fish and chips but I’m hoping that the oldest one could lay a glove on some of Yorkshire’s finest.

I arrived at opening time and decided to sit in their outside seating area which was comfortable and fairly open although I can imagine it would get pretty manic if busy. I ordered the haddock and chips which came to a startling price of £20.00, proper king prawns (£8.00) and gravy, a beef saveloy (£8) mushy peas and curry sauce (all £3.00) for dips.

The proper king prawns arrived within 5 minutes accompanied with a sweet sauce which was not to my liking. The prawns themselves were quite meaty but the batter which is their signature recipe was bland – I also only received 3 of them which can be a bit awkward if you’re wanting to share. The beef saveloy was pretty unique, not used to having a beef sausage but it was pretty standard fare and at that price, you’re expecting much better.

Onwards, the haddock had a lovely golden crispy batter but similar issues arose with the haddock as with the prawns. The actual fish itself was fresh and had a fairly unique taste – the problem was the batter. Tasteless. Do remember it’s not cooked in beef dripping and the fish had skin on too. The chips were pretty average. The dips that followed didn’t leave much to be desired either – only the curry sauce really packed a punch that I was looking for.

Overall. Disappointing. It may be Britain’s oldest but it’s certainly not Britain’s finest. I would say it’s a tourist trap.

The overall bill came to £50.00 including service charge which is far too much all things considered.

I can only give it a 5/10 which is a shame because I am desperate for a London chippy to compete with some of Yorkshire’s finest!