Fish: ‘Fish and chips with the wow factor’ – restaurant review

The very beginnings of our city can be imagined from out of the windows at Fish, with its unrivalled vantage point towards Bristol Bridge.

On a recent Friday lunchtime, the sun reflected off the water to create a unique light show on the underside of the bridge and also on the ceilings of Fish, a restaurant and takeaway that is marking its own beginnings.

This new restaurant on Welsh Back occupies the barge that for many years had been Glassboat, with its time brought to an end during lockdown as its owners took the opportunity to completely reinvent the historic space.

Gone are the white tablecloths and in their place comes picnic tables, with plants and Fish t-shirts for sale hanging from the ceilings, and framed French prints remaining from the Glassboat days.

The fish, seafood and shellfish served here is mostly caught off the coast of the South West, featuring the likes of Devon ray roasted on the bone (£16.50), a cracked Dorset crab (£18.50) and half a Cornish lobster (£24).

My nine-year-old daughter enjoyed her kids portion of fish and chips for a fiver, and enjoyed her three scoops of ice cream even more.

Cornish hake fillet with olive oil, parsley and garlic – photo by Martin Booth

A hake fillet with olive oil, parsley and garlic (£10.50) was cooked to perfection by head chef Jake Platt, with a golden skin and flaky white flesh.

Veteran chef Platt was previously head chef at the Glassboat, and trained under legendary Bristol chef and restaurateur Stephen Markwick.

Golf ball-sized scallops grilled in garlic butter (£12.50) were fresh and succulent but the best was yet to come.

“Would you like some bread to mop up the scallop juices?” asked our waitress Lucy, presumably with a smile under her face mask. Yes god damn please. If I went to the gallows, I might choose this as my last meal and make the most of every last drop of the delicious juices.

Scallops grilled in garlic butter – photo by Martin Booth

A pudding of bitter chocolate mousse with honeycomb and cultured cream (£5.50) was a decadent end to the meal, accompanied by a malfunctioning French press which was swiftly swapped by Lucy for one that worked, so I could enjoy a coffee with beans roasted by Blind Owl in St Philip’s.

The dessert was reminiscent of that served by Freddy Bird (formerly executive head chef at the Lido group who own Glassboat and now Fish) at his new restaurant Little French in Westbury Park, but tasted even better with the addition of the small honeycomb pieces.

Drinks options here range from draught Magic Rock beer and Iford cider, to Ting grapefruit juice from Jamaica, and wine from £18 to £68 a bottle if you want to turn back time to the glory days of the Glassboat and push the boat out.

Fish’s takeaway bar is at the Bristol Bridge side of the converted barge – photo by Martin Booth

It’s a canny move by the team behind Fish to have a takeaway option, with a menu including a mixed fry of squid, prawns and whitebait for £6.50 or beer battered fried fish of the day for £7.50.

After a cycle around the docks with daughter number one, I returned to Fish the same evening with daughter number two – who didn’t want to miss out on what had been described to her by her big sister as the “wow” fish and chips.

The team at Fish have made a confident start to this new beginning.

Fish, Welsh Back, Bristol BS1 4SB
www.fishbristol.co.uk

Main photo by Martin Booth

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