Fish House

126-128 Lauriston Road
Victoria Park Village
Hackney
London
E9 7LH

Find Fish House on Google Maps

Quick Ratings
Food : Very Good (if you stick to the fish and chips) average otherwise
Coffee : Don't know
Price : A bit high for fish and chips - but worth it!
Service : Friendly and efficient
Meals Served : Breakfast Lunch Dinner

The Food
The Fish House is not your average chippy. It is a chippy, but it's also a trendy restaurant with glass tables and modern art on the walls, befitting the upscale Victoria Park location. Their fish and chips (£9.50 eat in/£6.50 takeaway) definitely rank in the Premier League of this particular British delicacy - and at that price they had better. The batter is golden brown and very crispy, the fish underneath is succulent and meaty, the chips usually perfect, and the mushy peas are among the finest I have ever sampled.

But, as this is a restaurant as well as a takeaway, they also do restaurant food. On a recent visit my dining partner and I hesitantly ventured away from this place's staple dish and tried a few of the other things on offer. I had the crab, avocado and endive salad (£8.95). It was a bit uninteresting and bland - with raw red onions totally killing my palette. At home I usually soak my raw onions in salt water to bring down their volume before adding them to a salad. My partner had the fish cakes with a poached egg and hollandaise (£7.95). Again these were not very impressive - they were basically potato cakes with a little fish added for flavour. She felt that there was not enough hollandaise and another egg would have been better.

This being a traditional-ish chippy they also have jars of pickles on the counter. I felt I had to do my duty and try a pickled egg (50p) - which I only enjoyed after a little salt and pepper were added. For those who are health conscious, all the fish is available grilled as well as fried.

The wine
Fish House has a good wine list but annoyingly, the only glasses they offer are massive 250ml ones - the equivalent to a third of a bottle.

Pudding
I would really like to try the desserts here, but am always too stuffed to even attempt it. The last few times I've been here, they've had a tempting rhubarb Eton mess (£4.50) on the blackboard.

Breakfast
While doing a bit of research I just found out that the fish house now does breakfast. Go to the London Review of Breakfasts to read what they have to say.

Open
Monday to Friday 12pm to 10pm
Saturday and Sunday 11am - 10 pm (breakfast menu from 11am to 2pm)

Oh! Cafe at Oxford House

Derbyshire Street
Bethnal Green
London E2 6HG
Locate on Google Maps.
Phone: 020 7739 9001

www.oxfordhouse.org.uk




The Oh! Cafe is a place I have been going to for about a year now. It serves as the canteen for Oxford House but is also open to the general public with seating for maybe 25 people. It's a good spot to grab a well-prepared, inexpensive and filling lunch. (Oxford House is a community organisation that was established in 1884 and is involved in a variety of youth, immigration, arts & community work.)

The cafe's specials board usually features dishes like curry, chilli con carne, and Moroccan lamb or chicken. The regular menu has a wide range of the usual jacket potatoes as well as panini. The mains are always delicious and consist of generous portions accompanied by a salad of fresh greens and cost £3.50. They also have a selection of tasty quiches that are priced at £1.80 a slice. Another favourite of mine is a selection of cold salads that are self served. These include lentil salad, potato salad, sweetcorn, beetroot, cole slaw and stuffed vine leaves among others. These are usually too cold but at £2.80 for a large plate, £2.00 for a medium, and £1.80 for a small one it's good value.

The only thing that lets this place down is the coffee. The guys who run this place are very nice but they can't pull a decent espresso to save their lives and they heat their milk way more than is necessary. You're just throwing your money away if you order coffee - it is undrinkable. This is definitely a place for tea.

Opening hours:
9-5 Monday to Friday
10-4 Saturdays