Restaurant Review #3 - Pier 1 Richmond
Hi everyone,
You can't live in the UK without having fish and chips on occasion. While most chippy's are generally low quality, there are plenty of decent fish and chips restaurants. Working in Richmond has its perks as it contains a wide variety of lunch hot-spots. Surprisingly, this includes a chippy that appeared quite appetising. The main entrance of Pier 1 appears like a traditional fish and chips establishment. An open kitchen welcomes you with chairs available for those waiting to take-away their meal. However, Pier 1 has an extension to a spacious, well designed restaurant dining room. We were the first customers of the day which unfortunately meant the dining room was chilly. Luckily, once the owners turned the heating on, the dining room got warmer as our meal progressed.
The menu at Pier 1 is quite varied when comparing it to your normal chippy. They include grilled fish options for those not inclined to feast on the greasy national favourite. Rather obviously, the menu is primarily comprised of fish; their selection include: cod, haddock, salmon, plaice and halibut. The owner explained that they recently acquired fresh halibut which was impressive as I have struggled to get my hands on this elusive fish in recent times. I found the option to order a sirloin steak quite surprising in this 'fish' restaurant, but other than that, the menu seemed solid. The prices were competitive; main course fish dishes range from £12-20.
The owner was very engaging and explained the availability and origin of their fish and how they were caught. For those that are curious, they obtain line caught fishes. They also had specials and craft beer which I found encouraging. Today, I was not in the mood for battered fish and decided to order the grilled salmon with new potatoes. I found the owner trying to justify deep frying halibut with batter quite amusing, but generally he seemed knowledgable and willing to give recommendations on what is currently fresh. His recommendation to have a craft honey beer with my meal was well received. My salmon was well cooked and packed a flavour. A few things could be improved such as the salad, it seemed a bit old. I also thought it could have been accompanied better; they chose to pair the salmon with a sweet sauce which was ok but not special. But the salmon itself was very tasty. One of my colleagues had a traditional fried cod and chips. There were no complaints from his side. My other colleague had the grilled haddock which was not bad but somewhat underwhelming. Overall, this 'chippy' is quite interesting and much better compared to most of its competition. The owners seem to know what they are doing and providing good quality food to its customers. I feel like this restaurant could become a hit with a few minor changes.
Price: Competitive
Food: Fresh Fish
Service: Knowledgable and Engaging Owners
Rating: 3/5
Fun Fact: Fish and chips originally came from Portuguese migrants
You can't live in the UK without having fish and chips on occasion. While most chippy's are generally low quality, there are plenty of decent fish and chips restaurants. Working in Richmond has its perks as it contains a wide variety of lunch hot-spots. Surprisingly, this includes a chippy that appeared quite appetising. The main entrance of Pier 1 appears like a traditional fish and chips establishment. An open kitchen welcomes you with chairs available for those waiting to take-away their meal. However, Pier 1 has an extension to a spacious, well designed restaurant dining room. We were the first customers of the day which unfortunately meant the dining room was chilly. Luckily, once the owners turned the heating on, the dining room got warmer as our meal progressed.
The menu at Pier 1 is quite varied when comparing it to your normal chippy. They include grilled fish options for those not inclined to feast on the greasy national favourite. Rather obviously, the menu is primarily comprised of fish; their selection include: cod, haddock, salmon, plaice and halibut. The owner explained that they recently acquired fresh halibut which was impressive as I have struggled to get my hands on this elusive fish in recent times. I found the option to order a sirloin steak quite surprising in this 'fish' restaurant, but other than that, the menu seemed solid. The prices were competitive; main course fish dishes range from £12-20.
The owner was very engaging and explained the availability and origin of their fish and how they were caught. For those that are curious, they obtain line caught fishes. They also had specials and craft beer which I found encouraging. Today, I was not in the mood for battered fish and decided to order the grilled salmon with new potatoes. I found the owner trying to justify deep frying halibut with batter quite amusing, but generally he seemed knowledgable and willing to give recommendations on what is currently fresh. His recommendation to have a craft honey beer with my meal was well received. My salmon was well cooked and packed a flavour. A few things could be improved such as the salad, it seemed a bit old. I also thought it could have been accompanied better; they chose to pair the salmon with a sweet sauce which was ok but not special. But the salmon itself was very tasty. One of my colleagues had a traditional fried cod and chips. There were no complaints from his side. My other colleague had the grilled haddock which was not bad but somewhat underwhelming. Overall, this 'chippy' is quite interesting and much better compared to most of its competition. The owners seem to know what they are doing and providing good quality food to its customers. I feel like this restaurant could become a hit with a few minor changes.
Price: Competitive
Food: Fresh Fish
Service: Knowledgable and Engaging Owners
Rating: 3/5
Fun Fact: Fish and chips originally came from Portuguese migrants
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