 Better than your average chippy! 
The Best Fish & Chips In London!
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Recommendation added: 14/06/2006 22:29
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +825)dewberry has been thanked 4 times for this contribution
"The best place to eat fish & chips in London (possibly in the UK!) has to be the Harry Ramsden's Restaurant in The Regent Palace Hotel, Piccadilly.
You don't have to be a resident at the hotel to eat at the restaurant, although you will need to go to the front desk and let them know you're wandering around the building. This is a really straightforward process and you'll soon be following the delicious fish & chip aroma to the restaurant.
When we arrived we chose our own table and waited for someone to come and take our order. There's both a smoking and non-smoking area in Harry Ramsden's which, as a smoker, I thought was good. The smoking area is very well ventilated and I'd say the restaurant has made every attempt to make the dining experience a comfortable one for non-smokers too.
Although the premise of Harry Ramsden's is chips with everything, the menu is much more extensive than your average chippy. I'm a great believer in the 'when in Rome' adage, so in the UK's best known chip shop I've got to have fish & chips really, haven't I?
For £8.99 you can sample the best cod & chips I've ever tasted, it really is a delicious meal. Neither the battered cod or chips are overly greasy, and there's a huge piece of cod inside a thick and crispy batter. A generous sprinkling of salt and vinegar makes the most of the chunky chips which Harry Ramsden's are famous for, making them taste like traditional chippy chips. This meal comes with a good portion of either garden or mushy peas.
All their meals come with a choice of battered and fried or poached fish, and you can also substitute the chips for boiled spuds or a green salad. Great for dieters! The menu offers much more than fish & chips, however, and my partner ate a delicious looking gammon steak which he said tasted as good as it looked. There's also a wide selection of starters which includes soup, prawn salad and the wonderful sounding smoked salmon salad.
A good selection of drinks are available and are pretty reasonably priced, I drank Irish Liqueur Coffee's throughout my meal and they were deliciously smooth with a healthy alcoholic kick. My partner enjoyed the bottled Black Sheep Ale which, from my one sip, seemed a very fresh smooth drink.
The restaurant area is really nice, very classy looking with clean and stylish décor. Napkins, cutlery and wine glasses along with a jug of water are ready on your table when you sit down and menus are handed out when you place your first drinks order. I found the staff in the restaurant to be polite and helpful throughout my visit, all questions I asked about the menu were quickly and accurately answered and staff were prompt to return with drinks and condiments.
With extremely wide aisles between the table, Harry Ramsden's in The Regent Palace is completely accessible to both disabled visitors and families with prams. There are also separate disabled and nappy changing toilets, which are well laid out and clean. All toilets in Harry Ramsden's are spotless, no grotty chip shop loos here!
We spent a total of £40 for our meal and several drinks, and this was money well spent. The food in the restaurant is fantastic, the surroundings are comfortably relaxed and there's a generally nice atmosphere in the place.
To find The Regent Palace Hotel (and Harry Ramsden's) is probably best by tube, simply get off at Piccadilly Circus and take a short five minute walk down Regent Street and onto Glasshouse Street, where the hotel is situated.
It's possible to visit by car, although because of parking restrictions I wouldn't recommend it. Follow the signs to Central London, then Piccadilly Circus. Drive along Regent Street then turn into Glasshouse Street to find the hotel – although you'll need to then turn into Brewer Street, following the signs to the local NCP car park. You can either park here and walk back on yourself to get to the hotel, or be lucky enough to grab one of the (very few) metered parking spaces outside the hotel itself. Either way, you're not guaranteed a space in such a busy area so I'd use public transport if possible. You've got a choice of at least 15 buses which go down Regent Street (including numbers 3, 83, 94 and 159) which you can catch from practically any area of Central London.
Harry Ramsden's
The Regent Palace Hotel
Piccadilly Circus
London
W1A 4BZ
Tel: 02072 873148"
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