London Fish and Chips

One of my friends invited a bunch of us to the "Chippie" for her birthday, which was great fun. The location was London Fish and Chips, which is at the corner of Tryon and SE Cary Parkway, in Cary. It was quite a drive in the rain at rush hour, but the fish was excellent.

I got a half portion of cod, but I wished I'd ordered a whole, because it was really good. The fries were not nearly as good in that they were somewhat limp, as opposed to hot and crispy. They fry very small amounts of fish at a time and we provided quite a crowd, so their chips may be better at other times.

My friend said that I had to get an order of "mushy peas" and that was quite filling. I don't think they are actually supposed to taste good, but are authentic UK cuisine, so I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't bad at all. They had the consistency of mashed potatoes and tasted like overcooked and, therefore, starchy peas. They were fairly salty, too.

Like any other restaurant that serves fish here, they offered tartar or cocktail sauce, but it wasn't in the slightest bit necessary. Again, the cod was really tasty. On the tables, in addition to vinegar, they had HP sauce, which is another British favorite. It was pretty good, especially with the fries, but the fish was just too good to add anything extra.

They have what I believe is a good beer selection, including giant cans of Guinness and Boddington's Ale, which have nitrogen "widgets" inside. When the top of the can is opened, the pressure change causes a little plastic container of nitrogen to open. It was entertaining watching the beer slowly foam up after it was poured, with a much denser foam head than any other I'd seen. I like beer that's visually interesting, since I don't have any interest in actually drinking it.