Loch Fyne, Chelmsford: Review

I decided to go out to lunch the other day, by myself. Why? I like the peace and quiet, the chance to enjoy some food without having to deal with somebody's inane chit-chat.

I went to Loch Fyne as I love seafood and fish, have a partner is not a fan of the sea and I am not confident enough to cook my own fish. I do not trust the freshness of the fare on the fish counters at our supermarkets. We have some fish stalls at the market, but again, I'm not sure about them. I think the combination of fish of dubious freshness, combined with me not really knowing hoe to cook it is a recipe for illness.

Anyway, back to the meal. I took advantage of the '2 courses + glass of wine' offer. As I've said before, £11.50 isn't bad. I opted to start with the mussels with chilli and coriander. They arrived looking plump and perfectly cooked. There was a pleasant heat to the chilli, but was disappointed that there was not much of a fresh chilli and coriander flavour. The coriander and chilli were added at the beginning, so much of their aroma had been lost during the cooking process. It would have been better to sprinkle a little chilli and coriander just before the dish was served.

There was a really good choice on the lunch menu, 5 options for each course! For the main course I had whiting in parsley sauce on sauteed new potatoes. I remember the days when people were horrified that many fish fingers contained whiting rather than cod. If it doesn't say cod, it ain't cod! I'm not sure what their beef is with whiting, as it is perfectly nice. Ok, cod is meatier, has bigger flakes and doesn't have the slightly off-putting pink veiny bits, but cod is expensive and running out! We Brits need to wean ourselves off cod and look further afield.

Anyhow, the whiting was well seasoned and covered in a thick parsely sauce. Interestingly, the potatoes has been cooked in garlic butter. Whilst this was delicious, it did overpower the parsley somewhat. I'm surprised the garlic wasn't mentioned on the menu- there are a lot of people who detest garlic. Served with mixed veg, it was a very filling dish.

It's such a shame that there is hardly anyone in there, and places like Pizza Express are bursting at the seams!

Loch Fyne, Chelmsford: Review

On Wednesday, after a hard morning's damson picking, I needed food. It was getting late, I hadn't booked anywhere and I had a guest. A quick burger wouldn't suffice. I didn't think that my guest was a big fish fan, so I was surprised when they liked my suggestion of Loch Fyne. It's in a rather posh development next to the river. It's a bit out of the way, which may go some way to explain why there was only 3 tables of diners.

We had a look at the lunch menu, and were glad to see two courses, a side dish and a glass of wine for £11.50. There were 5 choices of starter and main course, 3 were fish, 1 meat option and 1 vegetarian option. I opted for the mussels with shallots and bacon, followed by hake, sauteed new potatoes, samphire in a mustard dressing and a side salad. My guest had grilled sardines with caper and shallot dressing then the salmon fillet with chilli oil, citrus couscous and a side order of new potatoes.

We each had the house white, and were pleasantly surprised that it was a rather palatable, fruity and dry. I've had some pretty ropey house whites, but this was pretty good. My only gripe was that the lunch menu does not come with a non-alcoholic drink. Alcohol at lunch time is not everyone's choice, and the lunch menu is inclusive of a glass of wine. I asked if I could have a soft drink or a tea instead, and was told I could only have wine or tap water!

The starters arrived and I was presented with some lovely plump mussels- just the right quantity for a starter. My only grumble was that the bacon was rather anaemic looking; I would have preferred it to have been cook long enough for it to start to go brown. My guest's sardines were delicious. I am a bit squeamish about oily fish; the flavour can be too strong. These sardines were moist and the sharp dressing cut through the rich flavour.

My guest was similarly impressed with their main course. The salmon, crispy skinned and moist fleshed, was able to stand up to the chilli oil. The citrus couscous, albeit a small portion, was refreshing. My hake was perfectly cooked. My guest claimed not to like hake, but after I removed the spine, she dug her fork in a changed her mind. It's been quite a while since I've had samphire and I'd forgotten how delicious it can be. Luckily, I didn't notice the mustard dressing, as I didn't want it to ruin the flavour of a delicate dish. The salad was very enjoyable as it went beyond the boring house salads I have eaten elsewhere. It was a well-dressed concoction of cherry tomato, spring onion, celery, spring onion, chicory and mixed leaves.

The service was efficient and friendly, so my only complaint was a minor niggle about the bacon.

By rights, if this restaurant was better situated this restaurant would be full!