Restaurant: Classic Fish & Chips
Address: 5 Cumberland Drive, Cole Harbour
Date: May 16, 2010
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $9.25

On our way to check out the fish and chips at Jamieson’s Irish House in Dartmouth we noticed an intriguing little spot just two doors down… Classic Fish & Chips. We thought, “Hey… we’ll review Jamieson’s later… lets give this place a try.”

Upon entering, all four of us uttered little squeals of delight (ok, ok… Skippy may have grunted as opposed to squealing) for what we saw. It just felt and looked like a little diner from the ’50s. Very cool. Our anticipation for the meal only increased when the waitress proclaimed their fish the absolute best in all of Halifax.

Sadly, while the look and mood of Classic Fish & Chips is great… the fish and chips themselves were far from classic. Small pieces of very greasy, oddly flavoured fish in a basket of ho-hum fries. To cap it off, at the end of the meal our very kind and pleasant waitress brought a sample of their haddock tips to our table. Wow… what a very odd, unpleasant flavour they had… like they had been made with salt cod instead of fresh haddock.

We’ll probably go back again, but next time to try their burger (it looked absolutely fabulous in the menu), but we’re going to steer clear of their fish.

Fish and Chips Score: 57.5

FCP Review Crew

Rachel’s Thoughts

The decor was very cute… a throw-back to the good ol’ days. So the expectation was the food would be like the good ol’ days too… tasty burgers, fries, milkshakes, and of course, fish and chips.

I was disappointed, as the fish was very strong tasting with a very greasy batter.  The batter was very crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside.

The fries were home-cut, but a bit musty tasting. The flavour reminded me of when I was a kid and we stored potatoes in the basement. At the end of winter they would have a unique, musty, old taste. That’s exactly what Classic’s fries tasted like.

The tartar sauce and coleslaw were homemade and quite good, but overall I would not go back for fish and chips. Next time I will try a burger.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Rachel’s Final Score: 59

Poochie’s Thoughts

As you may know, we take turns choosing places to review, and Skippy chose this joint. I’m glad it was him, because the other reviewers already give me a hard time for picking the Ardmore Tea House (which currently sits solidly in last place in our reviews). At least I didn’t pick this stinker too.

The fish was very fishy tasting. Very fishy. I grew up with a father who was a cook on the offshore fish and scallop draggers, and I know fresh fish does not taste fishy. There was no way this was fresh fish.

It was very salty too, which sorta raised the hackles on the back of my neck. We felt we were eating salted cod and not fresh haddock, but our waitress assured us it was indeed haddock.

And the batter/grease… oh my goodness. I know there’s a big oil spill going on right now in the Gulf of Mexico… but you may not be aware of the gusher taking place right here in Dartmouth. I pressed down on a piece of fish with very little pressure, and the grease that immediately seeped out, pooled, and ran down the side of the batter was horrifying. The outside was quite crispy, but the inside was almost slimy with wet batter.

The fries were home-cut but kind of blah. There was absolutely no seasoning on them at all. None. Nada.

The meal itself was quite small, especially the fish. Not even remotely worth the $9.25. Two small pieces with a decent amount of fries. It did come with good homemade tartar sauce and coleslaw (although the coleslaw came in a tiny little container, shown on the right).

One of my worst experiences eating fish and chips so far. Sadly though, I think it was marginally better than the Ardmore’s, which means I’m still responsible for the worst selection ever <*sigh*>.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Poochie’s Final Score: 59

Minnie’s Thoughts
The fish was very greasy. I pushed my fork on the top and it literally dripped. Also it tasted fishy, as opposed to fresh, and left an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth. Yuck!

The homemade fries and coleslaw were good, but I found the homemade tartar sauce a touch sweet for my liking.

I would avoid eating the fish here at Classic’s, but I still plan return because the burger in their menu looked amazing.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Minnie’s Final Score: 58

Skippy’s Thoughts

Hadn’t been here before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. Walking into the joint was a pleasant surprise: almost a fifties diner feel. This was a cool looking place. But looks can be deceiving.

Our server was great. Naturally friendly, and she assured us we were about to enjoy the best F&C in the city. (We’ve also learned not to set our expectations too high.)

Food arrived fairly quickly, and it was piping hot. But something was fishy about this fishy. It was supposed to be haddock, and we even asked to confirm this. Instead, it tasted like salt cod. Hmm.

The batter was too overcooked (on the outside) and very crunchy. Don’t get me wrong – crunchy is good, when you have the appropriate batter on the fish. However, I couldn’t even hear myself think when my teammates were biting into their fish batter. And the inside was… doughy…? (Huh?)

And the grease. Wow. Slight pressure from your fork and it just oozed forth from within. Not good.

Even the ketchup disappointed me. Not Heinz, although it was in a Heinz-shaped bottle (with no label), and the flip-top had been ripped off. It simply had a funny taste (the ketchup, not the bottle). For some, this might be a little thing. For me, all these little things add up, and ketchup is the only condiment I live by with my F&C.

The fries? Surprisingly average. Hand cut, but not great tasting, and absolutely no seasoning.

I would love to come back here some time and get a burger. I bet a burger from here would be really good. Which is odd, because Fish & Chips is right there in their name. But I think it should be Klassic with a K.

If you’re coming here to get fish and chips, I’m suggesting Jamieson’s instead. It’s only a couple doors down, a few pennies more, and the portion (fish-wise) is considerably larger.

But please, somebody try the burgers here and let me know how they taste.

PS – I liked the strawberry candies (instead of the standard after dinner mint). Yum.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Skippy’s Final Score: 54