Loch Fyne has 25 restaurants across the UK, and a sister company, Loch Fyne oysters who supply much of the seafood. Their restaurants all carry the same menu, viewable on their website.
I have visited their Guildford, Reading, Portsmouth and Covent Garden restaurants and am pleased to report decent cooking across the board, other than one travesty of a meal last Christmas, where the seabass was undercooked, the wine corked and the service lousy.
As is often the case with ‘chain’ restaurants and indeed fish in general, at Loch Fyne the simplest things are the most well prepared dishes on the menu, with the added advantage of being more economical than the more complex options. For example the seabass with salsa verde at £12.95 or the poached smoked haddock with mash, spinach, peas and wholegrain mustard sauce at under a tenner are winners, the meagre portion of scallops and king prawns at £15 less so. Smoked salmon in various forms is a safe bet. Moules, either served mariniere-style (traditional french with onion, white wine and parsley) or thai style are usually juicy and plentiful, at a very reasonable £5 for a starter of £9 for a larger main dish. Oysters at £8 for six or £14 for a dozen are of good quality.
Pleasingly, the Guildford restaurant was able to respond to my request for a red wine and shallot vinagarette to accompany oysters but annoyingly served it in a jug with a neck so narrow the shallots wouldn’t come out. The sizeable mixed salad at £2.75 often comes with fine green beans and is big enough to share. Bread is plentiful, but for my palate too airy and soft for shellfish.
To drink, I usually stick with the muscadet, around £13 a bottle which is fresh, stone dry and possessing a slight acidic edge which complements the fish. I should make particular mention of the Portsmouth branch at Gunwharf Quay which has very friendly service and the added advantage of offering draught lager - great news for moule lovers!
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