Mine was poor, his was great!

Rating - Overall: 2  Food: 3  Service: 3  Ambience: 2

jonesey
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Jun 09
Rating: 0

18 Jun 2009

We visited Fishworks for an early-evening meal before a show at the Theatre Royal, and told our waiter that we had a finish time of 7.30 latest in mind. With hardly a soul there when we arrived at 6.15, we didn't expect to be gulping down our coffee and chasing for the bill, but guess what? We did.

Fishworks' financial problems at the end of 2008 didn't put us off going, as we had eaten at other branches before. Still, it was a pity that the environment felt so tired. The royal blue paintwork seemed dull, the walls not as white as they could have been. The upstairs dining room was kitted out with Formica-style dining tables and chairs that felt like a student canteen. The walls were hung with acrylic paintings of Cornish-looking scenes that had no artistic merit at all. Not minimalist, just very third-rate.

Opting for a starter and main due to the constraints on time, I ordered whitebait, which you don't see much these days. When it arrived, it was served in a perfunctory way, with just a slice of lemon and a little pot of sauce. You can't perhaps make whitebait really sing, but you can at least try! Not so much as a dusting of pepper of a scattering of greenstuff around the plate to add a touch of class. Disappointing. My partner's white prawns in a butter and lemon sauce, on the other hand, were excellent. A large portion of truly massive prawns that looked good and tasted good.

The mains were equally unbalanced. My salmon Hollandaise was dull, and rather small on the plate. The sauce didn't look freshly applied, but was perhaps a couple of minutes old. But my partner's swordfish steak was "the best he had ever tasted".

Not cheap, these mains, at about £15 with vegetables extra.

No time for dessert. The first two courses had come within a reasonable time, and the restaurant was filling up but was not yet screamingly busy. Yet we had to work hard to catch the waiter's eye to get coffee and the bill.

Coffee had the added bonus of a chocolate nibble, which does demonstrate that this restaurant doesn't skimp on the final course.

The bill came to £75, which included two glasses of wine and 12.5 per cent service.

The lesson is maybe to at least spend the whole evening eating if you're spending lots of money on a meal.

Visited: June 13, 2009
What I ate: white king prawns, swordfish, whitebait, salmon Hollandaise

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Over priced

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 2  Ambience: 2

Thediner
Gastronome
Member since Oct 08
Rating: 1

13 Jan 2009

Went here for lunch just beofre xmas as i pass it everyday and love the fresh fish in the Window.

I was told that this is the place for seafood, well that maybe be the case and i know seafood is not cheap but some of the prices are excessive to say the least.

I went for Skate wing with caper butter it was very good but had to be for £15 not including pots or veg!!

I see in the press they are not doing well and are offering 50% off all food through Jan/Feb this is a good time to make the most of Fishworks because i would not pay full price i'm afriad, i left feeling a little cheated

Visited: December 20, 2008
What I ate: Skate

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Lost its way...

Rating - Overall: 1  Food: 1  Service: 1  Ambience: 1

MattNation
Connoisseur
Member since May 08
Rating: 2

8 Dec 2008

Very sad to have to report that Fishworks appears to have gone badly downhill in recent times. I used to love this place, it was pricey, but the food was wonderful - fresh fish, simply, but well presneted and cooked. This last visit was a business outing with 8 diners. After 1.5 hours of waiting, only half of us had been served with our entrees. The service was poor, the quality of food only average. (the fish soup was woefully over cooked). After 2.5 hours, we left. Two of us were never served are main courses. We were only asked to pay for the wine, but the evening was ruined, so that wasn't really the point. Extremely disappointed. Having asked around, I understand that this wasn't a one off and that their standards have crashed recently. Come on Fishworks, you used to be soo good, what happened?!

Visited: November 1, 2008
What I ate: seafood soup, bread, monkfish

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