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It must be a couple of decades since City staple Chamberlain’s established itself as one of the best places to visit if you’re into seafood. Arriving fresh and daily from Billingsgate, the food there is quite exceptional but comes, of course, at a price. It’s nice of them, then, to aim at the lower end of the market and open a fish and chip shop next door. The food is still fresh, still cooked by the in-house chefs and still comes at a price.
The menu is sparse. Skin-on cod (£7.50) fishcake (£4.50) or a daily special (£6.95) are your choices and for a further £2 you can have chips (£2.75 for a large size) – all sitting in heated trays under heat lamps. There are seats outside if you want passers-by to see you’re eating at Chamberlain’s (albeit out of a cardboard box) but you’ll have to brave the winds that infamously hurtle around the crossroads of Leadenhall – blankets are thoughtfully provided, though.
But was it any good? The fish was undoubtedly fresh and very flaky, but light on the batter. The fishcakes were well-prepared enough to avoid crumbling as soon as a wooden fork touched them, while the daily deal nuggets were crispy lumps of different types of fish and very good. House-made sauce pots incur a 30p charge (remember where you are), or you can buy other extras, such as pickled eggs and onions, or mushy peas, for a quid. At least the salt and vinegar is free. Your local chippy is probably cheaper – and just as good – but for City workers, this’ll do just fine.