Poppies Fish & Chips, London

On my days off I have taken to spending a lot of time googling and compiling lists of more restaurants I want to eat at - on one particular day I was typing in things like "best pie in London", "best burger in London" (a matter in which I have a lot of interest!) and, the search that led to this particular visit, "best fish and chips in London". Poppies appeared on a lot of the lists which I then read, and so I decided a visit there had to be paid, and I enlisted the help of my interrail friend, Anne Marie, to sample it!

We went to the Spitalfields branch, and as you can probably see from the front of the menu, they've given the whole restaurant an old-fashioned post-war feel, which I thought gave it a really fun atmosphere - even the waitresses are dressed in 1940s style clothing. Apparently the owner (Pop!) has been serving fish and chips all his life, which adds to the authenticity of the place. They also support sustainable fishing.

You can see the menu online here. For starter we decided to share the hot seafood platter - scampi, calamari, whitebait and cod bites - what's not to like?!?

The best thing about it was the whitebait - it tasted unbelievably fresh! The batter was crisp and light and not greasy at all, which can be a fish and chip shop's downfall!
For main we both decided to go for something a bit different from the usual haddock and cod, so we chose halibut - I had tried battered monkfish at the Magpie in Whitby (another amazing fish and chip place which I need to revisit and blog about!) and wanted to try another meaty fish and see how it compared! Normally when I get fish and chips as a takeaway it's not actually fish I get (I'm a battered sausage fan!) but in this kind of restaurant you've got to try the fish as you just know it will be great!

I had the obligatory side order of bread and butter (but look how nice and thick it is - no white sliced here!).

Anne Marie also had a VERY generous sized portion of curry sauce - it almost looks like a starter of soup!

The fish and chips here most definitely did not disappoint - the batter was, again, light and crispy, and the fish was amazing! Piping hot inside the batter, fresh, and really meaty.

Yum

The chips were soft, fat and delicious, and when doused in salt and vinegar may have been the best fish and chip shop chips I have ever had! I also love tartare sauce and this one went perfectly with both the fish and the chips - I had two pots of it and nearly needed more!

Very happy

Never ones to be defeated by a mere starter and main, we decided to have some traditional English pudding to finish off our meal - apple pie and sticky toffee

Both were warming and just what you need before heading back home on a cold November night! I especially liked the apple pie with its slightly flaky yet also deliciously stodgy pasty. I will definitely be coming back to Poppies, whether it's for a sit down meal or for a takeaway traditionally bundled up in newspaper - not sure I'll be able to resist going back to my battered sausage roots though!