CK It’s Friday which as well as the end of the week, means FISH! The tradition of eating fish on Fridays stems from religion but fish and chips is a national favourite, enjoyed day in, day out around the country. I was kindly invited to dine in Saltwaters, and so my two children & I visited for our fish supper. We were pleasantly surprised by what we found.
Family owned, Saltwaters arrived in Tonbridge earlier this year with quite a pedigree – it relocated from fashionable Belgravia and has 50 years’ experience in frying and chipping. Its smart, shiny signage on the library roundabout offers a lovely welcome to the High Street.
There was a table already eating when we arrived and a real mix of people trickled into the tastefully decorated restaurant creating a lovely buzz.
The quality of the ingredients is impressive – fresh fish, homemade batter, quality Aberdeen Angus beef in its burgers. The menu is really varied with something for everyone – veggie burgers & peri peri chicken making an appearance. And don’t forget about their gluten free Mondays.
We were there to taste the dishes that have brought Stevie Wonder into their Belgravia chippie: calamari, salt and pepper squid, fish bites and gourmet fish fingers to start which were delicious. The calamari and squid were cooked to perfection encased in a crunchy, amber batter.
Each fish is cooked to order, it’s not left sitting in the batter in the fryer so despite being a ‘chippie’ you will have a ‘restaurant wait’ as your dish is prepared. But it’s worth the wait.
The cod that arrived was lightly battered and so not as greasy or filling as perhaps you might have had before. The chips are hand chipped and twice fried resulting in a great crunch on the outside, fluffy potato on the inside; the side salad tasty too. My children had a mini fish and chips and a chicken nuggets and chips which they mostly devoured but had clearly not paced themselves on the starters *rolls eyes*.
If you have room for pudding, the menu features classics like sticky toffee pud, crumble, and ice cream, including some interesting flavours like coconut and fruits of the forest.
Saltwaters is a really versatile place – great for families or eating out with friends. They have wine and beer, it’s informal and would be a great stop-off from the nearby train station if you didn’t want to cook.
It might be famed for its traditional fish and chips but, like the sea there’s a lot more beneath the surface. As we long for comfort food in this cold weather, Saltwaters will provide it alongside a very warm welcome.
Saltwaters has kindly donated a generous prize to ’12 Days of Feastmas’ so don’t forget to keep liking and sharing from 1 December to be in with a chance of winning!
