There was a massive backlash when Gordon Ramsay launched The River Restaurant at The Savoy, London, and people saw the price of a plate of fish and chips – is Gordon’s fish supper worth it?
Even after recent increases in the price of fish and potatoes, the average price for a regular portion of fish and chips in the UK is still around £10 to £11. But at Gordon Ramsay’s swish chippy in London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel, diners can expect to pay close to three times that amount.
Is Gordon’s £29 fish supper worth the money? Restaurant reviewer Gary Hanna decided to find out, and documented the results on his GaryEats YouTube channel.
He was immediately impressed by the luxurious surroundings, saying that the décor was “absolutely mesmerising.”
Gary explained: “You’re greeted, and you’re brought through and there’s a huge great big dome and it looks fantastic.”
The views over the River Thames are also spectacular, Gary says, even though he opted for a table in a quieter part of the restaurant away from the windows, to make it easier to film his review.
For a starter, James selected a smoked haddock and mussel chowder, which was priced at £16. He was quite surprised by how it looked: “The presentation was completely different to what I expected,” he said.
“It came up with some of the Jersey royals underneath. Then you have the two mussels and then they pour the chowder all around it.”
But there was no quibbling about the taste, Gary added: “There’s a beautiful combination of flavours there,” he said, praising the way that the smoky taste of the haddock blended well with the creamy texture.
He only had one complaint – there wasn’t quite enough of it. Only having two mussels served up surprised Gary, with him declaring: “I need more than two.
“They’ve added another level of sweetness,” he added. “They’re nice and plump, but there’s only two of them. Come on. I want more, Gordon!”
But the main event, of course, is the fish and chips. It arrived at Gary’s table beautifully presented, with a crisp-looking piece of battered haddock sprinkled with flakes of sea salt, along with chunky chips, and little pots of crushed peas and tartare sauce.
Marvelling at the crispiness of the beer batter, Gary noted that the piece of haddock within wasn’t all that big. In terms of flavour, he said, it was definitely better than fellow chef Tom Kerridge’s offering, although it didn’t quite reach the heights of Heston Blumenthal’s fish and chips.
He pointed out: “The batter is incredible. The haddock is just lacking in size. There isn’t there isn’t much of it…”
The chips came in for particular praise, with Gary gushing about their “meaty, chunky” texture. He was also “blown away” by the minty peas and the near-perfect tartar sauce.
Adding that the service trod the perfect line between attentive and unobtrusive, Gary conclude that there was only one thing wrong with Gordon Ramsay’s fish and chips: “Everything’s actually really, really good, apart from the fact that, in my opinion, it needs a bit more haddock.
“You’ve got to bear in mind that this cost £29.50. I’ll tell you what do Gordon; put the price up by 50p and chuck in a big chunk of haddock.”