With a fantastic location opposite College Green and Bristol Cathedral, Catch22 would be worth a visit even if it hadn’t been dubbed ‘the best fish and chips ever’ by the local paper.
It’s a simple set up, with a counter for take away and a dining room simply decorated with plain wooden tables and stripped floors, though blue walls and banquette seating make the place look more stylish than the average chippie, as too industrial touches like metal pillars.
The menu, too, is contemporary. You can of course have traditional fish and chips or cod, haddock, plaice, lemon sole et al, prepared to order in homemade batter with extras of chips, onion rings and pickled onions, eggs and gherkins. There are pies too - steak, steak and kidney or chicken and mushroom – as well as burgers and breadcrumbed seafood such as scampi or calamari.
But you can also have your fish cooked simply in a blend of herbs and spices (lemon and herb, garlic or cajun) or even vegan fish and chips made with banana blossom, marinated in samphire, seaweed and lemon and served with vegan tartare sauce.
A kids' menu offers the likes of cod, haddock, calamari, scampi and chicken bites with chips and a side (mushy peas, curry, gravy) for £7.95, or else there are smaller versions of fish cakes, battered mushrooms and halloumi.
To drink, there are all the usual cans of soft drinks, plus retro Ben Shaw, classy S.Pellegrino flavoured waters as well as a short wine and beer list well chosen for fish: Reserve Saint Marc Sauvignon Blanc from the Pays d’Oc, say, or Cheddar Ales Potholer golden ale.
If you don’t fancy eating in, it’s worth noting that Catch22 is a five-minute walk from Bristol Hippodrome: perfect for a pre- or post-show meal on the hoof.