Today, I had lunch with my sister at Oldhams Fish Restaurant (see here for their website and see here for their Facebook page), in Westcliff (near to the Palace Theatre). It wasn’t planned but we both liked the idea of catching up while eating nicely cooked fish and chips and both of us have good memories of Oldhams over many years, and it was this that finally influenced our decision.

We both went for their lunch time special – fish, chips, salad, roll and butter and drink of our choice. It was sufficient for our needs and represented very good value. My sister added a gherkin and I added pickled onions and mushy peas. We were not disappointed. The staff were helpful and friendly and made us feel welcomed. We had no problems with the food; the fish was fantastic.

The eating area was small and basic and when we arrived around 1pm it was getting fairly full – mainly with old dears (like us) and returning customers (always a good sign). The ambience was nothing much to speak about but the service was warm and efficient and the value and quality of the food that was served was excellent. It wasn’t particularly disabled friendly (the toilets were upstairs and none disabled and the hard chairs a bit on the challenging to get up from category). No fault of the restaurant but parking was a bit far away and it might have been further if not having a blue badge. My sister ate everything and she had no room for dessert. I didn’t eat everything (portions were good and, these days, more than enough for me). I couldn’t resist a dessert though and enjoyed a nut sundae.

All in all, it was a good decision and a pleasant experience and certainly a place to return to in the future.