Loch Fyne - Walmgate
Loch Fyne prides itself on serving freshly cooked fish dishes and ever since one of the restaurants opened on Walmgate I have been wanting to try it. However, lacking the necessary funds (Loch Fyne is not somewhere that exactly fits the average student budget) I have had to wait until quite recently when my Mum and Dad visited York.
The first thing that strikes you about Loch Fyne is the gorgeous setting, right next to the river in an old building which was previously the F.R. Stubbs ironmongers. While from the outside the glass-fronted entrance feels imposing, the interior is tastefully decorated, keeping many of the building’s original features and creating a relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy eating.
Ironically, the best starter out of the three we chose actually contained no fish whatsoever; my mum’s potato and spinach soup was one of the specials on offer that evening and was certainly better received than my salad of Islay beef, rocket and pancetta (coated in mayonnaise, making it almost impossibe to taste anything else) and my dad’s very odd-looking potted brown shrimps.
For main course we all chose the ‘Bradan Rost’, kiln-roasted salmon with a whisky and wild mushroom sauce. At £9.95 a portion and one of the cheaper fish dishes on the menu, this seems a reasonable price until it becomes apparent that you have to order separate side dishes at around £3.45 each. At first I thought the salmon was cooked to perfection and deliciously seasoned with a wonderful strong flavour, but by the end of the meal I was left feeling overpowered by the seasoning and wishing that more had been made of the sauce, which contained only a few slices of mushroom.The salty taste left us feeling quite dehydrated - perhaps a trick to persuade customers to spend a little more on the bottled water?
While Loch Fyne is the place to go in York for fresh fish, perhaps it is advisable to steer clear of the starters and choose one of the plainer main courses.
