Livebait  

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This restaurant is part of a chain. Our review of the Covent garden branch said...

Fish and chips are still alive and well as the nation’s number one takeaway dish, despite the rise of Chinese, Indian and other competitors. Livebait is the better dressed, flashier, younger brother which plonks the idea in central London, endeavouring to upgrade the experience to business class.

The green and white tiled interior is a kitsch nod to its heritage, which whilst being a midge sterile, the place floods with atmosphere as soon as it’s half-full (which is often). Swiftly moving staff keep the place ticking over in an unobtrusive manner, but can be a little sluggish at peak times.

You can’t beat the oysters which really are top notch, and the shellfish platter is a fresh-as-a-morning-swim pile of crustaceans, balanced invitingly on a scree of ice. Some of the main courses were a bit to flashy for our liking – why would you want to disguise the flavour of this fabulous, fresh fish with needless adjuncts? Of course, you can’t go wrong with the fish and chips. There’s no conceit here either, your cod, haddock or plaice comes with mushy peas of the brightest green.