Reel Fish & Chips — Restaurant in Hamilton

Went back after hearing there were now new owners. Certainly there is a change from what was once traditional style NZ fish and chips. Chips: Mr Chips chips - cooked through but pale and just past underdone, easy on the salt (which I prefer). Large portion for one scoop. Bacon Burger: Cheaper style pressed bacon rather than a proper rasher. Coleslaw on the burger rather than salad. Cheap meat patty in with the bacon, no cheese. Toasted buns though, thumbs up for that. Hotdog: Standard pre-cooked hot dog - large size, sauced (stuck to the bag so lost half of the batter). Donut: Lots of sugar, well cooked, crunchy on the outside and soft but well-cooked on the inside. It was very nice put with Tip-Top passion-fruit ice cream at home! Overall: Disappointing that another excellent, traditional fish and chip shop that really took care making home-made patties for their burgers, using real bacon and tasty, quality cheese has disappeared. On the whole though, reasonable value for money with the large scoop of chips, but nothing to set them apart from...

I would give it an extra half star if possible. I went there yesterday because our usual was closed and I remembered going there a couple of years ago and it was good then. While waiting I read the reviews and was a bit unsure which way it qould go. The chips were a bit dark, but cooked and not burnt, and plenty of them, appeared to not be salted though. The batter on the fish was ok, a touch doughish in the odd spot, but again not terrible. My burger (deluxe) was good, somewhat lacking in lettuce but not a big sloppy mess either. The hot dogs were ok. The service was good and the shop looked clean and tidy. I've been to better rated chip shops where everything seemed good and then noticed the chips made me feel a bit blah, these ones didn't so that's good too.

If the new owners keep reading the reviews and fine tune a couple of things they could do ok here. If I owned a chip shop I'd go order some from the competition and watch the line in action to get some ideas. All the best with your...

We have been regular customers of Reel Fish & Chips for over 10 years now, and have been so because they have supplied a superior product. Unfortunately, over the last couple of months we have noticed a definite drop in the quality of the chips, which have been more French fries in size, dry, hard, and unappetising. Still plenty of them, but half of them end up in the bin because they are not nice. We can only comment on fish and chips as that's all we buy. The fish, so far, has been just as good as ever. We would be happy to pay a little extra if necessary for the superb chips we used to get from there, or have the portions reduced in size maybe? Whatever it takes to revert back to the previous deliciousness. We will persevere for a little longer, but will go elsewhere if this is the new...