Finn's Fish & Chips — Restaurant in Reading

First and foremost this isn't a bad chippy but it's certainly not a great one either. If you want a clean and tidy shop, nicely done out and modern then you have that. The location isn't great but you will get parked somewhere and hopefully you won't get a ticket as it's mainly residents permits close to the shop. On to the food and let's look at the price for starters. Fish and chips and I decided upon Cod was a whopping £9.25! For that money I expect nee demand top drawer quality. Unfortunately it's just not and here's why. I ordered my fish to be freshly cooked and was told all fish is cooked to order. This is no doubt true as I know that they cooked my piece for me. Incredibly though and I was really taken by surprise by this. The fish was and I have no doubt about this either by the way, a piece from a packet or box! As in a Young's or Bird's Eye or possibly a Harry Ramsdens frozen or similar. Yes it provides consistency, and yes the quality is fine and No they didn't admit that was the case because I didn't ask. However I am in no doubt about it whatsoever. How can I be so sure you might ask? Simple really it's not just that I've been eating fish and chips for 50 odd years and know all about fresh wet fish. It's also two much more relevant factors. One the fish is the shape, size and depth of all the processed brands I've already mentioned. All four pieces I viewed being placed in the holding display area ahead of being served were virtually identical in size and form. Secondly all processed brands add a certain ingredient to safeguard the fish that is contained within the batter. I know this as my love of fish and chips harks back to my childhood and having a close family friend that worked for Findus ahead of having their own chip shop for some years. To this day the preservative is still used in all frozen fish batters and it has a particular taste. That taste is unmistakable once you know it and you won't find it in any chippy that makes its own batter. So was the fish and chips good? Well it was okay, wasn't bad but certainly not in my opinion traditional fish and chips. I felt the chips were nothing special but perfectly edible none the less and crispy. The fish consistent and of a perfectly acceptable quality for a supermarket café or a Wetherspoons, but certainly not for a chippy claiming to be a bastion of traditional fish and chips. Would I go again? Honestly no I wouldn't because the price did not represent good value and if you think of a Sainsbury's cafe fish and chips this is pretty much what you are buying here. There are better chippies than this one not so far away that offer better value and are much more traditional in the fish they serve at least. Nice shop, clean, staff friendly but anything but traditional...

Small portions, similar amount of chips but bigger box for 'large', unfriendly man and a general sense that it has pretentions above its level. Mr Cod is better, cheaper, doesn't have blurred boundaries on portions 🤣 hopefully you guys don't take this the wrong way, i did it to help!

I heard Finn's being lauded as a brilliant fish and chips place, so i gave it a go last summer. I ordered 3 large chip boxes from the unfriendly man serving who seemed to act more like he was doing an incredibly important job like saving the UK from a huge terror threat, than what he was actually doing; shovelling greasy bits of fried potato into a box. I did find it quite amusing but in the end it was just a bit weird if I'm honest - i am always reeeaaally nice and friendly to servers etc! So it takes a lot to not get on with me. All it takes is a smile - just relax and be happy, and you'll have customers flooding back.

Unfortunately, unlike Mr Cod where you are given a good amount, the large portion of chips was just the normal portion but in a bigger box. There was a lot of room left when i opened it. So much so i thought "ah that old trick eh!" - they saw me coming. I hadn't been fooled like that since bags of crisps in primary school 🤣🤣 The chips themselves were quite average, again Mr Cod...

a) Not going to make any fish puns, sorry. This is not the plaice. b) WOW !! I really loved this fish and chip shop. Best fish and chips I've had in a long time, and I've had fish and chips in quite a few "fancier" places. c) You straight away get the impression that Finn's puts the magic ingredient of love into what they do. From the paper bags, sauces and dips to the sheer work and effort on a Saturday night, everything is the best it can be. d) Despite the much higher quality than your average chippy, the prices are firmly chip shop prices. e) the dips and sauces are unforgettable, no warm sachet of unidentifiable watery goo here, the home made tartar sauce and chili and lemon dip taste like they are from a five star restaurant. f) Some people like their fish heavily battered to the point where its almost still uncooked; Finn's fish were lightly battered, and I think they are better for it. g) I know this place gets a lot of praise, but I think it deserves more. Certainly nothing comes close in Reading. h) A big thank you to Finns and their staff for their passion and hard work. They've elevated fish and chips to a higher level than just about any other take away food without elevating the prices. If there was an Oscars for this, they would truly...