The Frying Scotsman — Restaurant in Beaverton

I've been hearing about this place for a long time, it's very highly rated amongst metro-area chippies. The pricing is very fair for the amount of food that you get. I ordered the large order of haddock and chips, and a coke, for $17 before tip.

When I got my food, about ten minutes after ordering, there were several very large pieces of fish, a large quantity of fried potatoes, one unfortunately too small portion of tartar sauce, and one equally small couple bites of coleslaw. After the traditional sprinkling of salt and dousing of malt vinegar, I settled down to eat.

I first took a bite of the fish without any of the malt vinegar or tartar sauce. The flavor was good, although my first impression was that the breading was still sort of oily. Because the fish was fresh from the fryer, I burned my tongue and the roof of my mouth on the first bite. Definitely my fault.

As I moved through the fish, the fish remained very oily, and actually I believe was causing the pieces to break. That is actually my biggest complaint about the fish, that it was oily and didn't hold together in large pieces very well. The breading was decently flavorful both with and without the seasonings and vinegar.

The chips were definitely not up to what I've come to expect from an authentic chippy. These seemed like they were store-bought or mass produced, not made fresh to order. Perhaps it's a difference between English and Scottish styles? They were definitely freshly cooked, and very hot, and cooked through nicely, but they didn't have that authentic square cut experience that I've come to expect from other authentic local places like the Horse Brass or The Fish and Chip Shop.

Overall, I would eat here again, as there are other flavors of fish to try, and see if maybe my experience with the oiliness is just a one-time thing. I will definitely come back, it's just not in my normal area of regular travels. Still definitely better than most places you can get fish and chips in the area, although I think that the English style fish and chips such as Horse Brass and The Fish and Chip Shop are a little better to my taste.

But please, don't take my word for it, taste it for yourself. You will...

Unfortunately Very Disappointing

I've been wanting to try this place for a few months now. Finally tried today and I'm sad to say it was very disappointing. First off, James King who owns this wee braw place needs to be more personable. Maybe he's been in Portland too long, bcse I've met and know lots of Scots from Scotland and not a one of them have been this unpleasant. No greeting, no smile, no attention until I said hello and would like to order..... and even then it was like interacting with Eyore. Zero personality beyond his wonderful Scottish accent. Next, we ordered Traditional Scottish Haddock & Chips and IRN BRU. (NO LINE......FEELING VERY VERY EXCITED AS WE WAIT FOR THE FOOD) The food is fresh & ready, we get the HP, salt and Malt Vinegar for our food and proceed to sit in the sun and enjoy. (Mouth watering) Upon opening the IRN BRU, the caps seemed a tad bit loose but the safety seal was still intact. I payed no further mind bcse I notice this drink was bottled in Glasgow.. So I'm stoked to have the "Real Deal". I open the bottle... no fizz. Took a drink... completely flat! BOTH BOTTLES! @ $4 per bottle, I'm not happy about this. I consider taking the bottles back to the food truck.... but then my mind remembers how unfriendly Mr. King was and I'm like no...I'm not going to bother him with a couple of flat drinks. Finally, down to the food. This fish was soooo very greasy! So much grease! The tartar sauce was good. The chips were fair to middle. The coleslaw was full of onions. I took only one small bite and here I am 3 hours later still tasting the onion in my mouth. I have been to Scotland and I have enjoyed many scrumptious fish & chips there ! This stuff at The Frying Scotsman is not good. I'm very disappointed and feel that this experience on the whole was so bad that I will...

Disclaimer: I’ve never been to the UK so I can’t compare UK/English/Scottish pub haddock and chips to anything but American, Mexican and Chinese varieties of the dish I’ve had during my travels. My review is face value only. My visit was on Friday September 27th at around 11:30 am right before lunch rush. There were two orders ahead of mine. I had the large portion of the crispy haddock and chips at $14 per plate. The fish was fully cooked and tasted like haddock but the batter was mushy on one side and crispy on the other. The chips we large irregular shaped chunks of deep fried potato. Most were cooked properly but the huge variety of potato sizes meant they didn’t cook evenly. At $14 per plate I expect better prepared food. The tarter sauce was very good but the slaw was a shamefully small portion. 1/2 of a small portion cup = 1 small spoonful of cold slaw. The flavor was okay but a couple more bites would have helped judge that item. I’ve been looking forward to eating fish and chips made by a true cook of that region and I can’t say I’m impressed especially for the price. That was an $8 plate of food value for almost double the price. The only way I will try more of this guys menu is if the price is massively reduced or someone else buys the plate. BG Catel has many more food choices. Look elsewhere at lunch unless money is not your concern. I’m just being honest so no offense meant towards the...