The Scallop Shell Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Their fried fish is indeed delicious and not greasy at all."
• "Sticky toffee dessert was the best ever!"
• "Best fish and chips I’ve ever had. Crispy, flavorful and the cod was not 'fishy' at all."
• "The mushy peas had so much flavour compared to what you would normally expect."
• "The food was excellent. I did find the chili crab to be too sweet. But I can understand the appeal. The squid was wonderful and the fish my friend had was perfect."
• "The quality of fish, unpretentious atmosphere with genuine & friendly service, properly cooked & mostly locally sourced fish (reasonably priced)... all amazing!"
• "The fish was crispy outside and tender inside."

Cons:

• "Battered cod needed a few more minutes in the fryer."
• "The fish and chips was greasy and they didn't even have mayonnaise in."
• "The batter on the plaice was too greasy and the chips rather tasteless."
• "The fish didn't have much flavour, and the chips were also underwhelming."
• "However I did notice my main, the silver mullet, was quite undercooked, bleeding onto the plate as I cooked into the thicker part of it."
• "Even the fish and chips were different, with the fish not quite as white and flakey, and the chips sometimes undercooked."
• "The seabass was tasteless and did not taste fresh, it was chewy."

Service

Pros:

• "Served by caring and considerate waiters."
• "The service was very nice and friendly."
• "The staff very friendly and very knowledgeable."
• "Service was good. Very attentive."
• "Service was very good, everyone was friendly."
• "Service was swift and polite."
• "The service was outstanding, waiter was super friendly and helpful."

Cons:

• "It took around 10 minutes for anyone to clear our plates, we had a mountain of empty plates sitting around and no one came to collect them, the place wasn’t busy so not excusable."
• "Service was lack lustre and slow."
• "We waited almost 1h for our food, and no one ever explained how busy the kitchen was."
• "Service was very slow as well."
• "The service was slow, so be prepared to wait."
• "The waiters were nice, but the service (starting from waiting to be seated, with a reservation) was very very slow."
• "Service was okay but no one checked in with us to see how our meals were."

Value

Pros:

• "Lunchtime offer, £10 for fish (prime cod) and chips, mushy peas, bread and a mug of tea."
• "Incredible value as well!"
• "A little pricey but stunning food."
• "This place is phenomenal. Quality ingredients at a fair price."
• "The place is clean and service is good! Would highly recommend to go for lunch on a weekday which they do a lunch set deal. Really good value for money."
• "Delicious fish & chips and reasonably priced for a family (the kids fish & chips is 7.50)."
• "If you go before 3pm they do a deal with cod/mussels and chips... for £10. Bargain."

Cons:

• "Seems a confused place that doesn’t know if it’s a chip shop or a fish restaurant."
• "Oysters are a little pricey but the fish and chips is to die for."
• "On the pricey side but well worth it for the quality of food."
• "Straight Fish and chips (£22) plus a glass of wine (£8) will cost £30 for dinner."
• "Very expensive for what it was and if you are seated upstairs beware as they only offer a limited menu."
• "I took off one star for the high prices. They've gone up a lot in the past 3 years."
• "£80 for 2 people for 2 courses, with both mains being fish and chips was incredibly expensive."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "We loved this restaurant in Bath. It was right down the street from our hotel, very nice ambiance, and the food was excellent."
• "It’s a lovely venue, light with a buzzy atmosphere."
• "The ambiance is amazing, just all round perfect."
• "The restaurant had a great atmosphere."
• "The atmosphere was lovely, very very friendly staff."
• "The vibes here are cozy and relaxing as everyone there seems to vibe with the locals coming here."
• "The atmosphere is nice and relaxed, and had seating across 2 floors and a covered patio."

Cons:

• "Super cold draft from a single front door."
• "Lovely setting, but was really disappointed by the meal. Just didn't hit the spot."
• "Firstly, the wooden chairs were so uncomfortable they hurt to sit on."
• "A homeless man came in to beg... He got to every table, EVERY SINGLE TABLE begging before the head chef noticed that he was there and told him to leave."
• "The only minor negative was the young maitre d on the day, who wasn’t very welcoming."
• "The only thing it lack is in service as we felt left out."
• "Overall this is quite a pricey place to eat, even for Bath."