Definitely not your average chipper, sustainability is at the heart of the Lavery family's independent fish & chip shop and restaurant, which has been offering something different on the Belfast city centre casual dining scene since 2016.
With its focus on health and sustainability, a lively dining room and some of the best fish and chips you will find in Belfast - or anywhere - it's no surprise that they've already won a sheaf of well-earned awards.
Not too far from the bustle of Victoria Square, Fish City lends itself perfectly to dining with family, catching up with a friend or a midweek date night. The menu is packed with great options for seafood lovers (and others) and there's great choice of portion size and price options.
For starters you will find Walter Ewings celebrated smoked salmon, excellent scampi with a perfectly light crisp batter, seafood chowder, salt and chilli squid and spiced Thai fishcakes.
For mains, it would be hard to pass on the lightly battered fish and chips, available in three sizes and made with your choice of sustainably sourced cod or haddock. Fish City are committed to sourcing sustainable seafood of all kinds and are the first fish and chip shop in Northern Ireland to be Marine Stewardship Council certified - this is a serious mission for them and interested diners will find extensive information on the website. Their fish & chips are served with homemade mushy peas and handcut chips (Fish City’s are some of the best you will find) and there are many other chip-shop classics to choose from - and plenty of surprises too.
And it's not all about fish. A tasty range of burgers, for example, does include a fisherman's burger, but also a classic beef burger, a gourmet chicken burger and one for vegetarians - and the tacos are delightful. They come with a variety of fillings like lightly battered strips of cod with a herby yoghurt dressing and tomato salsa, or Mourne beef fillet with kimchi salad, spring onions, sweet potato fries and citrus aioli - and all mains are served with those glorious chips, or a salad. (Vegetarians get a section to themselves too, including a vegan Thai red curry.)
There are desserts like the rhubarb and ginger crumble with local Glastry Farm ice cream or for a fun finale to your meal, try “Beside the Sea” with Glastry Farm ice-cream, raspberry sauce, chocolate flakes, candy floss and doughnuts which is enough to share (for adults and kids).
The drinks menu is informative and carefully constructed, offering well chosen wines in two glass sizes as well as by the bottle - and there's a pair of vegan certified Italian wines among the mre accessibly priced bottles.They also offer a local craft beer, Mourne Mist, Kilmeggan cider and craft spirits including Ruby Blue vodka and several local / Irish gins.
The décor is quite sparse and neutral, with nice lighting offsetting utilitarian white tiles but not a lot to absorb loud music. Like the name itself, perhaps, it feels like a design template that might have an eye to expansion - and there are plenty of places that would be very happy indeed to have a Fish City on their high street.
It may seem a bit pricey for a fish supper, but this is no ordinary fish supper - it’s worth it for quality. And you will not regret it for the chips alone.
