Fin

[Hallie]

I thought it might be worth sharing a minor but pleasant discovery.

The winds of good fortune blew me down Charlotte Street tonight, where my husband and I took refuge in a little cafe-bistro place called Fin. The menu seemed decent enough while standing on the rain lashed street; lots of seafood and the odd duck and lamb dish at quite reasonable prices, so we went in. Fin has a very unassuming appearance, quite IKEA-sparse along a street filled with carnival coloured restaurant fronts. Really, we weren't expecting anything great, just a quick meal and then off home. We were totally surprised at what we found.

We shared a starter of sauteed squid with rocket and parmesan - really nice lemony squid, cooked perfectly. I then had seared tuna with rice noodles and bak choi, and Frank had the cod and chips. My tuna was fabulous. It had been marinated in ginger and rice wine and was served with very finely diced pieces of ginger and chives. The rice noodles had been puffed up and added a lively crunch to the dish. Frank's cod had been done in a tempura batter - and the chips were heavenly - not a whiff of previously frozen about them, the type of chips that waft by in a carb-craving induced dream; perfectly crunchy on the outside, pillow soft and flavourful on the inside. Both portions were more than generous and the quality of the fish was tip top.

Its a weird sort of place, Fin. We nearly passed by thinking it was a spruced up lunchtime cafe. There is a real air of informality about it, which makes it quite nice. Apparently, they've only been open for 6 weeks, so trade is still a bit slow but by the time we left their tables were filling up with stragglers from the Charlotte Street Hotel across the way. Perhaps a promising sign.

[MobyP]

Thanks Hallie. Sounds like a good place. You definitely get the adjectival descriptive chip award for June (check in the mail).

Maybe we should make this a regular spot - the Taking Refuge/Must Eat Now Thread.

[Hallie]

Maybe we should make this a regular spot - the Taking Refuge/Must Eat Now Thread.

...Hummm...yes...many a gem has been located accidentally in this very same manner.

I'll be looking forward to receiving my prize money

[tony h]

Not wanting to be the last - just had lunch there & wonderful it was too.

Tuna spring rolls - sounds not great - but what revelation. Large thick pieces of tuna wrapped in thin crisps pasty-like coating - outer edges of the tuna just seared with the middle lovely & raw. In the middle of the plate was a small mound of pickled leaves, some sushi rice and salmon eggs. Surrounding this was a stunning perfumed infused mirin & soya-like dressing/sauce. Fab.

Next was the seared scallops - on a bed of spinach which was on a bed of intensified tomato pieces. On top of each scallop was a slither of dried tomato slice. This came with a parma ham infuse light cream sauce.

I have walked past this place several times – thanks for letting me know how good it is.

[Dan Ryan]

Pricing info?

[Hallie]

Pricing info?

I'd say cheap to moderate. Cod and chips was 7 quid something. Tuna was slightly more. Total bill for dinner which included a shared starter, two main courses, mineral water, a filter coffee and a liquour coffee (...don't fault me, I had a long day...), came to 41.00.

Glad you liked it, Blind Lemon!

[tony h]

Starters - mostly in the 4 - 8 pound range;

mains - highest I saw was 14 pounds - most far less