WHY would you take someone who doesn’t eat fish to a fish and chip restaurant?
Easy, because Skippers does a lot more than just seafood. There are burgers, chargrilled dishes, steaks ... even a section for vegetarians, plus a cool kids’ menu.
You see, I love seafood and fish and my boy is just the same.
However, my missus can’t stomach the stuff. Literally. It’s an allergy thing.
And the six-year-old princess in our party has an appetite that is neither large nor adventurous.
So, in that heady whirl, there really was something to please everyone on the Skippers menu.
After bustling in from the cold sea wind, we were given a warm welcome by the friendly staff and ushered to a table in this huge, verging on barn-like, eatery.
As we waited for our food we checked out the decor. It was all harbour and beach photos.
There were a lot of them too, which was just as well as we had an awfully long wait for the starters.
But the half-hour was worth it for the mound of fine food that turned up in the skipper’s combo (£6.95).
The chicken dippers were perfect strips of breast in a light batter, while the mushrooms were fried in tasty, crunchy breadcrumbs. Both went well with the garlic mayo and sweet chilli dipping sauces.
The star attraction though, were the potato skins, loaded with cheese and bacon.
There was so much we didn’t finish it all for fear of being too stuffed for our main courses.
But, by the time they arrived we had nearly digested the starters after another long wait.
Again, though, it was worth it on the fish front. My 6oz haddock (£7.25) was excellent. Big, firm, fleshy, perfectly cooked and covered in a light, crispy batter.
The chips could have been a bit crispier but at least they were from fresh-cut tatties.
The boy, meanwhile, gave his plump scampi (£8.10) a big thumbs up, while the princess nodded and munched on her fish bites (£3.95) – although she wasn’t convinced about the unidentified “bits” that were in her jelly for pudding.
Our non-fish diner didn’t fare so well. Her butterfly chicken breast from the chargrill was over-cooked but still barely lukewarm.
Our friendly waiter offered to whisk it away to reheat it but we were now seriously running out of time for meeting friends.
Instead, we were given profuse apologies by the maitre de for the wait and the chicken and the starters were knocked off the bill.
Hiccups can happen in any restaurant, how you deal with it is important. Skippers passed with flying colours.