The Wharf Restaurant, South Bank, London

Last week I visited The Wharf as part of a tastecard review with my mother.

My tastecard reviews can be hit and miss. Sometimes they are pretty decent and a surprising delight. A lot of the time Sometimes they are a bit of a bore and you wonder how the restaurant is surviving at all let alone trading with offers on. It’s worth noting that tastecard does have some high end restaurants on its portfolio such as Marco Pierre White. You tend to find that restaurants are simply wanting to fill their doors during periods of quiet – because, with the amount of restaurants we have in this country, it does happen!

Golden Union Fish and Chips Restaurant, Poland St, London | Helping Centrepoint to Feed the Homeless with EATT

Next month it will be one year since I moved to Soho for work. I still miss working in Shoreditch but having worked on Wardour Street previously, the area is not unfamiliar and I looked forward to re-discovering my favourite old haunts (Maletti, Tosca, Star Cafe, The Dining Plaice) and new adventures.

I happened to stumble across one such eatery last month. Golden Union Fish and Chips, which opened in 2008. In recent times, independently owned fish and chips restaurants/takeaway are very far and few between. Certainly a big chunk of them are turning into Chinese takeaway with fish and chips on the side. My all time favourite had always been The Brothers Fish and Chips on Water Lane in Maryland, London. With my grandmother living across the road I recall many treats of being given change to run down to the shop after school to get the both of us chips. It’s a wonder that I’m still so slim. Unfortunately they closed down a few years ago. I don’t know whether they’ve set up shop elsewhere or simply retired. I suspect it’s the latter. To me, without them, Maryland isn’t the same.