Found on the edge of Borough Market, surrounded by the many bars and cute little eateries tucked away down the side streets of London Bridge, this gleaming building looks like everything you could ever want from a seafood restaurant. However, Fish! disappoints on every level.

The Venue
Fish! looks like a really nice restaurant from the outside. Large glass windows, gleaming metal, and a great location lends to what should be a decent venue. Nice smells of fresh fish emanate from the restaurant and you can’t be blamed for being drawn in.

Inside, the decor is a little less upmarket. Instead, it feels more like a fish market - cold refrigeration units, a slippery shining floor, and small tables packed closely together without any niceties means there’s a basic vibe to the place, which might have worked, but instead just feels a bit cheap, which this restaurant certainly isn’t. There’s a nice touch of a large central area displaying the fresh fish, and the glass-fronted sides means it feels open and airy, but something’s missing and it doesn’t lend itself to a romantic meal or fun dinner out.

The Atmosphere
When you go to a nice restaurant you tend to expect a friendly and efficient service. Fish! offers none of this. When asking for recommendations or trying to find out a little more about the fresh fish and ingredients that they make such a point of, you’ll probably just be met with blank stares and fudged answers. The air of some of the waiting staff trying to ’wing it’ is palpable. When asked for recommendations, you may find that you’re left without answers and you just have to hope for the best, which is a shame as training up the staff to be knowledgeable about the produce would go a long way. Many of them don’t even seem to be fish fans, which is perplexing to someone about to pay a lot of money for a fish meal. Especially if the staff forget bits of your order, leading to sides arriving after you’ve finished your main course. Overall, not up to scratch.

The Food
This is where Fish! really loses its marks. To give them their dues, they do use fresh ingredients and gorgeous cuts of fish from the local markets, and these are changed daily. However, it doesn’t matter how good the ingredients are if they’re badly cooked and poorly put together. The starters range in price, and the hand-picked Cornish dressed crab with mayonnaise and country bread is expensive but sounds divine. Coming in at around £12 for a small portion or a whopping £17 for a large, you’ll be expecting something special. Don’t. How anyone can get hand-picked crab wrong is a shocker, but so they do. Poorly presented you'll receive a pile of mashed up crab and mayo, which you’d expect to find in a cheap supermarket sarnie, with a couple of bits of toast. The crab is soggy with so much mayonnaise that the crab flavours are drowned out, and the toast is dry and overly crisp.

This extends through to the main courses. There is a large selection of fish dishes, and the sides are nice - with home cut chips and a decent mash being the best things you’ll eat here. However, each cut of fresh fish is served on a bed of soggy vegetables that seem to have been left stewing for days. Tasteless, soggy and not appealing on the eye, it’ll ruin the ambience of your meal. The fish is OK, but the presentation of it being stuck on a plate and with a definite ‘that will do’ appearance means you won’t be impressed. They don’t come cheap, either. You’ll be forgiven for not sticking around for the dessert.

The Drink
There is a reasonable wine selection here, which aims to complement the fish dishes. Just don’t go for the house white, which has a vinegary aftertaste that makes it almost unbearable. Don’t expect the waiters to offer any recommendations, even when pushed. Instead, just try to get by and stick with the classics.

The Last Word
Fish! has so much potential. With a great location and excellent stock of fresh ingredients it could be amazing. Unfortunately, a poor service, badly thought out dishes, and an overall depressing atmosphere means it fails on all counts. A poor effort.

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