Olley's

I was astounded. I took my daughter to Olley's over the Easter break. I had remembered that it was quite expensive but was surprised to see the cod and haddock priced as high as £9.45 and £10.45 respectively. Ah well, I thought, it's a treat and so we ordered, haddock and chips for her, cod, chips and peas for me, plus a can of pop each. The food arrived suspiciously quickly as I commented to my daughter but the waitress, who I think overheard me, explained the rapid arrival by telling us that the fish had been prepared for staff lunches and fair enough it was very freshly cooked. But also (in the case of the cod) very small. I had noticed on arrival a board offering a smaller portion at a reduced price so I asked if mine was standard; I was assured that it was. I wonder if the reduced portion is visible to the naked eye? The haddock was small-medium. Both fish were beautifully cooked though, with a light, crisp batter and obviously fresh fish. But the chips were just poor - not hand cut, flaccid, straight out of a bag, very disappointing.

Next, the bill and here comes the astounding bit. As I've already said, the prices were a little higher than I'd expected but I had assumed at that price that chips would be included. Oh no. £3 each portion - £6 for two scoops of freezer bag chips. The total bill, for two people to have fish and chips and a can of pop (£3.50 for two cans) was £31.40. This, I'm afraid, is just silly.

Also silly, finally, is the idea that Olley's is one of the five best fish and chip shops in England (or is it the UK?) It's not; in all seriousness, I could take you to many more than five places in Whitby (where this place would last about five minutes before being razed to the ground by outraged locals) alone that are better than Olley's. That's not hyperbole, I mean it literally.
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Paul Bowen
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Friday, April 29, 2011

The best chips I've ever had (and I've been to a lot of sea-sides). Excellent customer service, food was super, well priced for the quality of the food you get. Would recommend any day, definitely over Sea Cow in East Dulwich.
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Juliana
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, November 05, 2010

It has been a long time since I nearly cried in a restaurant. Our cooker was broken, we spent all day decorating, I was starving, and I was so excited at trying 'south London's best fish and chips'. Then they brought me my food and my bottom lip started wobbling and I couldn't help it. The fish looked lovely (and it was) and the mushy peas looked lovely (and they were) but the chips?! The CHIPS?! They were the kind of chips you get in a bad canteen at your work place or a rubbish pub. Not proper chippy chips - the thing I had salivated imagining all day. I even asked the waitress - surely they didn't serve these luke warm, ready processed spongey items when you ordered a bag of chips from the take away?? The answer was a proud yes we do. My boyfriend eventually told me to get a grip of myself and stop looking as though a relative had died. But we left very disappointed and won't be back.
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SE - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, March 02, 2010

If, as they claim, Olley's is truly one of the five best fish and chip restaurants in Britain, then it really is a sad day for tradtional British food. It's not that the food is bad, it is certainly above average, just nowhere near living up to their own hype.

On arrival, the place seemed to be in some chaos (despite being only half full). We had booked a table for three, but none were available downstairs - all the four seat tables were taken up by couples while the two-seaters remained vacant. So, we were seated upstairs in the furthest corner with a tiny, wobbly table, and next to a charming family who's son entertained us with renditions of The Firm's "Star Trekkin" for a good half hour.

The waitress then informed us that there would be a bit of a delay in service as the digital ordering system had gone down, and they were struggling to get to grips with writing the orders on paper. She also struggled to get to grips with the idea of serving the grilled sardine starter as a main course portion.

We were treated to a complemetary starter - a single greasy, mishapen fishcake, while we waited for our food, which when it arrived, was largely pretty edible.

The sardines were really very good, and whilst a little on the small side, the fried cod was fairly well cooked. I went for the seafood platter which was something of a mixed bag - the cod bites and calamari were clearly home made, while the breaded prawns and sole goujons were a little too uniform to be anything other than mass produced. The deep fried scallops were a travesty against shellfish though. But the real issue was with the chips - flabby and tepid - and not at all what I was expecting from such a "prestigious" chippie.

It then took us 20 minutes to pay the bill as "they only had one card reader". Completely forgot they'd left us in the furthest corner of the restaurant, more like !

Resting on their laurels ? Perhaps. But that's a dangerous game with competition like The Sea Cow just down the road. And at £50 for fish and chips x 3 and a couple of soft drinks, you can certainly eat better for less at the nearby Herne Hill Fish Bar.
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Joachim Payne
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, February 17, 2009