The Ark

Absolutely loved this place. Fresh menu - particularly recommend the Monkfish and Scallops! Making me hungry just thinking about that place.

Can be V.busy however!
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Alex Hocking
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I was impressed on my first visit to The Ark so I was anxious to bring some friends to try it. The portions were generous so most of the party could only manage a main course for lunch.

Although the fish was especially fresh and tasty, the chips let the fish down! They seemed to be the kind out of the bag instead of from freshly cut potatoes, and secondly, they weren't cooked enough, so they weren't crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

For the price, I would expect perfect chips, as well as perfect fish.

The mushy peas are great and the staff are lovely.

I'd probably give it one more chance.
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Cherry - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, April 07, 2008

I felt i had to write, i occasionally look at these reviews, and have never commented before, but felt compelled, after reading a couple of v. negative one's especially regarding the staff. My family have eaten here on quite a few occassions, and quite apart from the outstanding food, it is the staff that brings us back, they are lovely, friendly, efficient and very hardworking, in what is always a packed out resturant..we most certainly think they do a very good job, and are still smiling at the end of yet another, for them, very busy night.
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Mrs Y. Smith - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Ignore the bad reviews! this place is a real gem.

The fact that this place is packed out even on week nights says it all.

We went last night and want to go again for lunch it was that good!

Gill who is front of house was warm, welcoming and very efficient. Yes you have to wait for a table, but the bar area is plesant and bar staff quick to serve, the atmosphere from both staff and other costmers is inviting and friendly.

We were seated sooner than we ecpected, and as it was jam packed that surprised us, we were even offered our prefered table.

Lucy our waitress was a star, friendly, attentive and gave good advice on which dishes to have.

We had oysters which were so fresh, lucy even washed a shell for us to take home as it was a special occasion.

Then came the mussels and grilled king prawns, absolutley delicious.

We both had a special of grilled John Dory, perfectly cooked, a wonderfull meaty fish.

The chips were crispy and hot, and we had mushy peas, which is a must. (as we are both from 'up north')

The portions are generous, everything is cooked to order, so fresh hot and great value for money.

Staff worked very hard but managed to be friendly cheerful and attentive. Great atmosphere.

This was our first visit and will definatley be going again and again.

Wendy and Chele, Wanstead.
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MR AND MRS SCOUT - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, March 02, 2008

The food here is amazing but it is sadly let down by the staff who appear to be more interested in socialising with each other than getting on with the job at hand.

It is good to enjoy your job but you shouldn't forget the purpose of that job, i.e to serve customers. We heard staff, waiter and waitresses, laughing and giggling about which customers they fancied - not very professional.

Taking this aside, I had the most fantastic piece of cod and my wife enjoyed plaice with a lovely fresh salad. The fries are served hot and crispy just as they should be.

The desserts were of equally a good standard. The Eton Mess was out of this world.

Overall, wonderful food at reasonable prices but very poor service.
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Jeremy
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 17, 2008

What a fantastic restuarant one of a kind in the area. We have eaten there on numerous occasions and every time we leave with a smile. The food is plain yet good and wholesome if you are in the mood for something different they have got a very well stocked specials board and other dishes that differ from the traditional fish and chips. The staff are absolutely fantasic and although we had to wait for a table wich was worth it the manageress seemed to seat us quicker than the estimated waiting time, you could definately see she was well respected by the staff and i think this plays a role in the success of this well oiled machine that is the ark.

When we were seated a memeber of staff asked if she could take my coat and i know this isnt usually their policy but i suppose you get treated by the way you treat other people! After we ordered a fantasic value for money bottle of wine wich i am sure i have seen on a wine list in Claridges before, we started tucking in to some salmon gravadlax and seared scallops with garlic butter wich just made your mouth water for the next course wich was grilled cod with potted shrimps and basil butter and for my partner middle skate deep fried with the best chips i have had in ages! For dessert we both opted for the warm chocolate brownie with ice-cream and some liquer coffees to wash it down.

All in all we both had a lovely night again at the ark the friendliness and warmth of the staff (and the food of course) is what brings us back everytime and to think you can get all of that in a fish and chips restuarant in the east end
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micheal carr
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 07, 2008

What a shame the proprietors of this restaurant chose not to put the same effort into sourcing their staff as they do their fish. The food on the whole was a success; starters of scampi and whitebait went down well. The mains were a bit more of a mixed bag, the Monkfish was excellent as was the Sea Bream, unfortunately this fish arrived with cold greasy chips and a few minutes before the other guests' mains. On the whole pretty good and all washed down with an agreeable Australian Chardonnay.

However a good meal was severely compromised by service that was consistent in its ineptitude. I'm not a customer who expects a waiter/waitress to kiss my backside or treat me like Lord Snooty. I do however expect these people to not patronise guests, to open wine at the table, to offer the option of tasting, to fill at least the first glass, to enquire as to whether the food was enjoyable, all of which I feel to be fairly rudimentary facets of the waiting staff trade, and all of which The Ark staff failed to do. The only time the staff showed any enthusiasm for their job was when they attempted to make it clear that they wanted to go home and began to crowd near the table like a flock of seagulls. This was a Friday night at 10:30, hardly the small hours of the morning. However thinking that it couldn't get any worse the staff then preceded to outdo even their previous efforts of incompetence, and when eventually succumbing to the encouragement offered by the staff to f off, we got up to go. One of my guests is disabled and walks with the aid of a stick and naturally finds steps a little tricky. While five or six staff stood around doing nothing not one volunteered to get the coat belonging to the disabled gentleman and in fact just succeeded in obstructing (unintentionally) his decent down the steps. Prior to this and despite the awful service I had left a tenner tip, which had been noticed by the staff. Following this further show of uselessness I stuck the tenner back in its rightful place and left. I turned back to see a look of confusion etched across the faces of the waiting staff as they cleared the table, and I felt that an explanation to clear matters up was required. The food was good I explained but the service was a little Faulty Towers for my liking and the coat incident was the proverbial straw. The response I received was not the expected apology but instead I was told that getting a customer's coat was "not their policy". If this really is “policy” then may I suggest a rethink of the policy maker’s employment, and faced with such a ludicrous response I couldn't bring myself to try and reason with the waitress.

Often a restaurant can get one or two areas of service wrong, The Ark did the clean sweep, the full monty.

Note to the owners of The Ark - sort out the clowns serving tables, as it compromises the significant efforts of the kitchen staff.
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Tim
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Saturday, January 26, 2008

This is generally a good place to eat if you don't eat fish and chips here as it is grossly overpriced. When you strip off the batter, the fish is a small portion. For a fish restaurant, they find it difficult to cook the chips properly. They are invariably underdone.

However, the meals like smoked Haddock, eels and oysters are usually nice. Noisy, overpriced, hopeless, insincere staff. This is only full up all the time as there is little alternative in the area.
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Bloom - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

we have been to this resturant many times, and always found it really good

first visit we had a starter which when arrived it was so big l could not eat

it all, then the main was brought to our table and again that was larger, so now

when we go, l dont have a starter, but the fish is always cooked wonderful and

the value for money is excellent, and the staff are willing to help at all times.
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mrs m vickers - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

I live around the corner from The Ark and have been meaning to go there for ages. It's always busy, even on weekdays.

I went last week and it definitely lived up to expectations. The wait was around an hour which was expected. The starters were amazing, especially the minced crab. The main courses were all very good too. The only bad thing was the mash potato had too much salt for my liking. Overall the food was excellent and the prices reflect that.

The decor is simple but nice and the atmosphere is noisy but bearable. I will definitely be going again.
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Jay
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Thursday, December 28, 2006