Fish and chips is one of our national dishes, and this eat in/takeaway in the centre of Bath proudly boasts that it is one of the top five in the South West. We decided to put this to the test for a pre-theatre supper.

The head fryer apologised that all the tables in the upstairs area were full, and directed us down some quite steep stairs to a clean bright basement dining room.

We’d already decided not to take the Seafoods Challenge – a portion of cod, portion of haddock and chips for £13.99, if you clear your plate you get a free pudding.

The lure of ‘posh’ fish and chipps, battered salmon instead of the more usual white fish, was too much for my daughter to resist.

I went for a much more conventional haddock and chips, though the menu also offers cod and plaice, as well as a selection of pies, sausages, ribs and roast chicken.

We neither of us like mushy peas, but added some tartare sauce and a plate of bread and butter for chip butties, plus soft drinks, to our order. There is a licence if you want beer, lager or wine with your dinner.

The food arrived quite promptly, but with enough of a lag to convince you it’s freshly fried, on huge plates with generous portions. A mistake in the order was apologetically rectified, though it did mean a wait while the fresh batch of chips cooked.

My haddock was lovely, with really tasty non-greasy crunchy batter, and the salmon came with several chunks of firm-fleshed fish. I thought the river-y taste didn’t suit deep frying, but she said it was great and wolfed it down. We both agreed the chips were almost perfect, too, a good mix of big chunky ones with floury potato interiors and smaller crunchier versions.

Neither of us had room for pudding, and I did wonder how anyone, whether they’d tackled the Challenge or not, could face a portion of the very traditional English sponges/crumbles on offer (£3.50).

We decided they were probably there to appeal to the foreign tourist market.

Our meal cost just under £20, and we were settled in our theatre seats in plenty of time, having gone in just after 6pm.

* Open: Mon-Wed 11.30am-9pm; Thurs-Sat 11.30am-10pm; Sun 12 noon-7pm.
* Children: welcome, highchairs and small portions available.
* Disabled access possible to some areas.
* Nearby public car parks.
* Takeaway available, with a takeaway-only outlet in Combe Down too.