TL;DR: Kind of at the accepted standard as far as fish and chips goes, and there is really not that much of it around these parts. The meal was simple and straightforward as you could get, and at the time I had it that was all that mattered. There is reason to keep going back to the old style fish burger and it was apparent right here and now.
It was the second go-around for the British division of NXT, for them to have their next big event. Broadcasting their next Takeover event all the way from Wales this time, that still kept the British aspect of it alive which by a more subconscious than conscious train of thought that meant getting something quintessentially British for the meal. Many of those distinct options aren't really around per se, however fish and chips seemed to be the go and you can always rely on that choice on a whim. As per usual, it was onto UberEats and scanning through the choices to see what looked good (Indian was another idea, the Brits always seem to like that as a choice). Central 7 ticket the right boxes, and putting a small order in for it, all that was needed to do was to sit and wait around the scheduled time, and Bob's your uncle.
There are no complaints to be had with the customer service, with everything going as quick as it could. It is an operation that needs good co-ordination, which is what they had. The food got prepared quickly and efficiently, they picked up a good driver without much delay, and said driver managed to get to the house without a hitch. For his good efforts, the driver was giving a few gold coins in the flesh and a big thank you from me. As for the cooks at Central 7, it was clear they demonstrated attention to detail. The main part of the order plugged in was a fish burger, among the other items was a potato scallop with the particularly request to slap it onto the burger. They read that pretty well, and made a note of it on the wrapping paper. To add another piece of credit to them, with the various bits and pieces thrown into the mix, they saved a lot of packaging and room by packing them into the same container. No complaints here at all, more a commending
With what is on offer with Central 7's menu, it is pretty much the general fish and chip shop. At the bare basics, that boils down to several kinds of fish prepared in a few ways alongside some other seafood options. These can be bought individually or as part of a meal (otherwise known as "dinners"), and might even be buy-able akin to a fishmonger (I'm not sure, never tried this). In addition to the seafood options, there is the usual range of classic and dubious snacks, a few kinds of salads, and of course the classic burgers. Additionally, since your little old fish and chip shop practically epitomises sharing there are also the seafood baskets, the family packs, fisherman's platter and other specialty items on offer. For drinks, just add on all the usual options from the fridge, and that is the classic Friday meal of yonks ago.
My house mate was sitting out the meal this time (though not the wrestling part of the endeavour), so it was a small order this time around. I ordered the fish burger with the addition of a potato scallop, alongside a serving of fries, and the classic battered sav and Chicko roll. This is definitely getting more into Australian than British with the way it is produced, but that is merely a digression. The majority of these items I know fully well deep down they aren't event remotely gourmet, but at the same time who could care less when they taste so good?
The top dog of it all is - without a doubt - the fish burger. Just a burger of any sort, when it is done due justice is difficult to beat. This was the case right here. It was the classical combination of a crumbed fish fillet - which from the taste and texture, I am presuming it was cod - plus lettuce, tomato and tartare sauce. The way the burger was presented harkened back to the classical way Australian milk bars made their hamburgers - the bun was bit, and soft with possibly a bit of butter to liven it up a bit. The cod was a good choice to use as the patty, since it has a solid texture and is often in thick fillets, plus the flavour is often pretty mild. In addition to the fish, there was plenty of lettuce stuffed in - at least two handfuls of it, along with several plump slices of tomato. This added more to the aesthetic of it being the classical Australian way of presenting a hamburger. It is massive, and quite filling. This is the sort of burger you can have by itself, and it will easily satiate any sort of hunger.
Additionally with the fish, and just with Central 7 as a whole, it is easy to dismiss takeaway shops and chippies as being throwaway places. Acknowledging that the meals and snacks are pretty simple and straightforward, behind all that is a process that requires high levels of attention, and it can be told in how the food is presented. There were no worries here, since the batter was solid and did not leave a drop of oily residue anywhere. Segueing from the fish to some of the snacks they prepare, that point was proven with the battered sav. The batter around the sausage was akin to a pancake, getting a good and solid texture to encase the meat, while also having the sausage cook well enough to be moreish and hot; it also helped that when getting pulled out of the packaging that it managed to look as good as it could.
If there was one gripe, it might be about the fries. They were a steakhouse cut, meaning pretty thickly cut. I have always been more of a fan of the thinner cuts, since the thicker ones can come across a tad undercooked - such as this time around. If these fries were cooked a little longer ergo were a tad crispier, I might have ranked them a bit higher. That is especially said, since the portion was pretty generous and they had a bit of chicken salt thrown in as requested.
This is a case like with a lot of fish and chip shops. Some are much better than others, with the occasional one being memorable to the point you remember where it was. More so, the times it isn't a good option will also stick out for a bit. A general rule of thumb is that when it works, it works quite well. That makes the ones that are a bit better seem phenomenal, and ones that aren't up to scratch are really dispiriting. Central 7 is partially smack bang in the middle, moving just a bit into the "good" territory. With having the burger, it harkened a lot back to older, more simple days of childhood, with the way it was presented and looked. It is one of those needed to have been there, then need to be there sort of situations - the aesthetics just have that look about them. Best of all, it was a filling and satisfying bite to eat, that proves what has been known for many years can sometimes just be kept in tact - you don't need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to trusty fish and chips.
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