Barnabys Fish Restaurant

Having been here previously over the summer, I suggested we visit to Oli M on our visit to Stratford.
The restaurant was very empty, which made a change from the last time I came as it was heaving and the only way to get food was to queue in the take-​away section, which was fine as it was a gorgeous summer day so we ate our food by the river which is 2 mins away.
This time however we sat inside on a chilly Monday afternoon having visited the Butterfly farm. The inside isn’t much to write home about, however we did notice a wall of famous celebs that had eaten there.
We both went for fish, chips and mushy peas which were freshly made for us, so we waited about 5 – 10 mins for our order to be called. It came to about £7.50 including a can of pop. Not cheap for what it is, but worth it! It was very tasty and authentic. So if your after a traditional fish a chips, head to Barnaby’s!

Absolute crap. Tasteless fried fish, chips, and horrible mushy peas. And they charge you for non Heinz ketchup. Never again.

Maybe the prices are ‘budget’ for Stratford but I thought it was expensive. I only live 20 miles away! Obviously, being a tourist place, it is expected to cost a bit more. Saying that, I looked at the prices before I went in and though that is wasn’t as expensive as I expected it to be so I’d give it a go.
It was clean enough, which is a good start. It was quite busy but not packed. I joined the queue to order food for myself and my family. I found the staff to be quite slow. The male staff were also rather rude. I only dealt with one female member of staff (I think she was the only female) who was polite.
I ordered our food. I quite clearly stated what I wanted. I repeated what I wanted to the woman at the till because she, apparently, couldn’t understand what had been written by her colleague.
I don’t know how long we waited (certainly at least half an hour) but it was a while and there were other orders called before ours which had been ordered after. We had to wait for a number to be called. When it was, we didn’t hear to start with because it was so loud in there. It wasn’t particularly busy but there was music on I think it was the radio which was quite loud.
Anyway, I went to get our food when our number was called. Three of the orders were fine but I had asked for a chicken salad and chips. I got southern fried chicken and chips. I pointed out that it was not a chicken salad. I was informed that I had not ordered a chicken salad but I had ordered chicken and chips even though I had clearly stated that I wanted a chicken salad AND some chips. I stated this again and was, quite rudely and abruptly, told that it was a choice of chicken with salad OR chips. Clearly, as I am rather intelligent, I had already figured that out which is why I specified that I wanted both i.e. a salad plus a separate portion of chips. I don’t know whether they were too stupid to understand that or simply not willing to attempt to understand plain English.
So, after I informed them again of what I had actually asked for, I was told that I hadn’t ordered that and they would put the order through. As I felt we had waited long enough, I said that I would just have the chicken and chips because I wasn’t willing to wait any longer. I certainly had no intention of letting my family eat first and them having to wait for me.
When I said this, the (I assume) manager plonked an excuse for a salad on a side plate. The ‘salad’ was a huge pile of raw kidney beans mixed with a speck of practically microscopic cucumber and celery, a bit of lettuce and a few slices of the world’s smallest tomato (which didn’t actually taste of tomato).
I was not impressed with the fact that it seemed ‘chicken salad’ actually meant fried chicken with kidney beans. I asked for a chicken salad because I didn’t want fried chicken.
One redeeming thing was that the food wasn’t too bad. The chicken was very hot and had quite a bit of flavour to it. My other half had fish. He said it wasn’t terrible but he wasn’t particularly impressed with it. My youngest had a mini fish. He ate about half of it. That doesn’t say much for it as he loves his fish and eats them twice the size if they’re nice!
As for the chips, well, they were a measly portion considering the price and they weren’t that nice. I like my chips fluffy on the inside and brown on the outside. I think that’s how chips are supposed to be. These were very light and I didn’t find much of anything on the inside. There were two men on the table next to us who left half of theirs too. It’s not because they were big portions.
On our way out, one of the staff was clearing up who bumped into me. He had clearly seen me as he walked towards me. He did say ‘sorry’ but it seemed more out of habit than courtesy.
So, all in all, yes the food is OK and the place is clean but it is expensive, the service is terrible and the waiting staff are rude so I will not be going there again and I would not recommend it to anyone else.

Eh. I always knew I didn’t like fish and chips, but decided to give this a try since I was in the hub of fish and chips. My experience here only confirmed my dislike for the «dish.» Although the 6.5£ cod and chips is generously portioned, it was way too much fried stuff and way too little flavor for me. Granted, the vinegar and salt did slightly improve the taste, but not by far.
I also tried the steak and kidney pie yesterday, and I was not pleased. Perhaps it was the mushed kidney beans that contaminated the steak taste…
In any case, I don’t particularly like Barnaby’s, though I do appreciate its quick service (strangely enough, however, waiting for «takeaway» takes longer than eating in).

A solid middle-​of-​the-​road greasy spoon. The food is arranged cafeteria-​style, which correctly indicates this is not an establishment of the finest calibre. But if you’re in the mood for a grease-​soaked plate of fish n’ chips that won’t wreak havoc on either your wallet or your stomach, then you’re certainly fine stopping off here.

I’m not a big fish and chips fan. I pretty much eat it once a year, and I’m pretty certain I haven’t eaten anything spectacular just yet. My experience at Barnaby’s this weekend did nothing to disprove this.
I had a mini cod and chips for £4, which, I felt was rather reasonable. However, during the three minutes it took for me to walk from the shop to a bench and unwrap my takeaway and eat it, the batter had gone soft (although I’m not sure if it had been crispy to begin with) and the chips were a bit on the soggy side. As I picked up the fish with my wooden fork, it fell apart all too easily. Maybe that’s how fish and chips is meant to be, but I prefer my batter and chips to be crispy.
As Barnaby’s had been recommended as being the best fish and chips in Stratford-​upon-​Avon, I was understandably very disappointed. It still gets three stars though, as it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t all that good either. I’m now thinking of turning my once-​a-​year habit into never-​again just because I don’t think the calories are worth it!
P. S. I’m pretty sure quite a few people will disagree (or they were also taken in by the hype, I’m not sure), as when I returned to the shop to get more vinegar for my chips, there was now a queue out the door for takeaway.

I was in Stratford-​upon-​Avon on a bitterly cold winter’s day and looking for a place to eat. I stumbled upon this fish and chip restaurant and didn’t regret going in.
In terms of décor and comfort, this is a pretty standard takeaway/​restaurant — nothing to write home about, but not unpleasant either. The food was great, though. It was about £6 for a fish-​and-​chip supper, which my friends had, and less than a couple quid more for a mixed seafood platter, which I got because I was super-​hungry. As well as chips and a beautiful piece of battered fish, it came with scampi, calamari, some sort of fish sticks and coleslaw. Very tasty and reasonably priced.

This place is great on a summers day. It is right opposite the bancroft gardens so you can just grab a take away and sit under the trees overlooking the river. If it just so happens to be raining you can sit inside in the small restuarant that they have.