Swap Your Turkey for Fish This Christmas With Loch Fyne

Loch Fyne is known for its fresh, sustainably sourced and flavoursome seafood dishes, served in a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

All 37 branches in the UK use fresh fish, shellfish and oysters direct from shores. The mussels for example are grown in Scotland in Loch Fyne, Argyll, the islands and Shetland for 2-3 years on ropes up to 70 miles long. All fish and seafood are fished from sustainable sources, either in the wild or farmed responsibly.

I was invited to my local Loch Fyne in Chelmsford as part of their Fish-tivities campaign and I was able to try some beautiful fish and seafood dishes that I would happily try on Christmas Day – even replacing the trusty ol’ Christmas turkey!

The decor is stunning, with wooden panels, traditional and modern lighting and a marble presentation table.

We perused the menu for starters – a tricky decision when there are so many delicious plates on the menu!

I went for the pan-fried chilli & garlic king prawns served with granary bread. First impressions were: WOW. The dish was served sizzling hot to the table, and a delicious garlic and chilli smell wafted out. The king prawns were juicy and plump, and the granary bread soaked up the garlic-chilli sauce nicely.

Mum ordered the prawn cocktail, served with a selection of prawns in a Marie Rose sauce and a fresh assortment of lettuce leaves. The presentation was excellent and the prawns tasted fresh and succulent. The salad leaves were fresh and it was nice to see a shelled king prawn in the centre.

Dad ordered the grilled Scottish king scallops served with spicy chorizo and garlic butter. The presentation, (once again) was stunning and the scallops tasted moist and plump. The chorizo worked well with the dish and the garlic sauce was delicious, too!

 

We perused the menu for mains and decided that we all tried something new and out of our comfort zone. Luckily, this decision actually payed off and we had some delicious mains to tuck into.

 

I went for the seafood tagliatelle, with Scottish mussels and scallop, squid, king prawns and samphire in a white wine & cream sauce. The pasta was tender and the sauce creamy and rich. The prawns were plump and juicy, but the other seafood to me was a new experience! The scallop was tender and tasty, and the Scottish muscles were nice to eat too. The texture reminded me of a mushroom, and they went down an absolute treat having been infused in garlic! I didn’t enjoy the squid so much as to me it felt a little rubbery, but it was a new food for me and I’m glad I gave it a go.

Mum went for the king prawn malabar curry, served with crispy pollock, spinach and basmati rice. I had a taste of the sauce and I will definitely give this one a go next time. The prawns were succulent, fresh and plump and the curry sauce had a lovely little spicy warming kick. The basmati rice soaked up the spices well and pollock had a lovely crispy batter on it which went really well with the curry sauce.

I feel like Dad was the mot adventurous one out of the three of us, as he went for the whole roasted sea bass stuffed with lemon and thyme, served with aioli (garlic mayonnaise) and a selection of heritage potatoes. Dad opted to keep the bones in the fish, so he worked his way around the fish bit by bit. The fish was lovely and moist which flaked off the bone instantly. The lemon and thyme flavouring could be tasted throughout the whole fish and the garlic al dente potatoes worked well with the fresh fish.

 

So our evening of swapping turkey for fish went very well – and I for one would happily choose fish over turkey this Christmas! It was a lovely change from turkey and I was pleasantly surprised at how packed with flavour the fish dishes were. My garlic and chilli king prawn starter was packed with flavour and tasted incredible, and I can’t wait to head back to Loch Fyne and try it again!

 

Have you been to Loch Fyne before?

You can find where your nearest branch is here!