A NEW fish and chip restaurant in Cirencester has quietly been making waves in the community since it open a few weeks ago. The nautically-named Malt & Anchor is the brainchild of Dan Lafford, the man behind popular watering holes ReVa and Seventeen Black, who wanted to use locally sourced, high quality produce to provide a one-stop shop for fish lovers in the town.

The project has been four years in the making for Dan, who has spent time working alongside some of the industry’s best fish and chip shop and restaurant owners, so he could perfect his brand.

An important part of the restaurant’s philosophy was sourcing produce locally. The succulent pies come from Bristol supplier Pie Minister, the sustainably sourced fish from local supplier New Waves Seafood in Fairford and the curry sauce from local curry house Raj Doot. Developing good local relationships with suppliers has meant Dan can offer a variety of specials at the restaurant and can have in-season seafood specially requested by diners at 48 hours’ notice.

“Every week to add a new dimension for the health conscious and to utilise our expertise in kitchen, we get in fresh species and create simple, good quality specials,” said Dan.

“In the first month we’ve been open, we’ve had live crab and monkfish and this week we have mackerel.

“We’ve built a good working relationship with New Waves and they’re giving us some inspiration.

“We’re also after inspiration from our customers. That’s why the crab came in. Customers asked for it and the next week it was on the menu.”

As soon as you walk in, you get a sense that some effort has been put into the restaurant. The décor screams seafood at you, with waves on the wallpaper, rope hanging from the walls and enough ocean imagery to make you feel seasick. For what is a very small space, Dan has created an intimate and authentic-feeling environment.

The menu at its core is all about simplicity. Three starters, a selection of sea food dishes, served with a salad or chips, pies and sausage and mash. What the Malt & Anchor does however, is give those traditional, hearty meals a touch of something special. For one pound, you can upgrade your mushy peas to ham hock and leek mushy peas, providing a delicate combination of the salt from the pork and the smoothness of the vegetables. The ‘while you wait’ part of the menu offers diners champagne pickled quail eggs, providing the gentle reminder that the Malt & Anchor isn’t your average fish and chip joint.

When you are eating out somewhere with a typically British menu like this however, what you’re looking for is taste and decent portion sizes, and the Malt & Anchor certainly delivers in those categories. The squid that made up my calamari rings could have torn down the Titanic by the looks of things. Coated in what the menu described as ‘course Japanese breadcrumb’, they provided a juicy start to the meal.

When it came to my main course, a beer battered cod with chips and ham hock mushy peas, it was much of the same. A large, meaty cod was laid across a bed of soft and fluffy chips, with a large dollop of peas to the side. The fish tasted fresh, the chips were well-cooked and the peas were a perfect accompaniment.

As luck would have it, my colleague was full after only eating half of her steak and ale pie. I swooped in and finished it off. The pie, again, enormous in size, was chock full of tender steak and soft pastry and was surprisingly rich – a surprise highlight of my dining experience.

When it came to the drinks available on the menu, Dan has used his bar experience to offer an extra dimension to the Malt & Anchor. The restaurant has its own brew, a golden ale called Hooked, which is sold exclusively to Dan’s venues in Cirencester. One element he is particularly proud of at the Malt & Anchor however is that the restaurant is licensed, so people can take a bottle of fizz away with their takeaway order.

“Sparkling wine perfectly matches fish and chips,” said Dan.

“The high carbonation of Prosecco cleanses the pallet and raises it to a whole different bar really.

“On Monday and Wednesday we do Fish and Fizz night, where you get a bottle of Prosecco and two portions of signature fish and chips to takeaway for £23.”

As this was intended as a review, I really should try and find some faults with the place.

Price is the only obvious drawback if we’re talking about the Malt & Anchor as a chippy. Cod and chips to takeaway is £8.50. This is beyond the budget for most people wanting a bite to eat at lunch and at least £2 than your average chippy. But then again the Malt & Anchor isn’t really a chippy and hardly pretends to be. It’s setting its sights much higher. And at a time when chain restaurants are taking over, it’s refreshing to see someone taking a punt and bringing something new to the town.

The Malt & Anchor can be found at 4 Castle Street, in the centre of Cirencester.