Kipper love.

This morning we turned up a little after half ten, along with the family entourage, and were greeted by assistant general manager Andrew McCourt. Mouths already watering at the prospect of the much loved kippers, we were quickly seated. The front part of the restaurant was well populated with customers munching through their smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, the atmosphere was buoyant yet there was an order of mutual restraint even with the number of other families enjoying breakfast.

Service was quick and before long I had started on the selection of toast with my daughter looking on hungrily. After jamming a slice of the nutty brown bread into her mouth, we proceded to order. My coffee arrived soon after the food order, the glass of fresh orange juice had a slightly fermented texture to it, pointing to perhaps it not being so freshly squeezed.

The german chap, Bernhard Rosenbaum, soon arrived with the eagerly awaited kippers and Loch Fyne’s version of a “full english” – two eggs, two rashers of bacon and a pair of tasty sausages. By request, a pile of grilled tomatoes accompanied the pair of kippers, it’s a personal preference but since a child I have always eaten grilled tomatoes with kippers, it’s a taste sensation. Perhaps its the slightly sweet and sour taste with the subtle saltiness of the smoked fish. Needless to say I quickly found myself deboning half a fillet for my daughter’s highly selective pallet.

She and I have been visiting Loch Fyne since day one and Bernhard has always been one of the hardcore fixed elements that you can rely upon for a valued opinion and great service. He’s now edging towards fifty-four, with a little under forty years of service industry experience in no less than fifty countries. He’s a great asset to Loch Fyne Knutsford, regardless to its chain status.

As expected, the kippers were exceptional, not too salty nor overpowering in flavour, but moist and the tomatoes worthy of their place on my dish. I will admit to stealing away with the two forgotten halves sat about my partners plate uneaten.

Melbourne expat and Loch Fyne head chef Damien Taylor gained the majority of his professional experience at prestigious Perth fine dining venue “Friends Restaurant”. He found himself in Knutsford two years ago as a desire venture over the the UK in search of more international experience took hold of him. While London was the big pull for him, relations here in Knutsford kept him in the northwest and slowly the town grew on him.

I’m not saying that it takes the skills of Damien’s standard to cook a pair of kippers but its worth pointing out that the restaurant has a high calibre chef at the food helm. There was actually another chap seen in the kitchen beavering away so I doubt that Damien was the duty kipperman.

We finally finished up at the table and after chasing my daughter about the place for a while we made our way out the door. Kippers £7, full english £6, drinks £7, stomach stuffed… I honestly didn’t eat another thing until about five o’clock, then again the endless supply of tasty toast and jam didn’t help.

Visit Loch Fyne Knutsford by clicking here or call 01565 622 980.  There is also a Saturday fish market with Bill Scott, the resident fish monger. There are plenty of lunch and dinner offers that change regularly so, take a look at the website to stay up to date.

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