It was the first sunny day in ages. We were all finally healthy after a Winter of bugs so we headed west to Pembrokeshire. The first lambs of spring frolicked under blue skies full of cotton wool clouds - the odd bird of prey hovering. It was lovely. The 'why we moved to Wales' kind of lovely.
We emerged in Porthgain, a little hole in the coastline that was once a tiny port dispatching road stone across the world. That's all gone and now it is home to the absolutely fabulous Porthgain Shellfish and a pub as well as our destination, The Shed. That's it though, it's a tiny place, very pretty. Here's a pic from wikipedia to prove it - right.
There is a range of great seafood on the menu at The Shed, prepared in various ways....but we were there for the fish and chips. You might question whether it is sensible to be driving 140 miles round trip for fish and chips when there is a least one chippy in every village in the United Kingdom. But this is Eat Like Kings and we knew from previous experience that these aren't the usual fish and chips. We'd been to The Shed back in May 2011 and thought it would be worth a repeat trip because in addition to the usual cod, The Shed fries up ling (the authors choice!) haddock, John Dory, scampi and scallops. All come with hand-cut Pembrokeshire potatoes. The ling we had on the last trip was awesome - three big chunks of white flaky, crisp golden fish goodness. Alas, there was no ling this time so we opted for an order of cod and another of haddock. Though not quite up to the standard set by the ling last year, we weren't disappointed. Both fish were perfectly cooked and seasoned, the batter light and crispy, rather than the usual doughy grease served up by most chippies (my co-blogger may disagree with my assertion that most fish from Your Local chippy is inferior). The chips were definitely good, again better than the standard, but I would have like them a tiny bit crisper. However, I do realise that this preference may have its origins in my homeland, where I was weened on McDonald's French fries - a species that bears no resemblance to British chips. Or potatoes.
The service was friendly and timely. Both elements are very appreciated when dining with a two year old. The surprise standout of the meal was the walnut tart with Penderyn Welsh whisky + raisin sauce. It was definitely homemade (honestly, shouldn't all desserts be homemade?) and was a moist slice of caramelised, golden sweet- salty cake punctuated with toasted walnuts. The plate was completed with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and topped with a physalis - a welcome change from the usual perfunctory mint sprig.
All washed down with Wales' finest tap water - it was a schoolnight.
We Ate Like Kings at The Shed and would recommend it to anyone. Will be putting an order in to the boys at Porthgain Shellfish as soon as the daffodils give way to tulips.
