The Magpie Cafe in Whitby is one of the most famous restaurants in England, outside of London of course, where such things are two a penny. Unlike the majority of these other famous restaurants however the Magpie does noes deliver fancy haute cuisine, instead it is famous for its fish and chips.
I am a regular visitor to Whitby, a small quaint little fishing town in the north east of England and each time that I visit here I never cease to be amazed at the length of the queues outside. Even if it is pouring down with rain, and it does quite frequently in Whitby, you can still guarantee that that there will be anything up to a hundred people that will have formed an orderly queue outside waiting for the doors to open.
The success of this place is little short of a phenomenon. Having quickly won over the locals and regular visitors to the town with its quality fish and chips, the final surge in popularity came when the famous food critic, Rick Stein announced that this place served the best
fish and chips in Britain. This saw people flocking here from all over the country and indeed from other parts of the World too, and this placed the Magpie, within the market of fish and chips at least, into a league of its own.
In many ways the Magpie has become a victim of its own success and other local traders are now complaining that the daily queues outside are obstructing their shop entrances and their trade is suffering. The local Council here first looked into this matter, before the trading standards agency become involved and now it is being investigated at the highest level. It does seem unlikely that this Cafe will be forced to close, as it is one of the town's most popular tourist attraction and serves as a magnet for visitors. It is however clear that something has to be done if the other local businesses are to survive.
I visited here for the first time last weekend and we arrived at just after 11am, aware that it opened at 11.30. True to form there was already a very long queue outside but at least the sun was shining. I was part of a group of ten people, all adults. Two of our party had been here before and assured us that despite the size of the queue we would get in for the first sitting as it was deceptively large inside.
From the outside the building is quite distinctive. It is painted black and white, the colours of a magpie bird, from where I assume this place derived its name. The location is right on the edge of the harbour. It is not however apparent just how wonderful this location is until you are inside the building since the water is not visible from the front of the building. There are also views of St Mary's Church and the Abbey on the hillside above. The Abbey is perhaps the most well known landmark in the town and its eerie shape, which is said to have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, dominates the town.
The history of this building dates back to 1750 when it was originally a merchant's house. It became the Magpie Cafe in 1939. In between this time a prominent member of the Scoresby whaling family owned it for many years and it was also used a shipping office and a pilot's office. There is a ghost here, called Albert that puts in regular appearances.
The menu is very seaside orientated and you will find little else other than fish and seafood. I chose fish and chips, the dish that has made this place famous and being the greedy sort of person that I am opted for a regular 12oz (340g) portion rather than a smaller 7/8oz (240g) portion. This cost £9.45 (14 Euros) compared with £7.45 (11 Euros) for the smaller version. I chose Haddock but Cod and Plaice was also available. It is also possible to request that the fish be poached or grilled rather than fried and served with or without batter.
My meal arrived on a huge place and the fish itself was over 10 inches (25cm) long in length. There were also a huge pile of thick cut chips and a side salad as well as lemon and tartare sauce. Just from the initial smell of the fish I knew that this was going to be a very enjoyable meal and as I tucked into it I was not disappointed. The fish was cooked to perfection and the batter peeled away from the skin of the fish effortlessly. The chips were also very tasty and full of flavour.
The magpie makes no secret in the fact that it uses lard to cook its products in and this is without doubt one of the main contributing factors to the rich taste. It is however possible to request that your food not be fried in lard and the menu does contain a small selection of dishes that would be suitable for vegetarians, but for non fish or seafood eaters this is somewhat limited.
The majority of our party opted for fish and chips in one form or another and looking around this was certainly the most popular choice of dish. The greediest member amongst us also requested additional bread and butter. This looked delicious and is apparently made by the local bakery just down the road. Locally sourced food is a strong theme here and the majority of the seafood that is served has been caught here in Whitby. I did however spot the small print at the bottom of the menu, which pointed out that this can not always be guaranteed.
The Magpie Cafe is licensed to sell alcohol and there is quite an extensive wine list. Due to excessive amounts of alcohol the previous evening however the majority of us opted for soft drinks. I had a pot of tea, which I thought to be an appropriate compliment to my traditional fish and chips. This arrived in a large pot that actually contained real tealeaves as opposed to the ubiquitous teabags that are now more or less considered to be acceptable.
Overall I was very impressed with the quality of my meal and I am pleased that I can now say that this is a place that I have visited. Due to the length of the queues however and the price it is not the sort of place that I would probably visit again.
The Magpie Cafe 14 Pier Road Whitby North Yorkshire YO21 3PU
Telephone - 01947 602058
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Exceptional, when not at uni in Sheffield I like quite close to Whitby - never eaten here though as I'm a poor student and a little frightened of ghosts!
missy0303 05.08.2007 22:44
I shouldn't read food/restaurant reviews when I'm hungry...I'm practically slobbering over the keyboard now! x
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Jul 25th, 2007
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