Restaurant Review: The Centre Page, London, England

Restaurant Review: The Centre Page 

29-33 Knightrider Street, St. Paul's, London, England EC4V 5BH

I'm embarking on a brief tour of restaurants in England and France, and have high hopes of finding some tasty food.  My first stop is a quaint establishment near the tourist highlights in central London.

The Centre Page restaurant is easily found between two London landmarks: It's smack-dab in the middle between the Millennium bridge over the Thames and the historic and majestic St. Paul's Cathedral.

I visited on a blustery, snowy evening when the wind was blowing frigid air and large snowflakes around, so the warm confines of this corner pub and restaurant was quite welcome. As an American tourist I straightaway noticed that the interior decor looked amazingly like an English pub, or at least the knock-offs I've visited in the States. Being in Britain, I thought it best to try the fish and chips Even though the restaurant offers a full menu, the traditional British meal is what brought me in. There is even a sign just to the left of the doorway to the establishment that makes it clear what they offer: Fish & Chips for 7 pounds 50. 

Service was fast. I got my plate of food almost immediately, clearly this is a standard plate that they knock out frequently. Compared to American food, the entire dish was virtually unsalted. Not a bad thing for health. I rarely salt anything in the States as it is so prevalent in almost everything, and I don't want to add any extra sodium.   Here, though, I took a bite of the chips as well as the peas and tossed a dash of salt on both. For Americans who don't know, chips are fries. In France, they're Frites. We'll get to that soon enough when I cross the English Channel in a few days.

I was very much looking forward to the fish. I've had quite a few fish and chips in the states with moderate success, so surely this meal at the heart of London would be great. Alas, that wasn't the case this time. The top part of the breading had a nice crunch, but the bottom was still greasy and turning soft. The fish itself was very bland, more than I expected. The fish didn't flake easily, possibly because the grease was holding it together. Served on a white dinner plate, the fish left drops, then a small puddle, of orange grease on the plate. I've heard fish & chips is often served in days-old newspaper to help sop up some of the grease.  Honestly, the idea of newsprint smearing on my fish and chips is rather disturbing  so I didn't mind the grease drips on the plate too much. 

The peas were... cooked peas. The salt helped, and the best I can say there is that the peas weren't overcooked to the point of being mushy. They just didn't have a lot of flavor -- which is consistent with the rest of the meal.

Would I come back to The Centre Page? Absolutely. If I were walking around central London, or even seeing a show at Shakespeare's Globe just across the river, I'd stop in for a pint, a plate of fish and chips, and some nice atmosphere. I just might lower the bar of my flavor expectations a bit. To be honest, I've heard that's much the case around Great Britain. But I'm going to investigate further, surely there are other tasty places out there!

Next stop: a couple of food terraces at tube stations.