Fish and Chips at the Brown Hound
My quest continues for the best fish and chips in downtown Halifax. I’ve already reviewed the Resolutes Club, Henry House, Durty Nelly’s, the Gahan House and The Old Triangle. I did all of these in succession, over the course of 3 days, ending with today’s review of The Brown Hound.
(I will continue my search shortly, as I still need to review The Lower Deck, Pickford & Black, The Auction House, Kai Brady’s and Midtown Tavern. Am I forgetting anything?)
As for The Brown Hound, I’ve been a regular at the Agricola St. location since I moved into the neighbourhood a little over a year ago. It’s a great little pub, cozy and mature, with a British theme. I’ve been working my way through the menu, and I’m particularly fond of the mac ‘n cheese, black bean burger, and bangers ‘n mash. I think they have some of the best chicken wings in the city, and their nachos are usually pretty solid.
Full disclosure: I have had the fish and chips here before, and I didn’t like them. But everyone kept recommending them when I asked Twitter for fish and chips recommendations, so I thought I should give them another chance.
This was my first time dining at the downtown location, which has a much bigger kitchen, allowing for dinner specials that you won’t see on Agricola.
The “British style” fish and chips ($17) features a fillet of beer battered cod, and is served with beer battered fries and mushy peas. Cod is the choice fish in Newfoundland, but it is rare to see it as the default (or even an option) for fish and chips in Nova Scotia.
The Brown Hound’s battered fries have a big following, and I’ll admit that while hand-cut fries are my preference, I welcome the novelty here. Coleslaw did not make an appearance, but who cares when you have mushy peas? The tartar sauce was bangin’. It’s a nice plate of food.
As for the fish…
The cod was nice and moist and the batter was flavourful, but it was way too mushy.
I’m on the fence about this one. It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it to someone. There are other dishes I enjoy more at the Brown Hound, so I can’t see myself ordering this again.
The Brown Hound
1450 Ironstone Lane, Halifax, NS
Rating: Meh/Good.
(Rating Scale: WTF, Meh, Good, Some Good, Right Some Good!)
What are your favourite fish and chips in downtown Halifax?
