Restaurant Review: The Lighthouse

Up and down the country there are chippies on every high street, each dishing out the nation’s favourite and arguably most quintessentially British meal.

Still, even though it’s impossible to avoid, it’s never been one of my favourites.

Despite this, I wanted to try out the food at The Lighthouse on Wellingborough Road as I’d walked past it one evening and was intrigued by its reasonably priced offer of fish in either a classic batter or in a ‘beer of the week’ batter.

They like beer at The Lighthouse, where punters will find a range of draughts and bottled options. You can ask the staff for the guest beer too.

The space is split between the dining area and the pub area, but you can eat wherever you feel like.

There is a side entrance to the restaurant section and a convenient take out booth as well for those wanting to make a quick pit stop.

The pub features several TV screens making it an ideal spot for sports fans, and there’s a pool table in there too.

But back to the food. I ordered cod in the ‘beer of the week’ batter, chips (surprise, surprise), garden peas, homemade tartare sauce and a side salad. Also, because it was a Tuesday, the pint of beer I ordered was just £1.

The fish is delivered daily and cooked directly from fresh, not frozen, and the potatoes used are hand-picked by The Lighthouse’s supplier and come from British farms.

My cod was cooked perfectly, the chips were so typical of a high street chippy that the only thing missing was a newspaper to wrap them in. The homemade tartare was flavoursome and complemented the cod nicely.

All of this combined with the marine-themed blue and white tiling, reminiscent of ​independent ​quayside restaurants,​ meant I could almost smell the ocean.

Time for another confession - I can’t resist a sticky toffee pudding. If it’s on the menu, I’m having it.

Sadly, I don’t think it was made from scratch, but nonetheless, it hit the spot and satisfied my sweet tooth.

Award-winning Pieminster pies are also on the menu, though perhaps not for your dessert.

My total bill came to £17, which I thought was reasonable considering I’d ordered enough food for a three-course meal, and had a pint on the side too.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be a fully-fledged fish and chip enthusiast, but I would happily return to The Lighthouse for a hearty meal, a cold pint and some live sport.

Tim’s rating: 8/10