I got to Harpers in the nick of time! Not realising they close at 9pm on a Saturday I arrived at 8.54pm. They had stopped frying any more chips but everyone in the queue behind me was lucky enough to get what they wanted.
I had hoped to try one of the famous homemade fishcakes but there were none left so I opted for a freshly fried haddock with chips. They had also run out of homemade tartare sauce. Fair enough. It was the end of the night and it proves they only serve fresh stock.
There are several Harpers in East Yorkshire. The one in Beverley is tucked down a back street (Lairgate) that has plenty of cars passing but not many pedestrians. Nevertheless they appear to be doing good business.
The staff said the reason they close so early is to avoid Saturday night drinkers and there were plenty of lairy folk about at 9pm in Beverley, much as there are in many English market towns at weekends.
The takeaway was staffed by friendly and efficient young people, all dressed in Harpers uniforms. There is an unusual offer of 'everlasting vinegar' at Harpers: if you buy a bottle for £2.50 you can return to have it refilled for free, again and again!
Anyway, on to the food. The chips were nice and chunky with a few shards as you'd expect from the end of the night. The haddock was lovely. Tasted like sweet, seaside fish. Fat flakes and nice, peaky, crispy batter.
After ordering I decided to also ask for curry sauce. It should have cost £1, but was given to me for free - presumably because it was the end of the night, and the already-potted sauce would've been thrown away. The sauce was a very dark, rich, homemade concoction, laden with raisins. I'd never tasted anything like it before! It was difficult to eat one pot alone, so I suggest if you go, you share it.
I sat under the market cross in the dark and ate my supper as loud drunks announced the next stop on their pub crawl.
Overall it was a pleasant takeaway experience. It would be interesting to see what the other outlets are like, being as David Hockney buys his chips from Harpers.
Ratings out of 5:
Chips: 3
Fish: 4
Curry sauce: 4
Everlasting vinegar option: 5 for novelty and generosity value.
Shop: 3
Service: 4
Over all: 3
Comments
Post a Comment