Fish Kitchen, Dutton Park

On Thursday I went to Fish Kitchen in Dutton Park for lunch.  I had never dined there before, but many years ago the place was known as Rocky's Seafood, where I have had fish and chips on a number of occasions.  I don't know if Rocky's changed their name to the Fish Kitchen, or if someone bought Rocky's and then turned it into Fish Kitchen, or precisely what happened.  What I do know is that Rocky's was a traditional fish and chip shop, whereas Fish Kitchen is more of a seafood restaurant that also serves traditional fish and chips.  Anyway, when I got there I ordered my usual fish and chip shop fare:  battered cod, chips, and a potato scallop.  Before my food even arrived I was disappointed.  First, I was not asked if I wanted salt and/or vinegar, and when I sat down, I found not a salt shaker, nor even salt packets, but a poxxy little dish with salt in it.  Furthermore, when I asked for vinegar, I got a little tub with a small amount of vinegar inside.  This was a similar situation to the one I encountered at A Salt and Batter in St Lucia a couple of months ago.  I said it then, and I'll repeat it now.  If you serve chips, you should automatically add salt to them.  The onus is on the person who does not want salt to state this preference when the order is placed.  Failing this, you should ask your customer if they want salt.  Even failing this, you should provide salt shakers or at the very least salt packets to your customers.  A little dish with salt in it makes it very difficult for diners to evenly distribute the salt across their meal.  I swear that if this ever happens to me again, I'm going to start bringing my own salt and vinegar any time I go to get fish and chips.  All of this aside, at least the salt was of the good sea salt variety rather than simple table salt.  The food itself was for the most part quality however.  The chips were nice:  beer battered and a good level of crunchiness.  However, by the time I got to the last few chips, the salt and vinegar had dissolved the batter, rendering it soggy.  I can't recall a time that this has ever happened to me when the chips were otherwise quality.  The potato scallop was possibly the smallest I had encountered, but not insultingly small.  Unfortunately, the potato itself was a little underdone, but when it comes to properly deep fried potato scallops, I am not fussy.  As for the fish, I can't really fault the fish.  The batter was sound, crunchy, and held the fish together during the eating process.  The fish was well cooked and not flaky at all.  Despite the negative comments I have made, this was a genuinely good fish and chip shop style experience that could have been improved by correcting some very basic flaws.