What's happened to Sea Cow? (Lounged)

[lordship_bod]

Just to resemble some kind of balance i had haddock and chips from there last night and the fish was fresh with crisp batter (not over-cooked) and good chips :)) however I am not a regular so will decline to comment on whether its gone down hill.....

[jumpinjackflash]

Best fish 'n' chips EVER can be found at The Jolly Bee Fish Bar on Devonshire Rd, SE23. Perfect fish - clean oil, nice batter and decent chips!

[SeanMacGabhann]

best fish and chip shop thread can be found

here

Let's keep this one focussed on Sea Cow and whether they can turn things around

[jimbo1964]

It seems the only way to turn it around is to stop producing crap food... although it seems that their once good reputation is now fried. Maybe we'll soon see Gorday Ramsay running up and down LL asking us all to give the new Sea Cow menu a try.

[New Bhoy]

went the day we moved in (afvter reading great reviews) - was average at best - that was six months ago. have been once again and again thought it was crap. dont understand what the fuss is about. cold chips and soggy batter. not nice. was going to give ti one more try...but actually why should i????? hmmm.....

[the seacow]

Dear all

I'm a little taken aback by some of the comments about my restaurant but I do believe feedback is the only way to improve when things go wrong. I started this back in September 2003 with the only intention to sell good fresh fish in a simple environment. Nothing flash, just consistently good food with friendly staff. Along the way the usual thing happened. We got busy, we thought we were brilliant and everyone started saying open up near us. We did a few, lost the plot, got too big too quick and suddenly the original ethos was a distant memory. Since then we have tried to focus back on ED, the original and with a bit of focus, the best. I cannot deny that over the summer, the festivals took over our lives and the restaurant took a back seat. Keef, I will have to pull you up on the selling of awful half cold food to stoners. The food is always piping hot and I think we do a good job. Perhaps you could come and do a shift with us at Bestival later this year and we can show you.

Dan, my brother is back in the restaurant from Thursday to Sundays. His number is 07515 398118 and mine is 07703 728907. If for whatever reason you get short changed on the quality of the food or the service falls way of the mark, let us know. In the old days this is how we sorted things out. We will spend the next couple of months pouring over these comments and tweak and adjust accordingly.

Cheers

Paul

[woodie]

sweet.

[mockney piers]

Well said that man.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Well done for responding Paul.

I will drop by again. I do miss the Sea Cow.

[Robb71]

Paul, i actually shared a taxi with you and my friend on the way to Bestival. I must say that i've always enjoyed the food at the SC and was in ED just before Xmas and it was fine, good fish and great chips and reasonably priced. Anyway all the best for 08 and no doubt see you in the IOW later this year.

[TillieTrotter]

A smart move there Paul. It's always hard to swallow critisism when you work so hard trying to do your best but it is always good to get customer feed back, good or bad. Good Luck to you.

[*Bob*]

Yes.. always better to talk to your clientele openly... instead of getting a chum to post on your behalf, prefacing your statements with "I'm guessing that blah blah" or "I imagine that blah blah" - when you obviously know exactly what's going on.

[lozzyloz]

Paul

I wish you every success in putting The Sea Cow back on track. I hope you're also able to pull back the loyalty of the customers that have been disappointed over the last year - me included. When TSC was being well run, the quality of ingredients, cooking and service was fantastic, but over the last 18 months it's been a lottery. I've had some good meals and some truly throwaway meals in that time, to the point that the last straw came in Oct last year. Small piece of fish swimming in oil and staff that seemed disinterested. Having met and spoken to you I was surprised that things had gotten so bad. Thought maybe you'd moved on. Reading what you've said above is good news. I'm looking forward to returning and I hope that TSC can once again be a consistently brilliant F&C shop and another good reason for living in East Dulwich. Cheers.

[peckhamboy]

Good response Paul, and commendably honest. I hope you get things back on track. I thought seacow was great when we first moved here, but had a couple of disappointing meals (mainly the chips - the fish has always been good in my opinion) and stopped going, but I'll definitely give it another go now.

[*Bob*]

I'd agree with Lozzy.. when it's good, it's as good as any I've had anywhere.

But the quality has been variable.

[Cassius]

Good luck Paul - for once I look forward to longer queues as they were the proof of fresh fish cooked on order.

[Andyng]

Ive had the same experience there too.Howether everytime I go

the one opposite forest hill satation Im never dissatisfied

[Tykeinexile]

Glad to see that you are taking the feedback seriously. The Seacow was, until recently one of my favourite places to eat. However, there is no denying that it's changed. We ate there last week and the service was awful at one point when we wanted to pay our bill we couldn't find anyone to take our dosh. The waiter seemed to have left the building and the person cooking had gone off to look for her. The atmostphere was awful and when we paid not one word of thanks not even a smile. The food wasn't bad - my fish was spot on but the chips were pale and not very pleasant. Hope you manage to get the place back on track - it was a great place to eat. Also maybe you could consider offering a low fat alternative to the chips - boiled potatoes for people like me on a low fat diet.

[jimbo1964]

Sweet potato chips are a real winner.

[cookie]

The rest of my family love the Sea Cow, but I rarely go as there are no Veggie alternatives at all.

Most chip shops offer at least a Jamaican veg patty or a cheese and onion pie. If processed food isn't their bag, then why not develop some type of home made beanburger or similar that you could batter and fry.

[lozzyloz]

Chips with mushy peas and a good dollop of ketchup on the side?

[Keef]

the seacow Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I cannot deny that over the summer, the festivals took over our lives and the restaurant> took a back seat. Keef, I will have to pull you up on the selling of awful half cold food to stoners. The food is always piping hot and I think we do a

good job.

That bit was more of a joke about festival food in general.

Good on you for coming on here and responding, and also for being honest and facing up to stuff.

[citizenED]

Admission! I've never been in the Sea Cow. However, that little detail has never stopped me enjoying the place. I love the fact I live in an area that has a fish and chip restaurant that looks so bloody good. Art on the walls, a fresh fish counter and a smart frontage. And now, we even get a proprietor who responds so positively to criticism. Hurrah.

[tomo]

Am fairly new to the forum, but feel I need to add my say. As a fish lover I have been to the seacow many times since it's opening and always been a big fan. I had noticed the last few times that I've got fish and chips to take away, that it was not made to order, resulting in dry overcooked fish. I had assumed this might have been due to late hour(nearly closing) rather than a general approach to cooking. However I ate there last friday eve and the haddock and chips was absolutely faultless, the service was spot on too. Hope this helps them get back on track, would be a shame to see it go.

[bald marauder]

Great news Paul, will come in this week for a takeaway and see how the new approach is working...

BM