Big portions even for small cod, lots of lovely chips, delicious fish - very fresh and nice batter. Lots of sides available etc + cold drinks. Price good too.
Susan Wickens
Pre ordered 4 cod and chips to take away. They cook to order, so preorder saves time waiting . Fish was beautiful, such crisp batter. Lovely fresh chips. I have been using trawlers since the 1970s. It's changed ownership recently but still the best in town.
Catherine Streich
Such a surreal experience. We arrived and were seated right away and then it took over 15 minutes for someone to come to the table and take our order. We ordered wine and fish and chips, the wine came quickly but even though we ordered the same sizes, one glass was extremely overfilled, and the other had much less than the ordered amount. I asked the waiter to give me more to fill the glass to the correct amount and he did happily, but it took forever. After waiting over 30 minutes for two orders of fried fish and chips we finally asked why it was taking so long and they realized that due to some error of theirs the order had not been placed, so they made it quickly (took under 3 minutes from when we mentioned until when we got it… after waiting over 30 minutes originally). The waiter apologized and offered to refill our drinks for free. Then he said the drinks would be taken off the bill so we were happy. The food came and it was very good. However, when we went to pay, we saw that they still charged us for the drinks, and when we asked to split the bill, we were actually charged more than the bill (the waiter calculated “half” of the bill which was actually more than half). So not only did we wait an insane amount of time for fried fish, we also paid more than we originally should have. We were too tired to argue, and we were late to our train (we already missed one train because the food took so long) so we just paid it so we could finally leave. It’s too bad because we liked the food and the atmosphere, but the service issues were a nightmare so I’m not sure we can recommend the dine-in service.
piercewilliam991
Having re-read my somewhat scathing review of Trawlers after my last visit several years ago I thought I had better post a new one pretty, damn quick. I vowed I would never go back after enduring sloppy fish, refried chips and a cold reception from tired, uninterested staff. So I knew it could only get better. Now we have Alex from Madeira in charge and he is the son of the gentleman who has run the Holiday Inn fish emporium at Eastbourne for many years in such good style. And this is a very decent effort. Alex has served his family apprenticeship and, a few months ago, took over Trawlers in Seaford which once had a fabulous reputation one for tasty fish but then nosedived with a succession of new owners under-performing. Imagining I was in the Holiday Inn, I placed my usual order of grilled plaice with salad or chips but it seems salad is not available yet. However, the meal was was very good indeed, just like Dad produces in that place a little way up the coast. To celebrate I added an order of Golden Syrup Sponge in custard for dessert and a bottle of pop. All good value at about £16. Apparently, steak and burgers are also available for non-fish lovers but the full menu is not yet complete. Service is good and the staff friendly and young. So well done, Alex. Dad should be proud. He's proving a 'chip' off the old block.
haydn chan
I ordered for a takeawayTry another fish n chips place if you can. The batter was paper thin and not crispy at all. The salt and vinegar came in satchets, Which was very unusual as the server didn't ask for whether we wanted salt or vinegar or not. Neither the cod or skate were fresh. Really would like to be able to point out something positive about this place, but the only thing I can point out is the reasonable price.
Seafordhead
Food was excellent. The salmon, skate and cod was cooked beautifully. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend a visit
chorleyroad
When other countrys look at our obsession with the great British chip shop they must surely wonder why...and unfortunately after eating a polystyrene encased offering of the chips from this once great south coast chippy I'm inclined to join them.
Dr Shahid Malik
Atmosphere and food were decent. Reason for low rating is poor service. Suggestions for management towards the end.Ordered a chef's special grilled salmon. It looked appealing enough, but was thoroughly soaked in oil. I dabbed a morsel in some tissue which drenched it in oil (pic attached). After just two morsels, I had to send it back as it was way too oily to eat.I asked for it to be removed from our bill, and it was taken away without fuss, but without much concern for what was wrong with it.To clarify, we routinely cook salmon at home and this was much more oily than reasonable. I asked a server if they added oil, and to my surprise I was told that yes, oil is added so the fish doesn't stick to the pan...which means this is fried salmon then, not grilled! Plus, even on a medium-heat pan, salmon can be cooked with no oil.When it came to settling the bill, the salmon was still in the bill! I asked again for it to be removed and was told point blank that these are the items we ordered, and items cannot be removed from the bill.After about 5mins of a polite 'standoff' a staff member said a manager has to remove items from the bill. I suggested someone call their manager, and wondered why they didn't think of it before rather than forcing me to pay. After another few mins, the manager instructed staff how to remove items from the bill, and I was on my way.Suggestions to staff and management:please train staff how to handle such situations. Show some empathy towards customers. Staff members were all polite, but adversarial rather than trying to find out my issues with the dish. They may well be correct in a situation, but a customer is much more likely to leave negative reviews than positive. Staff should also have a means of changing a bill if necessary.Once the bill was settled, I offered more information about the dish, including suggesting changing the name to pan-fried salmon or something. Grilled by definition means barely any oil is used. A different staff member told me they don't use any oil with the salmon, it is grilled entirely oil-free. At this point I just thanked them for their help and left.
Almyra
Excellent! Couldn’t fault the quality, service or cleanliness of this place. Generous portions, piping hot, light crisp non-greasy batter on the fish. Friendly and fast service. We thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely return. Thank you
Dearheart1
This was the best fish I have had for years. We used the fish and chip take away, not their restaurant . There was a big queue, but well worth the wait.
Alex and the team were very welcoming. The philippino waiter (apologies but we didn't get his name) was exceptionally welcoming and attentive. Good value fish and chips, and of a generous portion. Would highly recommend this restaurant
M Tsg
Excellent service and great fish & chips! The whitebait and tartar sauce was delicious. The 'regular' cod was huge but very well fried, fresh juicy fish and proper chips with realistic sized bowls of condiments. It was a saving grace for an otherwise disappointing/depressing visit to the town on an August Saturday.
Ty E
I'm from London and this is my first time down here, so glad I found this place. The food was amazing I had the trawlers special, the cod was fresh and crispy, the chips were the best I've ever had so much I had to get another to share. Definitely recommend if you live or go down here. Hopefully I come back another day
Yasin kaya
AVOID THIS PLACE. Ordered a large cod and my friend ordered a small, they were comparable in size. Cod not as fresh as you would expect from a seaside town, I get fresher cod from my local in London. Chips were mushy and greasy.Update: I was sick multiple times in the hours after. Don't feel great even now.Owner claims this is a fake review but I was there at lunchtime on 18/08, my total was £16 for a large cod and small chips and 2 cans of Fanta, I have the bank transaction to prove it. I couldn't come back as I was working and wasn't close by when I ate it. Fresh cod should not have a strong fishy taste to it when it's fresh. Wish I had taken photos of the size comparison of the fish now.
jamjar1953
Visiting our friends with our grandchildren, it was suggested we went for fish and chips in the Trawers fish and chip shop. What a little gem, staff were exceedingly friendly, nothing too much trouble. The owner came and spoke to us, what a delightful young man, very hard working. The fish and chips were fabulous, the nicest I’ve had in ages, the kids enjoyed sausage and a steak burger, empty plates at the end. Hubby had scampi with salad, beautifully presented again clean plate. What a brilliant place to eat
Big portions even for small cod, lots of lovely chips, delicious fish - very fresh and nice batter. Lots of sides available etc + cold drinks. Price good too.
Pre ordered 4 cod and chips to take away. They cook to order, so preorder saves time waiting . Fish was beautiful, such crisp batter. Lovely fresh chips. I have been using trawlers since the 1970s. It's changed ownership recently but still the best in town.
Such a surreal experience. We arrived and were seated right away and then it took over 15 minutes for someone to come to the table and take our order. We ordered wine and fish and chips, the wine came quickly but even though we ordered the same sizes, one glass was extremely overfilled, and the other had much less than the ordered amount. I asked the waiter to give me more to fill the glass to the correct amount and he did happily, but it took forever. After waiting over 30 minutes for two orders of fried fish and chips we finally asked why it was taking so long and they realized that due to some error of theirs the order had not been placed, so they made it quickly (took under 3 minutes from when we mentioned until when we got it… after waiting over 30 minutes originally). The waiter apologized and offered to refill our drinks for free. Then he said the drinks would be taken off the bill so we were happy. The food came and it was very good. However, when we went to pay, we saw that they still charged us for the drinks, and when we asked to split the bill, we were actually charged more than the bill (the waiter calculated “half” of the bill which was actually more than half). So not only did we wait an insane amount of time for fried fish, we also paid more than we originally should have. We were too tired to argue, and we were late to our train (we already missed one train because the food took so long) so we just paid it so we could finally leave. It’s too bad because we liked the food and the atmosphere, but the service issues were a nightmare so I’m not sure we can recommend the dine-in service.
Having re-read my somewhat scathing review of Trawlers after my last visit several years ago I thought I had better post a new one pretty, damn quick. I vowed I would never go back after enduring sloppy fish, refried chips and a cold reception from tired, uninterested staff. So I knew it could only get better. Now we have Alex from Madeira in charge and he is the son of the gentleman who has run the Holiday Inn fish emporium at Eastbourne for many years in such good style. And this is a very decent effort. Alex has served his family apprenticeship and, a few months ago, took over Trawlers in Seaford which once had a fabulous reputation one for tasty fish but then nosedived with a succession of new owners under-performing. Imagining I was in the Holiday Inn, I placed my usual order of grilled plaice with salad or chips but it seems salad is not available yet. However, the meal was was very good indeed, just like Dad produces in that place a little way up the coast. To celebrate I added an order of Golden Syrup Sponge in custard for dessert and a bottle of pop. All good value at about £16. Apparently, steak and burgers are also available for non-fish lovers but the full menu is not yet complete. Service is good and the staff friendly and young. So well done, Alex. Dad should be proud. He's proving a 'chip' off the old block.
I ordered for a takeawayTry another fish n chips place if you can. The batter was paper thin and not crispy at all. The salt and vinegar came in satchets, Which was very unusual as the server didn't ask for whether we wanted salt or vinegar or not. Neither the cod or skate were fresh. Really would like to be able to point out something positive about this place, but the only thing I can point out is the reasonable price.
Food was excellent. The salmon, skate and cod was cooked beautifully. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend a visit
When other countrys look at our obsession with the great British chip shop they must surely wonder why...and unfortunately after eating a polystyrene encased offering of the chips from this once great south coast chippy I'm inclined to join them.
Atmosphere and food were decent. Reason for low rating is poor service. Suggestions for management towards the end.Ordered a chef's special grilled salmon. It looked appealing enough, but was thoroughly soaked in oil. I dabbed a morsel in some tissue which drenched it in oil (pic attached). After just two morsels, I had to send it back as it was way too oily to eat.I asked for it to be removed from our bill, and it was taken away without fuss, but without much concern for what was wrong with it.To clarify, we routinely cook salmon at home and this was much more oily than reasonable. I asked a server if they added oil, and to my surprise I was told that yes, oil is added so the fish doesn't stick to the pan...which means this is fried salmon then, not grilled! Plus, even on a medium-heat pan, salmon can be cooked with no oil.When it came to settling the bill, the salmon was still in the bill! I asked again for it to be removed and was told point blank that these are the items we ordered, and items cannot be removed from the bill.After about 5mins of a polite 'standoff' a staff member said a manager has to remove items from the bill. I suggested someone call their manager, and wondered why they didn't think of it before rather than forcing me to pay. After another few mins, the manager instructed staff how to remove items from the bill, and I was on my way.Suggestions to staff and management:please train staff how to handle such situations. Show some empathy towards customers. Staff members were all polite, but adversarial rather than trying to find out my issues with the dish. They may well be correct in a situation, but a customer is much more likely to leave negative reviews than positive. Staff should also have a means of changing a bill if necessary.Once the bill was settled, I offered more information about the dish, including suggesting changing the name to pan-fried salmon or something. Grilled by definition means barely any oil is used. A different staff member told me they don't use any oil with the salmon, it is grilled entirely oil-free. At this point I just thanked them for their help and left.
Excellent! Couldn’t fault the quality, service or cleanliness of this place. Generous portions, piping hot, light crisp non-greasy batter on the fish. Friendly and fast service. We thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely return. Thank you
This was the best fish I have had for years. We used the fish and chip take away, not their restaurant . There was a big queue, but well worth the wait.
Restaurantji Recommends
Alex and the team were very welcoming. The philippino waiter (apologies but we didn't get his name) was exceptionally welcoming and attentive. Good value fish and chips, and of a generous portion. Would highly recommend this restaurant
Excellent service and great fish & chips! The whitebait and tartar sauce was delicious. The 'regular' cod was huge but very well fried, fresh juicy fish and proper chips with realistic sized bowls of condiments. It was a saving grace for an otherwise disappointing/depressing visit to the town on an August Saturday.
I'm from London and this is my first time down here, so glad I found this place. The food was amazing I had the trawlers special, the cod was fresh and crispy, the chips were the best I've ever had so much I had to get another to share. Definitely recommend if you live or go down here. Hopefully I come back another day
AVOID THIS PLACE. Ordered a large cod and my friend ordered a small, they were comparable in size. Cod not as fresh as you would expect from a seaside town, I get fresher cod from my local in London. Chips were mushy and greasy.Update: I was sick multiple times in the hours after. Don't feel great even now.Owner claims this is a fake review but I was there at lunchtime on 18/08, my total was £16 for a large cod and small chips and 2 cans of Fanta, I have the bank transaction to prove it. I couldn't come back as I was working and wasn't close by when I ate it. Fresh cod should not have a strong fishy taste to it when it's fresh. Wish I had taken photos of the size comparison of the fish now.
Visiting our friends with our grandchildren, it was suggested we went for fish and chips in the Trawers fish and chip shop. What a little gem, staff were exceedingly friendly, nothing too much trouble. The owner came and spoke to us, what a delightful young man, very hard working. The fish and chips were fabulous, the nicest I’ve had in ages, the kids enjoyed sausage and a steak burger, empty plates at the end. Hubby had scampi with salad, beautifully presented again clean plate. What a brilliant place to eat