The Traditional English Restaurants of London

This Notting Hill stalwart - an area that achieved worldwide fame thanks to the film of the same name - was founded by the Geale family in 1939, but they finally parted company with it in 1999; some would say 'not before time' as it was starting to reflect a slightly rundown image.

The latest owners have given the place much more than just a lick of paint, with a completely new look, and badly needed it was as well! The menu continues to offer up similar dishes to before, specialising in fish, chips and extras like mushy peas, dill pickles and sweet pickled onions, though naturally, the prices have risen somewhat at the same time.

Most importantly, the fish is fresh, cooked to order, and the quality is consistently good. The traditional choices of cod, haddock, hake and sole are on offer, cooked in crispy batter, whilst their fishcakes have always been a personal favourite of mine, they have gone a bit upmarket and are now made with salmon and leek.

Among their starters they offer oysters, from the Duchy of Cornwall no less, as well as old stalwarts like fish soup, prawn cocktail and smoked salmon, and I have always been an addict of potted brown shrimps, a real British delicacy.

Lack of space used to be a bit of a problem, but the layout has been completely reorganised to the benefit of customers, though they cannot be over-generous because of the character of the building, however, it still does offer reasonable value for the area, which tends to be rather pricey these days, and that is a compensation for many.

Puddings are kept deliberately simple though rather calorific, with treacle tart served with clotted cream, a dieter's nightmare, chocolate brownie with white chocolate ice cream, ice cream and sorbets, and finally the delightfully named Eton mess.

Geales has developed a loyal following over the years, and devotees must hope that they have not made too many changes, but others feel that, as the standards of food and service have undoubtedly improved with the change of ownership, it has definitely benefited from being brought a little more up to date.