Chez Liline

matt

Had a meal there last night - amazing. Scallops and mushrooms in sauce to start, monkfish as main, hazelbut nougat glace for dessert. Others had the fish curry, red snapper with chilli and assorted desserts. All food was absolutely brilliant. The owner(?) is really nice and knows his fish and food. Apparently they've been there 21 years! I asked how business was at the moment and he said very uneven and sort of winced. Any fish or food lovers really need to go there! Previously, I'd only been there once a few years ago and had some awkward crab dish.

poxy

I love Chez Liline. Never had a meal there that was anything less than great. I bought last night's dinner (an excellent snapper) from the same-business fishmonger next door.

Chez Liline would do much better if they put even a solitary meat dish on the menu for starters and mains. There's been a number of times I've wanted to take visiting friends there for dinner (for my benefit as much as the friends) only to be told by the friends that they don't like fish. So, we've had to go elsewhere. I've been tempted to say something to the owner the last couple of times I've been in.

Colette

hmmm I have same problem re veggie options... (I am not the veggie here, I stress). But I love the place dearly, and would hate to see it disappear. On the bright so, it has been there for a very long time so hopefully they can ride it out...

matt

poxy, you should mention it to him as my heart almost broke last night when i asked him how the business was doing. i asked him if they advertsied, and he said "no, we've been here for 21 years". the bus stop and recycle bins outside can't help?

tosscat

I am a veggie, and fish restaurants are the worse culprits in not providing for veggies. I'd rather go to Los Guaduales, at least they offer somthing as standard rather than having to prebook a veggie option.

andy

I've never been there, but constantly feel like I should. I too frequently dine with a vegetarian, which rules it out.

matt

Los Guaduales is nowhere near as good as Chez Liline in my opinion, but of course I know they are very different.

Four Eyes

The dodgy pavement outside, the recycle bins and boxes of fish guts out on the pavement usually make me walk round the other side of the bus stop unfortunately.

poxy

We went to Chez Liline last night. It was fabulous as per usual. What was unusual was how busy it became while we were there. There was only one couple in there when we went in but by the time we left more than half the tables were in use. The busiest we've ever seen it.

As we were leaving I asked our waiter (the owner, I think) if he could cater for non-fish eaters. He said yes if we gave him a couple of days' notice. Hurrah! That now means we can take friends where she is an avid fish eater and he is the grumpiest "boiled beef and carrots" diner imaginable.

The portions last night were so big that we had to ask for a doggy bag. I've just scarfed the remains of last night's dinner. Mmmm, Creole Red Snapper, absolutely wonderful. Chez Liline is my favourite place on SGR. (I'm not on commission.)

matt

That is brilliant news! Huzzah.

Colette

This is indeed excellent news! on a more distressing note, I finally went back to Pappagone (Porchetta is just that little bit closer...), on the basis that they have a wood-fired oven, and if you're making a pizza and you have a wood-fired oven, you're bound to produce a great pizza, it's child's play. Wrong. The pizza was average, average, average. I could just about live with the cheddar topping on the quattro formaggi, but how can you get the dough so wrong if you have a wood-fired oven? The pizza chefs are all Italian, they know what a good pizza is supposed to taste like, and there's no reason they can't recreate it here. I'm cross.

tosscat

I must admit that of late the pizzas are really variable sometimes doughy and chewy (which I like), sometimes thinner and crisper (which I also like) but sometimes not so nice and if anything a bit overdone. I don't think I've ever had nice pizza in la Porc mind, and their ice cream isn't so nice (I call them the ice cream lesbians - I don't know whether they're lesbians or not, but they are lovely, not that all lesbians are lovely, I might shut up now)

Colette

Yep, agreed, the ice cream in pappagone is a brilliant thing (although as a purist - and I'm sorry, I know I'm being picky here - it has been a bit altered for the UK market. The coffee is way too weak and sweet, also the chocolate).
The dough needs to be lighter and thinner (or as you say, fluffy and thicker round the edges, Naples style), but the current half-way house is wrong. Plus there should be a few charred bubbles if there's a wood fire. And I saw no bubbles.

tosscat

Mmmm, gelato. I'm off to Sicily on Friday to exercise my 2 gelati a day rule.

matt

Colette, I know one of the main guys there - Marco (one of two, I think) You should wrote them a letter. Or come with us some time!

Colette

To ask them why they can't make a decent pizza? I can see that going down well...

jandb

Chez Liline was closed for a while around Easter, but seemed to have re-opened last week. It was closed again on Saturday evening though. Does anyone know what's happening there?

poxy

Liline passed away. All the more reason to go and visit the restaurant. I'd hate to think the guy that runs it now (Liline's son, I think) runs it only to keep the old dear happy.

jandb

Sad news.

SimonB

I noticed it was closed on Saturday night as well ... shame

andy

That's a real shame. Where did you hear that, poxy?

Ian

It's on a sign on the fishmongers - I spotted it yesterday and meant to comment.

katiejane

I was reading it yesterday and someone saw me and said 'it's gone really down hill that place - since the fishmongers next door changed suppliers.'

Which sounded enlightened until I looked round and noted he looked a bit like Neil Young except more shuffly, and he had a can of special brew in his hand.

David

Mmmm, fine fresh fish and a can of Special Brew. Up there with the fillet mignon/ small can of [Gold Label](http://www.brewerschoice.net.au/images/u.k/gold label barley wine.JPG) combo.

hooofck

tosscat - where are you going in sicily? we went there for 10 days about this time last year and it was fantastic. climbing mt etna was probably the highlight. I liked the mafia museum in corleone (although slightly disappointed in the lack of a gift shop) but the wife preferred valle dei templi and teatro greco. anyway, have a great time.

Colette

mmmm... sicily, a brilliant place. I loved Stromboli more than Etna.

hooofck

ah, wanted to go to stromboli but didn't have time with the ferry... you go hiking in when it's dark so you can see the lava flow don't you? sounds fantastic.
we climbed up to the peak of etna which erupted in 2002/03 and looked down into the smouldering creator - truly amazing!

katiejane

I can confirm that tosscat is not in Sicily.

However, my recommendation, for what its worth is Sciacca on the SW coast. Lovely. Oh and panelle - mmmmmmmm.

hooofck

sounds like stroud green should be twinned with sicily.

dominic

Stroud Green needs more mysteriously unfinished building projects dotting the landscape if it wants to be twinned with Sicily. That and mad bastard drivers.

Colette

yep, and actually you can usually see it errupt, which is pretty cool.
if I knew how to embed a photo, I would.