Ark Fish Restaurant in Redbridge

My 86 year old mother treated us to a meal..table was wiped, debris on floor, mother mentioned to waitress, who could have dealt with it by saying 'Thank you Madam for pointing this out to me' but instead became abrasive and rude, leaving my mother shaking and close to tears. The waitress turned out to be the manager, who was just as unprofessional towards me when I challenged her behaviour towards my mother. Meal was totally spoilt. I wrote to the directors who fobbed me off with a 'Thank you, we will look into this, your custom is important to us' email. Very disappointing!

Food was good. Extremely rude "manager".......won't be going here ever again. She spoiled our anniversary meal surprise by being abrasive, rude and ignorant to elderly customer's' safety needs. Don't touch it with a bargepole!!

Great fish restaurant with plenty of appetising dishes. Friendly servers. Only downside was they only had 1 bottle of the wine we ordered.

We love this place . The food is amongst if not the best we have ever tasted provided you like fish if course. The staff are incredibly friendly & welcoming. Great comfortable & relaxing atmosphere. We live in Suffolk but think nothing of driving down for to dine here

Having eaten at the Ark on many many occasions over the years unfortunately on this occasion the rock eel from the special menu was not only cut so thin there was more batter than fish, but it was very dark and smelt on the turn. I gave it back as I couldn't eat it, it was taken back to chef who just sent a message back with the waiter saying it had been bought fresh that morning. I was going to just get the bill but my husband said wait for another fish so I waited for a cod that when it came was thick and white but tasted like it had been salted. Unfortunately very disappointed on this occasion.

Food was lovely but a little pricey, although portions were large. Staff were friendly and helpful. Will go back. Highly recommended.

Lovely restaurant, but the food was disappointing for the price. Not seasoned, the dish I consumed just had a few capers thrown on top of the fish with overcooked Broccoli and cooked without love costing £32. Staff serving absolutely lovely and attentive. Unfortunately won't be going again, far better fish restaurants around for less of the price.

I was taken there as a Valentines treat. The place is really nice. The food was excellent and the staff did really well considering the place was full.

A good place for lunch or dinner. A nice choice of food (obviously fish dishes being their specialty). A nice environment inside suitable for large families Tasty food from my experience.

The food was just sublime the staff were just excellent! Always wanted to go to this place for which I did and I highly recommend. Especially the seafood linguine and the prawn cocktail starter. And the price was well worth it

This is definitely the place to be for all fish lovers! The only problem is deciding on what you want to order! Definitely a place to re-visit. Service was excellent.

My first visit. I had grilled plaice which was fleshy and tasty but very overpriced. £26.00 for one course. Grilled fish with a side salad. No drinks. Difficult to comment on the atmosphere because only two other tables filled. However, I am told it's packed out on Friday and Saturdays. Didn't appear to have an allergy book, Server had to keep asking the Chefs. I am not sure I would go again.

An upmarket restaurant specialising in fish. Made a nice change to the usual! Could do with another waitress as there was only one and the restaurant was quite busy! Would recommend to anyone who likes fish 🐟 😇

Great atmosphere, service and provides free parking for customers. The seafood dishes unfortunately were a little disappointing in the sense that they didn't have much seafood taste. A sign that perhaps they were boiled separately and added to the sauce/soup at the end. Hopefully, just an off day as everything else was great.

Alex was great! His service was first class and attentative. It was our first time in this restaurant, but definitely not the last one!! Zone 4 bliss! 5* Thank you Alex!

Amazing. We were meant to be eating at Smiths in Abridge but they do not let children under 10 in which is annoying. But them cancelling our table was the best thing to happen. We booked Ark and was so impressed. The food is excellent, staff so friendly and professional and whole experience was 10/10. Highly recommend Ark Fish.

The food was amazing and beautifully presented . The waiter was friendly and helpful, Unfortunately as we were finishing our meal, the manageress ( I’m assuming) came passed our table saying “ il be needing this table” After spending almost £300 on a family meal I found it very unprofessional, . I felt as though we had been chucked out. We had to wait outside in the cold for a cab in the freezing cold, with a young child. I won’t be returning which is a shame because it is a nice restaurant with 2 nice waiter/ waitresses.

What started off as a lovely evening turned into a disappointing one. The serving staff were very nice and friendly, the food was excellent so no complaints there. However, just as we’d paid the bill and were finishing off our drinks, the manager was walking by our table and announced she needs the table back. I get that we’re only guaranteed the table for an amount of time, but there’s a way to approach this in a more polite manner. We felt like an inconvenience and were embarrassed by the rude way we were told to leave, where other customers could hear. In future, please approach the table and politely remind people rather than in passing/rudely! I also felt like this particular member of staff was keeping an eye on me, and at one point came bursting into the toilets. Very bizarre behaviour. A real shame, as everything else was great!

Food was delicious. The place itself is lovely and our waiter went above and beyond. Overall my party and I had a pleasant visit this evening until we were very rudely told our table was needed by the lady in charge. You don’t tell a customer who has just spent nearly £300 at your restaurant to get out in such an abrupt and unprofessional manner. I doubt we’ll be going back. Disappointing.

A great fish restaurant with fresh food and no frills.

Amazing value for money. We had not visited for a long time but will be returning more regularly after a fantastic 3 course meal - all 5 in our party cleared their plate for the starters, mains and desserts. The bill with us all having a couple of drink was just over £200. We would recommend starters ranging from the trio of starters, muscles and chorizo, seared scallops to calami. Mains I would recommend the oak smoked haddock, grilled salmon and anything else on the menu. Desserts were all delicious and it was a hard decision to choose one. Will have to visit again so I can choose another one next time! Service was excellent, really professional and personal at the same time. Tina the floor manager was so helpful and kind. Our waitress was so kind, helpful and attentive too. We will definitely be back soon! If you haven't been it's a must.

Amazing value for money. We had not visited for a long time but will be returning more regularly after a fantastic 3 course meal - all 5 in our party cleared their plate for the starters, mains and desserts. Starters ranging from the trio of starters, muscles and chorizo, seared scallops to calami. Mains I would recommend the oak smoked haddock, grilled salmon and anything else on the menu. Desserts were all delicious and it was a hard decision to choose one. Will have to visit again so I can choose another one next time! Service was excellent, really professional and personal at the same time. Tina the floor manager was so helpful and kind. Our waitress was so kind, helpful and attentive too. We will definitely be back soon! If you haven't been it's a must.

Service without a smile!!! We have never received such rude miserable service in a restaurant ever! Shame because the food is nice but the manager / owner is such a rude abrupt lady. It’s almost funny how rude she is and she makes you feel so unwelcome

Finally made my way back and with the restaurant now under new ownership so pleased we did!! Much better atmosphere, decor, service (Alex was brilliant!! 👍🏽☺️) and quality of food. Congratulations, we definitely will be back!

The cod fish and chips that my group and I ate at this restaurant were simply out of this world...🍽

We often eat here as the food is consistently good. We were served on this occasion by staff we hadn’t seen before and they were incredibly efficient and welcoming. Great service, large portions and excellent wine. I would highly recommend.

All around excellence. So fresh. Must try cod and chips dine in

The service here is spot on with a special mention to Sade, she was so pleasant and helpfull with a bubbly personality that lit up the room, she is a credit to any resturant. Totally recommended

Nice fish restaurant we had trio of fish starter with chorizo and prawns on side was very nice.I had chorizo and mussels main what had very nice sauce however and portion size however the food was a bit on expensive side.Great service, great atmosphere.Overall a pretty good night out.

The prices are too high for what it is - the fish and chips are decent but nothing to write home about. It seems you're paying here for the nice decor and that's about it.

Delicious fish dishes, also sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, and raspberry sorbet. The new potatoes taste a bit powdery which is a shame but their fish is always great

Fantastic fish restaurant with fresh fish every day.

I visited The Ark as part of a group to celebrate my daughters birthday. I was fully aware that this is a fish restaurant and although I am not a fish eater I saw there was an option for one meat dish/ steak, which I was happy to order. However the waitress said there was no steak available and offered me an alternative of chicken nuggets (children's menu). I found this unbelievable and showing a total lack of managerial responsibility not to have this in stock for the weekend ahead, bearing in mind that we were in the restaurant at 1730. At this time, there were only two tables occupied and yet throughout the meal the waitress did not come back to ask how the food was. The food itself was very nice and the salad which went with the scampi that I finally ordered (double portion of starter) had a very nice dressing on it, so compliments to the chef. At the end of the evening, the original waitress did not come with the bill but sent a young girl over. The bill included a service charge, which unsurprisingly we did not pay. I give the rating of three stars only because the members of the party commented on the food but zero stars for service.

Very good food! Had the cod with chips and mushy peas, portions were good. It was very nice atmosphere, would recommend to book as fills up quickly. Child meals are around £9.50 and the adult cod fish meal was £22.50 with chips included. Very nice building and would definitely recommend. Only thing is only children can have child meals. Apple pie is delicious.

Great food, lovely staff. Whitebait, fish cakes were very nice for starters. Main dish is quite big and comes in good quality

What a wonderful experience to eat here. Everything was just perfect, the beautiful atmosphere, the food and the service too. Alex our waiter was open and friendly and made it a place to remember. Thank you guys 😊

Excellent meal at Ark as always. First class service from our friendly Irish waiter and great food. I always have the skate because it’s so good. A special mention for the cherry pie and custard. So reliably good.

I’m a long-term regular here. It’s fantastic. The fish and the service is always excellent. No frills. What more do you need?

Local fish restaurant with a very varied menu. The staff are super friendly and efficient. All food comes out well presented and fresh. Highly recommended by me!

This place certainly isn't what it used to be. It's pricing is outrageous and has gone through the roof.

We had dinner there last night, really lovely restaurant and the food was delicious. Our waiter - absolutely brilliant, if there would be more than 5* i would happily give it to him. However we did have few unpleasant moments with the lady that's working there. Not sure if she is an owner or a manager. She's been staring at us for a long time while we were there. We came with a child and he was playing with the menu at one point, she ran to him to grab it away from him together with the cutlery that was there. Kid is 6 years old, he is not stupid and knows how to use cutlery. When we were leaving she just gave us a dirty look, didn't say goodbye, but she did that 2 min before for others leaving. I assume that she didn't like that we came with a child or that we are not English. Not sure what the problem was but I've been many places and never had this kind of attitude coming from restaurant staff. Definitely won't be going there again and will let other people know what experience we've got.

This is a spotlessly clean fish restaurant with pleasant staff and a wide menu. It’s been here a long time and has deservedly thrived. Recommended without hesitation.

Went there for lunch good staff and service and the fish was excellent highly recommended

Does what it says on the menu. Simple and well cooked classics, friendly staff and an eclectic dining crowd from all walks of West Essex life from vinyl wrapped Range Rovers to coach parties. Meals are hearty, so bring an appetite. I went for a fish cake with poached egg with hollandaise as a starter. They forgot the hollandaise and it tasted marvellous. Main course was grilled cod with brown shrimps. Whenever I see brown shrimp on the menu, I expect to get about three of them. Here, I got a bucket load on top of a very chunky cod fillet. Drinks selection is reasonable and prices for food and drink pretty good given the portion sizes. I paid less for a beer there than in the pub we'd just left ....

Excellent restaurant best fish restaurant in East London Well done

Visited the Ark on the 6th of May to celebrate wife’s Birthdays We have been coming to the Ark for many many years, have always had excellent food and service. We arrived with our daughter husband and two young grandchildren, as a party of six. After we were sitting our daughter went out to her car, and came back with a birthday balloon for her mum, to put on the table, as most people do on a birthday. Ordered food and drinks, and was having a lovely night with family, especially with the grandchildren being with us. At the end of our meal, the waitress came out with a birthday cake in a box, and brought it to our table, when the waitress left I heard my daughter saying to my wife, that she had been informed by the waitress that, if the cake is cut and we were to eat it, there would be a charge of £12 !!! Once I heard this, I was so annoyed, as I said previously, myself and my wife have been coming to the Ark for many many years, and you have the audacity to want to charge £12. Also knowing that it was my wife’s birthday which the staff could see there was a birthday celebration, the staff never even played happy birthday through your speakers, which normally happens when I have been in the Ark. I showed out to the waitress to bring over the bill , which happened to be £241. I then said to the waitress that I am so annoyed that the Ark wanted to charge £12 to cut and eat the cake which my daughter had bought herself, and that I was so disgusted with the Ark, after just spending £241 , and being a loyal customer, and spending a lot of money in this restaurant over the years that I would never return again. The waitress said she was sorry to hear that, and that I should call the manager. The next day Sunday 7th of May I phoned the Ark, a young lady answered the phone, I asked to speak to the manager, she asked me what it was about which I explained, she said that the manager was away on holiday, and would I like to speak to the owner as he was there, I said yes I would like to, I waited on the phone, but after a short while the young lady said that he was in a meeting, which I replied, is that because I want to speak to him, she apologised and said she would get someone to call me back, this never happened. Obviously you certainly don’t care, about customer loyalty otherwise you would have contacted me the same day. Just to clarify This is about principle, and I will never return to your restaurant again. Glenn.

I had such a horrible experience. The staff were racist and I could hear them approaching other white customers differently (I am a brown skin person). We ordered the scallops and the calamari. The scallops were overcooked and served with a tomato sauce that did not pair well. The calamari were served with a flavourless mayonnaise type sauce. The food was bland and service horrible. Do not recommend.

Bon restaurant de poissons avec des produits frais.

I was taken here for lunch by a friend who has eaten here many times. The fish was beautifully cooked fresh and came with a choice of salad or chips. I selected chips, but the fish was of such a large size I hardly had room for the chips.

Great early dinner for my wife and myself. The service was impeccable. Food is fresh, tasty and delicious. Portions not small. Our first visit and we will return. Thank you.

Due to illness, this was my first meal out for many months. So expectations were high. My wife and I enjoyed a lovely meal. The service was faultless. The food was fresh and delicious. The restaurant has a lovely “family vibe”. Not pretentious. Had an early dinner and we look forward to returning. Thank you. Philip

One of mine and my husband's favourite places to dine. Really good service and the food is tasty and fresh, always! I don't eat fish. The occasions I've visited, the chef has made me something suitable for my dietary needs and on each occasion it has tasted great. I highly recommend this restaurant whether for small bookings or group bookings.

The food is very good, no atmosphere as the place was fairly empty. Staff OK, nothing special. I have only been lunchtime. Evening could be very different.

The food was so basic. It was absolutely terrible. I would not recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy. And to top this I got a parking ticket in the restaurant car park.

I used to go to the Ark at least once a week when Mark Farrell owned this restaurant. I have been there 3 times since Mark sold it and the food is not comparable. The food was definitely well below standard and to top this after eating a very mediocre meal I got a parking ticket in the car park. I called the restaurant and told them and they did apologise and said they would sort it out, but I could tell by the attitude they were not in the least bit interested. I have now received a £170 fine from the bailiffs. i called the restaurant to see what they could do to help me and they were not in the least bit interested. I will never go back and I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone.

It's not the best, overpriced, and a bit stingy with the bread and butter

Fabulous food and service a real favourite

Fantastic food, Friendly and attentive staff, beautiful decor. Would highly recommend the monkfish dish also.

Wonderfull food, great service, lovely ambience, I always go for the middle skate, fresh, and crispy batter and proper chips, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for, Quality.

Food was lovely. 9 of us all had starters and mains. No complaints sbout any of our meals. Surroundings good. Staff were also very helpful. Esp Georgia (I think her name was or Georgina) thanks so much for your help when I fainted (not sure why) but I appreciate the help and advice u gave to get me back on feet.

Very nice, quiet location, but no halal food. Be careful of alcohol in the food. Food was good, peaceful atmosphere, slightly overpriced

Great food and kind waitress. Able to accommodate without a reservation. Only thing I wouldn’t order again are the new potatoes - a bit plain/boring. Aside from this, the food was 10/10

The food was excellent. The portions were plenty. The service was very attentive. Absolutely will go again 🙂

Food was good, staff and the support they gave my disabled mother was excellent, particularly Novera, who made the afternoon a very pleasant experience

Top notch fish and chips and service, despite high end prices and 50% price increase since our last visit! Still wonderful and we had a great time.

Warm and friendly service and the service was wonderful

Nice staff. Watch out for car park charges. Do not use car park if not dining in the restaurant.

First time back here in years The Starters of Scampi & Prawn cocktail were great that's where we should have left it . Our main meal consisted of one grilled plaice which was tasteless and the other was a fried plaice, very greasey and undercooked and watery. These dishes were accompanied with chips which had clearly been cooked earlier as they were dry in texture. Waitress was pleasant but failed to ask if our meal was satisfactory. Money was more important than service quality Skipped the desert and headed home Very disappointed 😞

Visited this restaurant for a meal with friends. Three of us had fried fish and chips which were acceptable. However, the fourth member of the party had the fish stew which was awful. It had 2 prawns and 12 mussels, a tin of tomatoes/passata and some beans. We were so disappointed.

From the minute you enter the establishment lovely food smells are around you. All of it very tasty.

Heard amazing things about this restaurant and was really disappointed :( Service was decent however, the food looked so pretty but although it is expensive it tasted awful. We requested to remove bacon from a fish dish and was told the fish was prepared from the day before hence it cannot be removed…how is this then considered a fresh fish? The white fish and pesto&mash was completely bland. The Seafood Linguine was the worst I’ve tasted and smelt extremely fishy. The prawns were definitely off and I refused to eat the remainder of it due to the bad taste and was shortly followed with a very upset tummy. The only positive thing we had was the scallops in the starter. I emailed the restaurant several times about the matter and didn’t hear back. Upsetting to see so many other people had enjoyed their food and ours was the opposite.

Excellent food and service, fautless

Very nice food and improved decoration since I was last there.

Great food and good menu lovely service although bit pricey.

Great evening. Food simple and cooked well. Fresh and tasty. Don't go if you want anything other than fish though !

Been many times although this time felt a little neglected by staff. Floor manager attended to us a few times which made up for this. Food always great I hope this place survives the mad times ahead

Good but soooo expensive. They charge u everything!!!

Really nice atmosphere, delicious food with excellent service.

We previously enjoyed food with Ark restaurant, but last two times we had very bad experience, both food and service. Today we thought we try again after long time, but I was very disappointed again, waitresses were miserable and rude, and food wasn’t good either. I am not going back there again!! Miserable miserable miserable unfortunately!!!

Great tasting food and friendly service. However we dined there on a Friday night and expected a buzzing atmosphere with more custom but instead the restaurant closed just after 10pm! We were the last customers to leave and felt subtle pressure to eat up as staff wanted to leave! Although the food was good and the restaurant was nicely decked out, it lacked ambience for me..

Love this place clean and friendly staff great service and quality food just be carful the portions are big

Service was good and there is an excellent standard of service. The humble mash potatoes was the yummiest I ever had.

Best Fish Restaurant in town! Great service, nice atmosphere and perfected food. Will return for round 2. Thank you Ark.

We had such an incredible Sunday lunch here! We'd been wanting to come to Ark for about two years but never got around to it, we'd heard nothing but good things...I was expecting traditional surroundings...blue and white tiles, white chairs and lots of white and blue table linen....I was very wrong...it's very modern inside and extremely Essex. I'd booked for 12:45 but we arrived very early at midday which they were happy to accommodate. Starters arrived very quickly but we were the only people there at that time - thankfully the pace of service slowed a little once it got busier. Mains were stunning. My wife's halibut fillet was cooked to perfection as was my cod and chips. I only needed to taste one chip and the mushy peas to know that I'd be in for a real treat! They know what they're doing here that's for sure. When fish & chips are cooked traditionally and done this well - it's utter joy! If staff are reading this.... For me, there are some glaring omissions from the menu that I'd like to have seen... Potted shrimp Smoked haddock chowder (they already do a leek and potato soup) A Surf and turf option. Before we left, we booked to come back in December! Overall, we loved it. Really pretty faultless.

Very friendly staff, extremely filling and tasty food. Above and beyond to make us feel welcome. Will be back very soon

Friendly staff and lovely food, especially the halibut which was a piece of perfection as were the oyster starter which were fantastic.

Good food, great staff, lovely atmosphere.

This is my first review post covid as I have been reluctant to leave reviews knowing how hard the restaurant industry has been hit, especially for small businesses, but tonight I left the restaurant fuming by a comment of a young blonde, rude waitress. We ate here tonight as a birthday meal, and my baby was with us. The food was ok, overpriced for fish and chips but we knew the score. We weren’t offered drinks throughout the meal, it’s important to note that only 5 tables were being used. My baby as expected became restless so we entertained him as best as possible, as to not interrupt other diners, we were given desert menus and he held one, the waitress upon taking the order wanted the menu back, so I asked if he could keep it to keep him quiet, she responded no he will ruin it…. He is 10 months old, the laminated menu probably cost £1, I’m not sure why she felt the need to make this comment as it blew her tip but actually reading the other reviews it’s pretty obvious the service is abysmal and I’m amazed this waitress has a job given most of the reviews point to her bad service ( see trip advisor) It’s disappointing we experienced this as previously we have had a good experience here, we will not visit again and i would recommend anyone with maybe rethink their employees.

This is my first review post covid as I have been reluctant to leave reviews knowing how hard the restaurant industry has been hit, especially for small businesses, but tonight I left fuming by a comment of a young blonde, rude waitress. We ate here tonight as a birthday meal, and my baby was with us. The food was ok, overpriced for fish and chips but we knew the score. We weren’t offered drinks throughout the meal, it’s important to note that only 5 tables were being used. My baby as expected became restless so we entertained him as best as possible, as to not interrupt other diners, we were given desert menus and he held one, the waitress upon taking the order wanted the menu back, so I asked if he could keep it to keep him quiet, she responded no he will ruin it…. He is 10 months old, the menu probably cost £1, I’m not sure why she felt the need to make this comment as it blew her tip but actually reading the other reviews it’s pretty obvious the service is abysmal and I’m amazed this waitress has a job given most of the reviews point to her bad service. It’s disappointing we experienced this as previously we have had a good experience here, we will not visit again and i would recommend anyone with kids to avoid, it clearly doesn’t cater for them they would be best to remove the children section from their menu, and maybe rethink their employees. Date of visit: October 2022

My first visit and it didn't disappoint. Food was excellent and service was good too. Nice choice of wines. Will definitely visit again soon

This used to be the vibrant bustling go to fish restaurant for the area. Went for a birthday dinner today and should have guessed by the alarming lack of patronage something was amiss. 3 of our party had been salivating about our favourite plaice on...

Haven’t visited here for about 5 years and I can see why now. Went for my wife’s birthday and arrived here at 12-30pm for lunch, we were first in and seemed nice setting. Blonde waitress looked like she’d had a long shift, which I get...

We have been regulars in this restaurant for years. We live nearby. Prices have increased by at least 25% in last few years. Tonight my partner and I were hugely disappointed by the price and surprised by the huge increase and being charged extra for...

Invited to friend’s birthday party. Five tiny tail ends jellied eels, when I pointed this out , the miserable short haired waitress gave me a dirty look and said ‘that’s how they come’. Skate over cooked and dry , possibly frozen, tasteless. Service , non-...

First time dining here, driven past in many occasions. I want to start with the good. Good Service, friendly staff, not long wait for food. We had the potato and leek soup and whitebait to start. Followed my fried fish and chips. Bad news The fish I think was under cooked, too wet almost slimey in the middle. I enjoyed the front and back end as they were crispy. That was yesterday, BUT THIS MORNING I HAVE had the runs and my partner the same.!!! I now think the fish was not cooked properly or past its best. I would have liked to leave a better review because I enjoyed my dining experience, but today I am visiting the toilet every 30 minutes so please Could the restaurant double check their fish.

Top fish restaurant - lovely staff - great pricing

Have been to the Ark many times and the food is always great, however, the last time we visited the service was terrible. I went with my elderly mother and partner and as they are not big eaters we decided to order only 2 main courses. When I told the waitress our order she immediately informed me that there was a minimum spend on food of £12 each. The 2 dishes we ordered were £22 and £19 each so we’d already surpassed that amount, not to mention the 2 starters we’d ordered. Clearly maths were not her strong point! It felt like she was telling us off for not ordering enough and left a bad taste in our mouth. Our total bill was £89. I will always return to the Ark for the food but this type of service has put me off somewhat.

Fish great chips could be better. Service good. Evening spoilt by a very loud argument going on in the kitchen with disgusting language and the waitresses were very upset Don’t think I will return as thought this was very poor

Great seafood and everything else

Pleasant surroundings with good service. Food was good but the chunky chips were quite 'hard' hence only given four stars. Definitely better that now you can book.