West End Cafe in Argyll & Bute

First off, I had no option but to give this a one star as trip advisor won’t allow you to leave the star option blank. This is the worst chip shop ever. Worst tasting fish supper I’ve ever had. I had 6 bones within 2 minutes of eating.. Soggy batter. Frozen,cheap,Absolutely disgusting 🤢!! The coffee they serve is also cheap crap!! Avoid,avoid,avoid!! When I advised the girl who served us,her reply was, oh ok,that is £29.50. Don’t know how this place is still open. Stay away.

Worst battered fish I have ever tasted. The batter was thick and soggy with a strange taste and was inedible. Whatever kind of fish it was tasted of cardboard, absolutely awful. Only consolation was the chips which were okay.

We had been recommended this place as the best to get fish and chips - you are at the seaside you expect something good - no way that is happening here; front line staff doing their best back room staff - less said - the batter was completely inedible and the fish wasn't fresh

Nice food, much more on offer than most chippys. Friendly staff.

Ordered 2 fish and chips to take out. They were as good as you get nowadays, soggy chips but a well cooked crispy fish. The staff were busy talking to each other and made you feel you were bothering them.

probably the best fish and chips on the island Not Wish I had read the recent reviews Hope I see the proprietors soon. Update Today's visit 17 August 2023 Fish supper was easily the worst I have ever attempted to eat. It was absolutely awful, the fish was not very fresh and was definitely not haddock, although it is not listed as haddock on their menu, the batter was not cooked and was wet and raw inside. I suspect the fish was low grade whiting and strangely it fish was overcooked even if the batter was not cooked. The chips were made with potatoes that were fresh once. They were prepared without the potatoes being eyed, and there were very few whole chips, most of them were small dry, almost dehydrated crispy bits ( even the dugs refused them ). The alleged chips were pale without much color even though they seem like they had been reheated more than once. Value for money 0 points Quality 0 points. However their service was fairly was quick. Do yourself a favor and do not waste yer money. No photos as it might shock my viewers

Easily the worst fish and chips. I have eaten in the UK… The fish itself was very good, but the breading was soggy almost as if it been microwaved. There was a line of locals waiting, so I thought this would be a good place, so either they’re desperate or the servers decided I was an American wouldn’t know good fish and chips - either way never coming back very disappointing and very pricey.

Just terrible. Service was so slow, ordered a cheese pizza which took ages to make. Fish supper we also ordered sat in the heated bit the entire time. Got the food home and it was awful. Pizza tasted so cheap, base and sauce so basic. The fish however was inedible and full of bones. All slimey inside. Didn’t have time to take it back. The 4 of us ended up just sharing the chips. AVOID

Best chip shop in town its five star spotless well stocked with various sweet's also and juice menu AMAZON.

Fish supper very poor, disappointed

This is the worst fish and chips I have ever had...The batter if you could call it batter was like a oil soaked rubber mat and the fish inside was very thin and tasteless,chips not too bad but a bit soggy,needless to say the seagulls got a meal for free..Now I must find somewhere else to eat....Save yourself some money and give it a miss..

I wish I'd bothered to read a few reviews before ordering. The fish was dreadful. The batter was a fat soaked sponge and totally in edible. I was looking forward to a crispy battered fish by the sea. The chips were OK. Service good, pleasant staff. However, it was a very disappointing takeaway.

Poor customer service. Poor quality fish, dry boney fish. Would never use again. Really disappointing we have recommend in past. New owners??

We went for a fish tea and it was so fresh and tasty. The woman dealing with us was very friendly and helpful. Definitely go back.

HAd an excellent gluten free fish su supper in the small Back restaurant. Great service good food in delightful surroundings.

We were visiting Rothesay and passed this chippy, looked busy so took that as a good sign. On entering we were a bit put off by the smell and my husband asked what the food was cooked in - vegetable oil. We don’t usually like this, prefer beef dripping but ordered anyway. We ordered two single fish and took them home to eat. First bite was full of bones and the fish was like rubber. The batter was also like rubber. Absolutely disgusting, binned after one bite. Do not go here, waste of money.

Spent the day going around Rothesay had a great day till we went to the chippy tasted like doughnut batter on the fish lots of bones couldn't eat it chips were ok but disappointed wast of money D-

Ice cream good choice. Chips lovely

Short wait. Decent takeaway meal. All OK

always visit when walking on bute...lovely fish supper..very reasonable price...everything u need from a chippy is here....dont have any photos...was too hungry..sorry...

The food was disgusting batter was like rubber think they need to change the oil more often chips were like boiled potato not fried and nuked the steak pie. Was excellent food wen i visited 5 years ago.

Good fresh food ...good service

The fish was dry, the batter was soggy, our grandchildren did not finish their pizzas, all in all extremely disappointing.

Restaurant and front of house spotlessly clean. The place for fish n chips in Rothesay. We sat in and enjoyed really friendly and fast service. The fish portion very generous and fresh, perfectly crunchy batter. Chips crisp 'n dry, with minted mushy peas. Highly recommend fried steak pie. They know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about, and you can tell making the customers happy is their main priority. A wait of 5 minutes to have roasting hot fish and chips is 5 minutes well spent!

I visited the island a couple of weeks ago and the two young girls who severed me when I sat in couldn’t have been nicer they really seemed to care that you were there and were super welcoming the food was very nice and well presented the cafe was clean and nicely decorated

The staff were very friendly and the cafe was clean and pleasantly decorated. We ordered the fish tea. This was large portions, nicely presented but sadly the actual eating experience was a big let down. The fish was absolutely full of bones and extremely dry and the minted peas were bland. The tea cups were badly stained, which was very off putting. Such a shame our meal didn't fulfil its potential.

I decided to eat in, christ me what a palava..Table was filthy, the young girl serving was literally dead behind the eyes and totally inept. Place was quiet and the food arrived after a considerably longer wait than how long it takes to dip a haggis pudding in some batter. Oddly enough chips came in one of those silly basket things and with a side pot of the most turgid looking mushy peas I've ever seen, and I'm from Yorkshire. I didnt wven order peas. The sh*t eye I got off Corpus Deitus for having the cheek to ask for a knife and fork was Kathryn Tate esque and she refused to make eye contact when I had to politely ask for me can of pop. The highlight of the meal was when she came over and abruptly told me they didnt have pepper. I didn't even ask for pepper..the bloke one table over did, apparently we must have looked the same 🤣🤣🤣. He didnt get a reply to his question so I relayed the message. The haggis and chips was really nice, super hot cooked and served on a warm plate. If they sack the "living dead" then I'd go back. Real shame that the service was such a joke.

Staff very friendly. Food very tasty.

Good chippy, crispy, fresh and tasty, used to be a fan of Zavaroni’s, but now the West End cafe is so much better, it’s criminal.

A blonde girl quite young was serving me and she threw my change and me then huffed when I asked for salt and vinegar in my chips also threw a plastic fork at me because I didn’t see them food was amazing though

The batter was rather soggy and I only had to wan 5 mins back to my apartment. It was also more expensive. Wouldn’t recommend.

Fantastic,,,, mini fish suppers , superb ,,,

Chips not great, should not serve sub standard food. Either reheats or lying too long but very poor. Won't be back in a hurry, no excuse for not serving fresh food.

Best Fish and Chips and best Hagis

Amazing portions and delicious food with a large range also very busy take away service

Fast service, friendly staff and great ice-cream. Would highly recommend. With hope we will have time for food next visit to this beautiful island.

Amazing food. Highly recommended to anyone visiting the area. Staff are very polite. Also have good chat with the customers. Portions are really good for the price as well

I got fish and chips the fish had been sitting in hot plate for awhile batter had gone soggy and fish also had alot of bones . Might have been a off day .

Everything cooked fresh to order and generous portion sizes. Friendly staff. Would definitely recommend.

Really good selection of food. Staff really seemed to care that you were there. Food came quickly, fish was nice and thick, chips were well cooked and tasty . Didn't get round to the ice cream,

Great food piping hot which was very much appreciated will be back 🙂☺️☺️

The wait for a fast food is bad. Sausages dripping in grease. I know they are deep fried. But you don't expect to get them still swimming in oil

We sat in and enjoyed really friendly and fast service. The fish portion very generous and fresh, perfectly crunchy batter. Chips crisp 'n dry, with minted mushy peas. Highly recommend fried steak pie as a northener. Finished off with two generous slices of cheesecake, blueberry and honeycomb crunch ! Restaurant and front of house spotlessly clean. The place for fish n chips in Rothesay.

Free Blue plasters for all cut kids! Lovely ice cream.

Excellent food, brilliant service and the best mushy peas we have ever tasted. Can't wait to come back when we visit Rothesay next time.

Absolutely brilliant food great ambience delightful the service was excellent and adapted to the ages of individual customer. Excellent

One of the worst meals THAT I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN A SO CALLED RESTAURANT, OVER COOKED PIZZA WITH CHEAP CANNED PROCESSED CHICKEN, ABSOLUTELY DISCUSSED,. AND PARTENERS MEAL WAS JUST AS BAD. WARNING TO EVERYONE DON'T WAST YOU MONEY OR TIME.❗❗❗❗❗

We had the basic fish and chips from here when we arrived in Bute and ate it by the sea as is just a short walk from the seafront - glorious! The fish was tasty and the batter was crispy and had a nice taste to it. The chips were a bit soft but nothing to complain about. Some people have complained about the value but we didn't have an issue with the portion size at all.

Fish FULL of bones couldnt eat it

Worst chippy I've ever had, Hamburger supper disgusting.

Love the fish... Staff are doing their best in difficult times with sometimes difficult customers. Price wise.... average, not over priced at all as I've read on some comments. I've paid a lot more for far less quality.

Pros: Good size portions. Tastier chips than my visit last year. Cons: Wait time. Curry sauce wasn't very fresh, I watched as hot water added at the time of serving to thin it. Chips had quite a lot of 'eyes' on them.

Nice fish and chips, but £7.50 for a takeaway with one modest piece of fish? Two pieces in most places for under £6. Poor value.

If only I had read the latest reviews I could have saved myself £15 and the trouble of carrying 2 fish suppers any further than the nearest bin. Dry, reheated chips with more bits than chips, if it wasn't for the bones, the actual fish tasted great, once I had removed its outer covering of a fat soaked sponge. There's no crispy batter here. I would be ashamed to serve this rubbish.

Got Fish and chips tonight. I think they might be trying to save money by not heating the oil enough. That might be totally wrong but it took ages to cook them and the batter was really soggy. Anyway they went in the bin, waste of £10.00

Okay. Had fish and chips. Nice.

Typical chippy. Food was fine staff pleasant.

End of an awesome visit to Bute, earned a fish supper to take out and watch the sun go down. Ticked in to the worst batter I have ever tasted! How the fek can you make batter 8mm thick and chewy? Chewy like wet toilet...

It was the worst fish supper I have ever had . It was soggy and very greasy . Totally inedible. All went in the bin .

Nice clean shop restaurant owners very pleasant

Lovely staff and food was fresh, tasty and great value for money. Highly recommended! 👍

Had tea here and was really happy,food was ace,staff couldn’t do enough for us and price was also great.couldnt fault them.

I'll keep it short. The chips were decent and cooked reasonably well. However the fish was poor. The batter was too thick and came away from the fish in strips. The fish itself was over-cooked which was a shame as it was a decent fillet...

Quick friendly service and great meal deal at weekend

Phone Order wasn't exactly right, but was able to rectify before leaving the chip shop. Food was lovely, hadn't had scampi in a long time

Good service, reasonably priced, tasty fish. 👍

Brought back some old memories.

2 meals for £10. Sitting in warm place will be back

Not much point in getting something in batter if it all comes off and sticks to the paper. Mess.

Spending a week in a flat Rothesay out of season and realising that very few of the food serving pubs were dog friendly we had planned for takeaway meals. On our first visit we ordered a 12" Special Pizza with a choice of 4 toppings...

Great food and service, staff very friendly

Very expensive cup of T £2.30 came luke warm slap dab service.

Very nice food and great value haggis is lovley highley recommended i will definitely be going back thank you

It's okay but when I went I got bones in my fish, and they stopped using cardboard boxes for the food.

The food is amazing ,the best fish and chips ive had in a long time . The interior is comfortable.Dont let the exterior of the cafe put you of, dont judge a book by its cover.

Got fish and chips, the chips were very soft and not crispy... The fish (haddock) was very tasty.

I have been visiting the West End Cafe since I was a small child in the 1950's and have seen many changes over the years. On my most recent visit, the first for a few years, I discovered more changes with the layout having been...

been visiting the West end for over 40 years now, and still the best chips in Rothesay , only ever used the carry out service but eat in must be same quality.

Good food but very slow service...

Unusually for me: a brief review. Server couldn't care less. Chips not grrat st £2.30 a portion. Portion small anf miniscule fork. Nowhere near as good as a mefiocre chip shop on Largs. Not for me.

Only my second 1 star rating in 6 years, so disappointing. Really not at all good. Starting with sticky tables, dirty cutlery, no tap water available, dark bitter tea you could stand a spoon up in, cheap white bread, silly little cheap sachets of ghastly...

Friendly staff. Chips were quite dark, with black bits but tasted ok.

A chippie is a chippie but West End Cafe always offers freshly fried fish and chips with great, friendly service.

The fish was cooked perfectly and the size of the Fish Supper was wonderful. Really enjoyable and a must when in Rothesay

Lovely food, freshly prepared. Very very clean and well laid out place. Perfect customer service and a beautiful chat and hug from one of the bosses! Made my day 😊😊😊

Sorry...chips underdone. Fish soggy. Not great

Great place to buy your fish and chips from when in Rothesay

Good quick service. Got a single fish & you certainly get your money's worth in the portion. Shops lovely & modern but these guys know their job 10/10

Nice fish tea. Take away not as good though.

Excellent food good range fish and chips, pies, haggis and pizza great service

Fantastic fresh food with friendly service. The best chippy in Rothesay highly recommended.

Ordered a home delivery. Was told it would arrive in 30 minutes. 55 minutes later we called them to advise not arrived. Despite my wife confirming our address 3 times when placing the order, it was implied that it was her fault that they sent...

They sell sweets as well chips, winner. Chips were nice enough bloke was friendly

tam Morrison is very bad at his job when he was serving me a sausage supper and he was giving me abuse because he wouldn't give me a fork

The fish and chips were greasy and soggy not pleasant at all the fish was dry and batter greasy outside and uncooked inside .

Fish n chips was lovely day we sat in, large portion, wasn’t so keen on sasuage and chips when got delivery.

chips were totally disgusting, must have been reheats. had a damn cheek serving them, had to put in bin.

Nice wee chippy, with friendly staff. Very busy, the locals were right, it is the best chippy on the island! The cafe itself is very clean and tidy with nice decor.The only thing was it is a bit over priced, and you only got one fish! Where as on the mainland you get 2 fish and it is cheaper.

This was the first place we ate after we arrived on Bute. It looks fresh and clean, and the dining area is very nicely decorated for a chippie and not stinking of fat fryers. My fiancé ordered pizza, which he thought was excellent, I enjoyed my fish tea (albeit my dearest dustbin scoffed his then sat watching my plate to see what I wouldn't finish and thought the fish ws a bit bland although I was quite happy with it). On a visit to the Bute Brew Co. I was chatting with a 30-years-living-on-Bute local who was originally from New York and with no prompting he also said the West End Cafe pizzas were great. I have to say they also made a damn fine cup of tea for me.

Proper chippy fish & chips, awesome, got the childs fish supper for lunch, it was massive, full size must be impressive. Curry sauce is great too, friendly staff, clean joint, can’t fault it, well done 👍🏼