Altona Pines Take Away is your last stop before the lifeguard station and the beach beyond. It sits opposite a lovely park under the shade of the enormous pine trees.
Love the old school sign! The menu isn't going to win any prizes for originality but I like that. They have a few different types of fish, from flake to blue grenadier to snapper. I am biased towards places that still do the butcher's paper wrapping - it just feels right. Eating fish and chips out of a box is like drinking champagne out of a tumbler.
I love the glorious tumble when you open the last layer of paper a la pass-the-parcel and everyone dives for their deep-fried goodies. People tend to have their "thing", be it fish and two potato cakes, fish and three calamari rings and/or a couple of fried dimmies in their paper bag with dark soy sauce. Chips go without saying!
The fish and chips here are really good with fish that's always fresh with crispy, ruffled batter and plenty of crunchy chips to squabble over like seagulls. If the beach is too windy the park is a lovely place to sit, protected from the elements with a fence and trees. There is great play equipment for the kids and on summer weekends they will have daggy but fun things like the police band.
Really, I don't need an excuse to eat fish and chips. The beach at sunset is a bonus. I wonder if Altona Pines is Julia's favourite fish and chipper?
Altona Pines Takeaway
18 Pier St, Altona (map)
Phone: 9398 4903
Hours: Lunch & dinner, 7 days
Door: High lip/low step to enter.
Layout: Room to manoeuvre but high counter. No eat-in.
Bathroom: None.
As a Dunedin-bred boy, I'm with ya all the way on the question of climate. (Memo to self: Must preserve my moon tan.) Oz summers generally suck, IMHO. But I differ with you on the more important and very profound question of F&C packaging: I like the fact cardboard trays don't steam the food, as paper wrapping tends to do. Although I guess, a minute's amble to an adjacent beach is cool. This'll be our next F&C stop. Thanks! (Do they have pickled onions?)
ReplyDeleteOK....now you are killing me! I sooooo miss fish and chips. Not much I miss living here but a glass of milk (fresh, not UHT) and fish and chips by the beach top the list. Damm they look good!
ReplyDeleteDani, I am sorry!! :) I know what you mean though. I used to try and get my fish & chip fish at Irish pubs when I was living in the US but it was never the same. They had these huge chunks of fish, like a cutlet, in soggy batter. And I hear you on the UHT too *shudder*
ReplyDeleteKenny, I am not sure about the pickled onions! Have you tried the ones at Hung Vuong? On a little container on each table.