Restaurant Review: Harry Ramsden's, Brighton

Brighton pier

Restaurant name: Harry Ramsden's
Location: Brighton seafront
Description: Seaside fish and chip restaurant chain that was founded more than 75 years ago
Reason for visit: My boyfriend and I decided to drive to Brighton one evening after work and had a walk along the seafront, dinner at Harry Ramsden's and doughnuts on the pier. We chose Harry Ramsden's because of its location and also because my boyfriend had never been to one (and we wanted chips rather than anything fancy!).

I ate: A sort of 'surf and turf' of chicken and scampi in breadcrumbs with chips
My companion ate: sausage and chips

The food was: My chips were flaccid and pale - I think they were undercooked. The scampi and chicken was just as I expected - nothing fancy but tasty.
The atmosphere/service was: Service was friendly and fast, but the place had no atmosphere. The decor reminded me of a greasy spoon and the local radio station was playing in the background (complete with irritating DJ patter). It's fine for a quick meal but not somewhere you want to hang around.
Price range/value for money: Not bad, though I feel like I could have the same standard of food for a couple of pounds from the van on the pier. At least we got to sit down and use the toilets.
Would I recommend it? Not particularly - it's OK but nothing special, and I think next time I would just get a bag of chips on the pier. I do recommend driving from London to Brighton on a hot summer's evening if you can though - it only took us about an hour to get there and we had a lovely evening.