Flavour Report with Derek Goforth: Sampling the fish and chips, pizza and burgers at Tarcoola Takeaway

Friday night has always been takeaway night in our house, a time to kick back, unwind and not think about cooking.

Geraldton and the Mid West have some great takeaway joints covering fish and chips, barbecue, Asian cuisine, burgers and pretty much everything in between.

But we have yet to find a really solid takeaway place that excels in a few things. Sure, we have a great Satay House, an awesome kebab shop and lots of other places that specialise in one type of food and do it really well. But what if everyone wants something a bit different?

Well, it was this question that we had in mind when we ventured out for our Friday night takeaway to Tarcoola Takeaway in the Mt Tarcoola Shopping Centre. We had a couple of people wanting burgers, one craving pizza and two more wanting fish and chips.

The takeaway was easy to find, had lots of parking and we ordered over the phone. It was ready two minutes after we pulled up. The service was top-notch and the lovely lady serving us even boxed everything up and gave us some extra sauce.

For this visit, we kept it fairly simple: two portions of fish and chips, a Margherita pizza, a hamburger, a southern fried chicken burger and some garlic bread for all of us. The takeaway also offers pasta dishes and a whole host of starters and extras.

At just under $100 and considering the portion sizes, we felt the meal was decent value for money. We could quibble about a few more chips, but it would be nitpicking.

There were no misses at all in our selection, but some items “hit” more than others.

The pizza was lovely, fresh and crispy and it was evident that it was freshly made and straight out of the oven. The crispy base and delightful stringy cheese had my daughter singing its praises.

The burgers were another favourite of my boys; the bread was probably the highlight. No store-bought burger buns; this bread was tasty and packed with flavour. Both burgers were packed with fillings, the usual salad fare, plus some tangy pickles and mayo that set both of them apart from other burgers we have tried in town.

The burgers were just as moist and tasty when the leftovers were heated up the day after (the portions were more than generous).

But the star of the show had to be the fish and chips. We have waited for so long to have our British-style chippy in Geraldton and thank goodness we have finally found it.

These were simply the best fish and chips we have had in the Mid West and up there in our top three for WA.

Crispy, crunchy batter with firm and flaky fish inside, just heavenly. The chips were hot, crispy and soft on the bite. A fantastic experience all round. There were no leftovers — everyone in the family ended up trying them and the verdict was the same all round, simply delicious!

Will we be going back? Most certainly yes, but the next visit will be fish and chips all round with a few little side dishes to try.