The Rock & Scallop restaurant in Pontyclun

What a TransforMation!

Team behind award-winning The Crispy Cod to open The Rock & Scallop restaurant in Pontyclun

In 2018 a Pontyclun pub The Bute was snapped up by the owner of awardwinning fish and chip shop The Crispy Cod. Mathew Williams’ vision was to turn the village pub into another fish and chip shop.

But three years later, after building up his Gelli fish shop and closing the original Crispy Cod in Tonyrefail, the newest addition to The Crispy Cod family will be going in a different direction - a fresh fish and seafood restaurant and fishmongers called The Rock & Scallop.

Borne out of Mathew’s love of fresh seafood and following the successful platter delivery service that took off during the summer last year, The Rock & Scallop will serve fresh fish and seafood. It’s something which the dad-of-two is confident there is a gap in the market for in Pontyclun and the surrounding areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf and beyond.

“We believe in the area so much. We’ve been very fortunate to secure the funding to finish off the building and it’s going to be a takeaway, a fishmongers and a restaurant,” said Mathew, whose fish and chip shops have been awarded three Welsh Fish & Chip Shop of the Year titles.

He is keen to open the restaurant on Llantrisant Road by the middle of the year. The 39-year-old said the design would be ‘industrial’ and will have a fresh seafood counter and a lobster tank.

“We’ll have a fresh fish counter in the restaurant, we’ve got a large alfresco dining area and a terrace of about 40 seats,” he said.

“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve worked in top restaurants throughout Wales and I wanted to start a family so I set up my own business, The Crispy Cod. It’s great serving fish and chips, but I had a spark again after I went to Japan and I ate in some amazing seafood restaurants. And then in lockdown, it was mental, we started doing the seafood platters with a friend of mine who’s a trawlerman in Saundersfoot, and there was a surplus of lobster because all the restaurants were closed, so we utilised that.”

“The big thing for The Rock & Scallop will be fresh, day bought fish and seafood. I’m not interested in fish that’s being flown in from around the world. Simple, honest, Welsh and British shellfish. 85% of our menu will be British fish. We will have other dishes on the menu like beef and lamb.”

“We’re keeping things local, we’re keeping our people in jobs, and it just needs to be the best we can be. Why should we have our fishermen risking their lives to send it to France and Spain? I know it’s about business, but if people in this country eat more of if it. It’s frustrating. We should be eating more of our own produce. “We’ve built up an awesome reputation in the valleys and now we want to bring in a different concept,” he said.

Are you selling lots of fresh fish? Email austen@chipychat.co.uk

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