Kira T.
Yelp
A strain to give 3 stars. We've been exhorted to go here for years, both by earnest YouTubers and by actual IRL human friends who have sworn by the "awesomeness" and "quality" of Poppies.
We tried to eat at the Camden location once years ago, but got such a terrible seat (nearly in the actual doorway) - and such a scary view of the prices - that we left before ordering. So we finally tried the Soho location today, and honestly, we should have bolted.
The place screams "clip joint!" as you walk in. Prices on the menu outside are higher than advertised online. Seating is cramped. Decor is "cute," for some value of cute that includes lots of posters of John Travolta and tattooed Marilyn Monroe, etc.
As for the food... husband got cod and chips. The fish was fresh. The batter was odd: somehow not truly crispy, and it slid weirdly off the fish. My battered sausage wasn't fried enough. The batter was pale, but it was also too crisp, and cut into my gums! I am not sure how to explain this. The sausage was enormous, and of decent quality, but truly nothing to write home about.
Which brings us to the chips. Which were dreadful. The insides were done, but there were only two on my plate that were even vaguely crispy! English chips aren't supposed to be super crisp like American fries, but these seemed to have simply laid down and died.
The tiny pot of tartar sauce with a branded lid was adorable! The servers were both sweet and perfunctory, which works for a chippie near Leicester Square.
But this place isn't a patch on the Golden Union, on Poland Street. You should eat there. :-)