Charlie’s Place Fish and Chips

In a world of fast food franchises and pre-​cut, frozen vegetables, Charlie Hasem carries the flag for the good old suburban fish and chip shop. He has done since 1984, when Prospect was blessed by the opening at 220 Prospect Road of Charlie’s Place Fish and Chip Shop.
Put aside thoughts of Greasy Joe’s, of the soggy chip and the bland frozen fillet. For here is the scrupulously clean studio of a master — a place dedicated to the deep-​fried potato in all its forms and the battered (or crumbed) fillet of succulent fish.
You’ll get no fried debris with your chips here. Charlie is an artist who serves only the finest, large chips — cooked to perfection: moist inside with no oily residue to soak through the white paper and spoil the car upholstery or the fabric over one’s thighs.
The prices for the ambrosia served here are very reasonable. The yardstick dish — minimum chips — is $ 3.70 for a manly helping. A cross-​check of the potato fritter yields a similarly reasonable 80 cents (and if you look hungry, Charlie may give you two for that). Charlie will even cater for your peculiar taste — for extra well-​fried chips, perhaps.
Charlie’s Place does a tasty sideline in mighty hamburgers and a house specialty, ring de pineapple frite aka fried battered pineapple ring, as well as a few lesser items.
To ‘dine at Charlies’, whether in-​house at the small table provided, in the seclusion of one’s vehicle or perhaps al fresco in the company of a loved one, is to be transported to a time when chips were chips, and batter added a crisp taste of its own to fish without greasiness. As a long-​term afficionado of the fried chip and the battered fish fillet, I honestly cannot fault the place.
Parking is easy at Charlie’s, which is situated in a small, quiet strip of shops on the sea side of Prospect Road between Victoria and Alexander streets. You can usually park right out the front.
Don’t wait too long in the evening though. Charlie ceases his labours at 7pm, but is open 7 days a week, assisted on weekends by the equally gifted Mrs Hasem.
The locals know, and now, thanks to Unilocal!,you know too. Charlie’s is a place to be cherished; an old school fish and chip shop whose owner has perfected his craft.