There are several Village Pubs scattered throughout the Las Vegas Valley. These are the types of establishments that are open 24 hours, in the event that you get a hankerin’ for greasy food at 2:30 a.m. They also offer a round-the-clock bar complete with the requisite video poker machines (thus earning some the added appellation, “casino” or “poker”), should you be inclined to drop a few dollars after polishing off your late night repast. We had never visited one of these places but I once read that the Village Pub had darn good fish and chips. So away we went, visiting the location nearest us, at 8515 S. Eastern Ave. (southwest corner of the intersection with Wigwam Parkway) in south Las Vegas.

At first blush, we didn’t know if the place was even open. Pulling into the parking lot (the restaurant is in a small strip mall with a tattoo/body piercing shop, a pizza parlor and a payday loan store) we noted that the windows were completely black. Yet we bravely strode in and were surprised to find a neat, clean, and very red restaurant.

By “very red,” I mean the carpet, walls, booths, tables and chairs were all a deep red. Maybe not the most relaxing of colors for dining, but it somehow also was soothing – though part of that feeling may have come from the fact that the dining room was separated from the bar area and was not smoky. Plus, the color scheme gave the room an open feel. Paintings of old Royal Navy sea battles festooned the walls, and the dining room was clean, clean, clean. We noted patrons ranging from elderly couples to large families, so it appeared the place had a broad appeal.

The place offers a wide array of sandwiches, including a salmon BLT that I was almost tempted to order, as well as steaks, burgers, pasta dishes, salads and breakfast plates, all ridiculously reasonably priced. Still, I had my heart set on the signature fish and chips ($6.95), which I gladly ordered from our server, a pleasant young lady named Mary. What caught Mrs. Eater’s eye was a sign depicting the nightly special, lamb with mashed potatoes and a side of veggies ($4.95). We also ordered a plate of clams ($9.95) steamed in a white wine concoction as an appetizer. Our total tab, including non-alcoholic beverages and tax, was $26.24.

Mrs. Eater: My dinner came with an iceberg lettuce salad that lacked imagination. Lettuce, some carrots, and croutons. The vegetables that came with dinner looked like something that they opened a can, cooked them for two hours and dumped on the plate. The lamb wasn’t my mother’s lamb, but as lamb goes, it was quite good.

Mr. Eater: I thought the lamb was disappointing. It didn’t have much flavor and was buried under a coating of some sort of gravy. It almost tasted fatty. The side of veggies was cooked to death and the mashed potatoes were just kind of there.

Mrs. Eater: Your fish and chips, well, they weren’t all bad. I mean, what do you expect for that price in a place like that? All in all the food was good, but this isn’t the kind of place to get your hopes up for. Don’t set your expectations too high. But I liked the place, it was comfortable, it was clean and the people were nice. I would go back.

Mr. Eater: The fish itself was good, although the fried coating was a tad on the greasy side. But then, it IS fried fish after all. The French fries were not all bad, I thought, even though they weren’t something to write home about.

Mrs. Eater: Your French fries had no life in them. Mushy, not crispy.

Mr. Eater: Perhaps Tater Tots do have more personality. The dinner came with tartar sauce, and our server brought some malt vinegar on request. Quiet frankly, if you are a restaurant that brags up its fish and chips, malt vinegar should be on the table the moment your dinner arrives. But that is a minor quibble.

Mrs. Eater: The steamers were probably the best part of the meal. They made my mouth reminisce about the places we used to be – for me, it was my childhood digging clams out of the sand in Puget Sound. I thought the flavor was wonderful, maybe not as good as the wine-steamed clams we had a few years ago on the Oregon coast, but they were still very good.

Mr. Eater: I thought the steamers were terrific. They seemed big, too – not shell-size big, but the clams inside were huge, by my unsophisticated standards at any rate. The nectar was delicious sopped up in the sourdough toast that came on the side.

And now, The Forks (on a scale of 1 to 5):
• Quality of food: 3 forks
• Value: 4 forks
• Cleanliness: 5 forks
• Ambience: 3 forks
• Friendliness of staff: 4 forks
• Parking: 4 forks
• Accessibility: 4 forks

The Village Pub is located at 8515 S. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89123. Call (702) 216-6160. Other locations are at 4563 E. Sunset Road in Henderson; and in Las Vegas at 3455 E. Flamingo Road, 7575 S. Rainbow Blvd., 5325 S. Fort Apache Road, and 3740 S. Nellis Blvd.