Fish & Chips in the UK

Finding a good fish and chip shop in the UK

Fish and chips is the national dish and the chippy is its temple: there are around 10,500 of them, most family-run, some in the same family for three or four generations. A good one is not hard to spot. The fish is cooked to order, not left under a lamp; the batter is crisp and not greasy; the chips are proper potatoes, fried twice in clean fat; the queue is local; and the place smells of fresh frying rather than old oil. The best have National Fish & Chip Awards behind the counter and a hygiene rating of 5 on the door.

The regional differences are real and worth knowing. Cod dominates in the south and haddock in the north and Scotland; chips are fried in beef dripping in Yorkshire and parts of the Midlands and in vegetable oil most other places, which matters if you are vegetarian; curry sauce, gravy, mushy peas, scraps and chip-shop butties are all local dialects. Many chippies now do a gluten-free batter on set nights, and fish suppers have been joined by chicken, sausages, pies, kebabs and, at the seaside, crab and whitebait.

Hours are the thing that catches people out — lunch and evening sessions with a gap in between, closed on Sundays or Mondays in many towns — and the listings carry them. The listings here show each chippy's reviews, opening hours, whether they deliver, and contact details, so you can see who is open now, who does gluten-free, and which chippy people in your town swear by.

What fish and chip shops offer

The classics: cod, haddock, plaice and rock, small or large, in batter or breadcrumbs, with chips, mushy peas, curry sauce or gravy, pickled eggs and onions, and a fishcake or a saveloy on the side.

Beyond fish: chicken, sausages and battered sausages, pies and puddings, kebabs and burgers at many, and at the coast scampi, crab, whitebait and calamari.

Dietary: gluten-free batter on set days or every day at a growing number, vegetable oil rather than dripping in most of the country, and vegan 'fish' at some.

Eating in: many chippies have a restaurant or a few tables with tea and bread and butter; the seaside ones run large sit-down rooms.

Delivery and collection: most now take phone and online orders for collection, and many deliver locally or through the apps.

Before you go

• Check the hours; most chippies run lunch and evening sessions with a break, and many close one or two days a week.
• Ring ahead or order online on a Friday; the queue at six o'clock is the sign of a good one and also of a wait.
• Ask what fat they fry in if it matters — dripping is common in Yorkshire and the Midlands.
• Ask about gluten-free days; many do a dedicated fryer on particular evenings.
• Check the hygiene rating on the door or online; a 5 is what you want to see.
• Ask for the fish cooked fresh if none is in the display; a good shop will always do it.

What fish and chips costs in the UK

As a rough guide, cod or haddock and chips costs £9 to £14 in most of the country and £12 to £18 in London and at the seaside, with a small fish and chips or a children's portion £6 to £9, a bag of chips £2.50 to £4, and sides £1 to £2.50. Prices rose sharply from 2022 with fish, oil and energy costs; a fish supper under £10 is now good value rather than the norm. Sit-down prices add a couple of pounds, and delivery a charge on top.

A cheap chippy is not automatically a bad one, but suspiciously cheap fish is often smaller or thinner fillets; the price of a proper large cod reflects the fish.