No British summer would be complete without fish & chips. Preferably enjoyed by the beach, served in newspaper and topped with a generous dousing of salt ‘n’ vinegar. If you can’t make it down to the seaside this summer worry not. We’ve handpicked the best places in London for you to enjoy this very British dish. You may not be by the seaside, but at least you won’t have to contend with those swooping, chip-stealing seagulls.
HOOK
The Ideal place to reignite your love of fish and chips
We often think that if a recipe works, why mess with it? No need to deconstruct…
We thought this about fish & chips, until we went to Hook. In essence, this is still a classic fish & chippy, however, they swim against the traditional tide in favour of an innovative approach to cooking it. And in doing so they win first plaice on our list.
Coated in delicate panko breadcrumbs, the catch here is laced with international influences. Also, forget the traditional dollop of tomato sauce, each dish is accompanied by an exciting and complementing homemade sauce (their Malaysian curry panko with spicy pineapple and ginger ketchup is excellent).
The Guinness & Squid Ink offering, served with oyster and sorrel sauce has cult status, and we can see why it’s caught people’s attention and got them hooked.
POPPIES
The ideal place for tasty, traditional fish and chips
The owner of Poppies has been in the fish and chips business since 1945. That’s a lot of time to perfect one of Britain’s best-loved dishes. And perfect he has.
Here, it’s all about unpretentious old-school cooking. The Billingsgate-sourced fish is wonderfully fresh and flaky, the batter is light, and the chips are crisp and just that little bit soggy. What’s not to love? Besides the main event, we also recommend ordering a portion of the jellied eels. These slimy little critters have long been an emblem of London, and the owner is still keeping the memory alive here by having them on the menu.
P.S At Poppie’s Camden branch, they have #FishNGigs nights, too. Go.
SUTTON AND SONS
The ideal chippy for fresh and seasonal fish
An East London favourite which will leave you thinking ‘holy chips this is good’, Sutton & Son’s is a family-run fish and chip shop serving up delicious fish & chips. What’s more, they sell some of the finest shellfish in East London from their very own fishmongers. You can get your claws into lobster, clams and plenty more of whatever’s fresh and seasonal.
They also do the chippy classics that every Brit should know and love – their battered sausage is damn fine and the steak and kidney pie could warm the cockles off any cold English night. Lovely stuff.
CHIP SHOP
The ideal place to enjoy fish and chips while bobbing to hip hop music
This hip hop themed Fish ’n’ Chip restaurant in Brixton seems an odd proposition, but try telling that to the hugely mixed clientele of old and young attending this place with regularity and enthusiasm. It may seem odd to see your elderly grandfather dunking chips in homemade mushy peas whilst his foot slyly taps along to Biggy, but the quality of the fish and chips speaks for itself.
TOFF’S
The ideal place for multi-award-winning fish and chips
No, this place isn’t full of toffs thinking they’re descended from the landed gentry. Thank christ.
Actually, the name comes from the owners’ family surname, Toffalis, and here, everyone is welcome to enjoy their award winning fish & chips – for the many, not the few. Open since 1987 and reportedly taking 50 orders an hour, it’s been voted ‘Best Fish and Chips in the UK ‘ more than once, and won numerous other awards including ‘Most Family Friendly Restaurant’. Bravo!
