Chip shops north vs. south

[AM9]

Had a nice battered haddock and triple fried chips in Acanteen in Chelmsford today.

 

[BanburyBlue]

I do agree about the seafront, however further inland, full of normal people who like 'normal' things like KFC, Mcdonalds, Yo Sushi, Chicken and Chips, anything but a decent chippie.

Agree - KFC, McD are not chippies.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agree - KFC, McD are not chippies.

Nor are kebab shops.

Some chippies also serve kebabs, but nasty frozen fries out of a packet do not a chippy make.

 

[muddythefish]

Southern chippies leave the skin on the fish - which makes them heathens in my view.

There's nowt like steak pudding on a tray with chips and mushy peas and smothered in a gravy from a Lancashire chippie.

Marvellous!

 

[tsr]

If you mean the one at the bottom of Leigham Court Road by the bus stop, and I think you do, then NO NO NO. I'd driven for six hours from Cornwall to visit my sister, and this is her local chippy, ravenous with hunger I tore into it and, well, all four of us left most of the so-called cod and the unpalatable chips. The previous two visits weren't much cop, either.

Hmmm. Yes, I do mean that one. Really very good, in my experiences, and the delight of virtually the entire Streatham Hill Depot over the road, as well as staff training and having meetings in what passes as the "training centre" (ha!).

To be fair, I don't do fish, but I'm a mean judge of pies, and I'm even more picky about chips.

I'll have to go back and see if anything's changed in the last few months. Google also seems to agree with my opinion - most of the reviews are quite something.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

In terms of finding the best chippies / takeaways in general, I find the best rule of thumb is to go to the one the bobbies use. They're out all day every day and have tried them all, so if they've settled on one, it must be good.

 

[Busaholic]

Hmmm. Yes, I do mean that one. Really very good, in my experiences, and the delight of virtually the entire Streatham Hill Depot over the road, as well as staff training and having meetings in what passes as the "training centre" (ha!).

To be fair, I don't do fish, but I'm a mean judge of pies, and I'm even more picky about chips.

I'll have to go back and see if anything's changed in the last few months. Google also seems to agree with my opinion - most of the reviews are quite something.

I'll definitely have a pie next time then. Streatham is deficient in decent places to eat, considering the size of the population and the great ethnic mix. Often end up with a Pizza Express, simply because it's dependable, even if dependably boring, and we only have the dreaded Domino's where I live.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Good to see the old Tribell's in Huddersfield mentioned, though only for nostalgic reasons as it was terrible. The site is now the Paddy Power next to the Wetherspoons. Much like in the Wetherspoons, the chips were often bland and/or undercooked, batter soggy and slimy. The golden rule for Huddersfield chippies is "if it's inside the ring-road, avoid!". The Chip 'Oyle on Leeds Road is good though, as is the one in Skelmanthorpe. The one we used to go to on Saturday lunchtime when I was a kid was in Lindley (above the hospital) and that was always reliable.

Since I moved to Batley, I've been unable to determine which of the two near the town hall is the best, though neither is terrible thankfully.

 

[kermit]

Good to see the old Tribell's in Huddersfield mentioned, though only for nostalgic reasons as it was terrible. The site is now the Paddy Power next to the Wetherspoons. Much like in the Wetherspoons, the chips were often bland and/or undercooked, batter soggy and slimy. The golden rule for Huddersfield chippies is "if it's inside the ring-road, avoid!". The Chip 'Oyle on Leeds Road is good though, as is the one in Skelmanthorpe. The one we used to go to on Saturday lunchtime when I was a kid was in Lindley (above the hospital) and that was always reliable.

Since I moved to Batley, I've been unable to determine which of the two near the town hall is the best, though neither is terrible thankfully.

Interesting viewpoint! I never had anything other than the sub-roll shaped fish butty, which as I said, was wonderful, so maybe they put all their energy into them and never learned how to make chips! I see from Google there is one in Llandudno - did they "retire" over there?

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Tribells has been in Llandudno for over 30 years.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Interesting viewpoint! I never had anything other than the sub-roll shaped fish butty, which as I said, was wonderful, so maybe they put all their energy into them and never learned how to make chips! I see from Google there is one in Llandudno - did they "retire" over there?

They must've been early adopters of the fish-shaped bread, but almost everywhere round here does that these days. Kingfisher at Calder Grove near Wakefield is good for the sub-like fish butty and is conveniently located for junction 39 of the M1. I'd avoid the attached restaurant though, due to the prices.

 

[Iskra]

Good to see the old Tribell's in Huddersfield mentioned, though only for nostalgic reasons as it was terrible. The site is now the Paddy Power next to the Wetherspoons. Much like in the Wetherspoons, the chips were often bland and/or undercooked, batter soggy and slimy. The golden rule for Huddersfield chippies is "if it's inside the ring-road, avoid!". The Chip 'Oyle on Leeds Road is good though, as is the one in Skelmanthorpe. The one we used to go to on Saturday lunchtime when I was a kid was in Lindley (above the hospital) and that was always reliable.

Since I moved to Batley, I've been unable to determine which of the two near the town hall is the best, though neither is terrible thankfully.

Best thing about Huddersfield is Marstons Chicken.

Best chippy in Batley is Mother Hubbards, but while good they aren't as good as some chippy's elsewhere as they use fry in vegetable oil rather than beef dripping as it should be done.

 

[DarloRich]

To be fair the heart attack in a pizza box that is a parmo is not generally available outside the North East at all...I think this forum was the first time I heard of it!

Heathen. It is a work of culinary genius. That or helpful in soaking up 12 pints of Worthingtons.

Personally I think that place is a bit overrated, particularly as they use those cardboard boxes to serve it in.

Try Linda's in Cullen - excellent cheap sit down.
Fish - Haddock of course
White Puddings, Haggis Puddings and Black Puddings also to die for.

Eat too many white puddings and you will die! Even i cant eat those things.

The best fish and chips I've ever had was in neither the North or the South, but in the West.
It was a very small shop in the back streets of Barmouth, and the food was exquisite.

aka Southern

I do remember going to a chip shop in St Helier Jersey. There was a leaflet on each table explaining the health benefits of fish and chips - healthy fish, vitamins in the potatoes etc. Made me laugh.

They aren't, actually, that bad for you compared to other types of fast food.

I have. They had an choice between mushy and garden.

that is just wrong unless in a chip shop with an attached restaurant.

So.. how do we feel about chip butties?

perfectly acceptable but bets manufactured when you get home using your own bread.

Try an egg banjo if you like greasy uneatable food.

An egg banjo is an army delicacy. It’s a runny fried egg in a burger bap or a roll. It’s called a banjo because you’ll inevitably spill it on the front of yourself and it looks like you’re playing a banjo when you clean it off.

Superb. Breakfast of champions. Almost as good as the breakfast stotty.

Interesting about gravy. M&S in Milton Keynes used to do a roast beef sandwich with gravy and Yorkshire puddings. Somehow in those the gravy never leaked.

Fancy dan southerners. In the North East we go to Greggs and get a stotty. You could put meat, gravy, veg & yorkshires inside one of those and nothing would leak out. You only need half the stotty to cope with that so can use the other half the next day.

Nothing wrong with a chip butty. But Tribell's in Huddersfield (no longer there?) used to do a fish butty, in a specially elongated buttered soft roll. Plenty of salt and vinegar - heavenly!

I had a fish butty in Rothwell. Genius. Total genius.

Anyone tried a battered Marsbar, had one in Thurso once, not bad actually.

They are veyr nice. Although I was very, very drunk at the time.....................

Unless it is the Magpie in Whitby where people will queue for hours, it's not even the best chippy in Whitby!

Bets at getting on the TV though Well, at least it was before it went on fire.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Best thing about Huddersfield is Marstons Chicken.

Best chippy in Batley is Mother Hubbards, but while good they aren't as good as some chippy's elsewhere as they use fry in vegetable oil rather than beef dripping as it should be done.

Marston's chicken is fantastic, though a little off-topic of course!

Never tried Mother Hubbard's in Batley, partly because they're a local chain which makes me want to avoid it- though I did use the branch in Wakefield near Thornes Park in an emergency, and it wasn't bad.
In fact an honourable mention for Dewsbury Delights, which looks and seems like a rubbish kebab/pizza/curry/jack-of-all-trades type takeaway but does also serve British style fish and chips with an Asian twist! Apparently the kebabs are good too, if you like that sort of thing!

 

[CharlieSpotted]

Swerving slightly off the topic of traditional fish and chip shops, if your local street food event ever features Birmingham's The English Indian or Manchester's Hip Hop Chip Shop, both are very highly recommended indeed.

 

[DarloRich]

Swerving slightly off the topic of traditional fish and chip shops, if your local street food event ever features Birmingham's The English Indian or Manchester's Hip Hop Chip Shop, both are very highly recommended indeed.

Where I come form Street food is a sausage roll in a paper bag.......................

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Someone mentioned Liverpool having terrible chippys and to be honest I would have to disagree, however, Chris's and Steve's which are both very close to where I live in Mossley Hill have been voted the best in Liverpool pretty regularly. That said I don't have frequent experience of other places. Where I lived in Bradford which was the student area the chippys were terrible, but the curry houses were amazing. The worst fish and chips I had on the entire planet (Including Southern England) were in Blackpool.

This confirms what I said in my earlier posting, the best chip shops in Bradford are in the outer suburbs well away from the student area which is near the city centre.

Liverpool strikes me as an odd place. All the chip shops seem to be Chinese and the fish is generally not very good. However there are lots of excellent Chinese restaurants. But surprisingly few curry houses. It is also very difficult to get a decent pint of real ale outside of the city centre. Thus the Good Beer Guide lists over two dozen city centre pubs as that is the only way Liverpool branch can fill its allocation.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Liverpool strikes me as an odd place. All the chip shops seem to be Chinese and the fish is generally not very good. However there are lots of excellent Chinese restaurants. But surprisingly few curry houses. It is also very difficult to get a decent pint of real ale outside of the city centre. Thus the Good Beer Guide lists over two dozen city centre pubs as that is the only way Liverpool branch can fill its allocation.

Liverpool is really not (and never really was) particularly multi-cultural by UK terms, particularly compared with the other end of the M62 (well, Manchester, anyway). The only significant immigrant populations are Chinese, Irish and black Caribbean people, plus more recent Eastern Europeans. There are very few other Asians, hence the lack of curry houses. (I only really got to know that particular delicacy well when I moved to Manchester for uni ).

It is an oddity I agree, as it's totally out of keeping with pretty much any other UK big city and I don't see any clear reason for it at all.

 

[anti-pacer]

Liverpool is really not (and never really was) particularly multi-cultural by UK terms, particularly compared with the other end of the M62 (well, Manchester, anyway). The only significant immigrant populations are Chinese, Irish and black Caribbean people, plus more recent Eastern Europeans. There are very few other Asians, hence the lack of curry houses. (I only really got to know that particular delicacy well when I moved to Manchester for uni ).

It is an oddity I agree, as it's totally out of keeping with pretty much any other UK big city and I don't see any clear reason for it at all.

There's a fairly sizeable Somali community too I believe, but you're right, Manchester is certainly more ethnically diverse.

 

[fowler9]

This confirms what I said in my earlier posting, the best chip shops in Bradford are in the outer suburbs well away from the student area which is near the city centre.

Liverpool strikes me as an odd place. All the chip shops seem to be Chinese and the fish is generally not very good. However there are lots of excellent Chinese restaurants. But surprisingly few curry houses. It is also very difficult to get a decent pint of real ale outside of the city centre. Thus the Good Beer Guide lists over two dozen city centre pubs as that is the only way Liverpool branch can fill its allocation.

Yeah there are lot of good chip shops in Bradford, as you said though just not where I was living, ha ha.

Liverpool does have what is widely recognised as the oldest Chinese community in Europe although clearly not the biggest, they do hold the monopoly on take aways it seems though. That said the Chippy that has been voted the best several times is Steves in Aigburth which is Greek. The Irish community is absolutely huge although not as obviously different as ethnic communities in other cities. As Anti Pacer said we do have a large Somali community and also other communities of African origin. I do agree though that it doesn't seem as diverse as other cities in the north other than the tourists. I think this is more to do with where migrants of various races were sent as opposed to anything deliberate on behalf of Liverpool.

Regarding Real Ale (Forgive me, slightly off track again), things are getting better. There is a really good one called Pi one stop on the train from mine by Mossley Hill Station which has a good selection of stuff from the UK and around the world. A lot more have opened up recently both in the city centre and nearby, also near Smithdown Road which is a very studenty area (Not sure about the chippys round there though, trying to get back on topic, ha ha).

 

[fowler9]

It is an oddity I agree, as it's totally out of keeping with pretty much any other UK big city and I don't see any clear reason for it at all.

I think, and I may be totally wrong, that a lot of other cities that are major ports don't have a significantly large ethnic community either. A lot of migrants ended up in larger inland cities working in factories. I've never thought that the likes of Newcastle, Bristol etc. had an ethnically diverse community the way Manchester, Leeds or Bradford do for example.

 

[Busaholic]

I think, and I may be totally wrong, that a lot of other cities that are major ports don't have a significantly large ethnic community either. A lot of migrants ended up in larger inland cities working in factories. I've never thought that the likes of Newcastle, Bristol etc. had an ethnically diverse community the way Manchester, Leeds or Bradford do for example.

I'm afraid Bristol has long had a reputation for not making migrants welcome, as shown once again today by the report into the murder of Mr Ebrahimi that castigates both the local police and the council. I was shocked when I lived there in the mid 1980s, having come from London, quite how tribal it was, especially in the badlands around Hartcliffe.

 

[yorksrob]

For me, the best chippies are the ones that do spam fritters.

 

[anti-pacer]

I think, and I may be totally wrong, that a lot of other cities that are major ports don't have a significantly large ethnic community either. A lot of migrants ended up in larger inland cities working in factories. I've never thought that the likes of Newcastle, Bristol etc. had an ethnically diverse community the way Manchester, Leeds or Bradford do for example.

Bristol is very diverse, with a large black community in particular.

 

[Zamracene749]

Where I come form Street food is a sausage roll in a paper bag.......................

Nope. That's baby food

Back on topic and staying in the north east, Bells in Gilesgate Durham do mean fish n chips, Fish Face in Seaton Carew and for me in Whitby it has to be Fusco's Royal chippy, behind the Station Hotel. I've heard mixed reviews about Fields in Esh Winning, but they do still use use dripping in a coal fired range- that has to be worth a mention!

 

[BlythPower]

For me, the best chippies are the ones that do spam fritters.

Back on topic and staying in the north east, Bells in Gilesgate Durham do mean fish n chips, Fish Face in Seaton Carew and for me in Whitby it has to be Fusco's Royal chippy, behind the Station Hotel.

Who do a cracking spam fritter!

 

[AndrewE]

Bristol is very diverse, with a large black community in particular.

Bristol had tobacco imports in the 18th and 19th century and wine from a lot earlier, Liverpool had sugar and tobacco, London had everything (including a diverse community and from much earlier,) Cardiff is famous for Butetown (and exporting coal) but I don't know what their imports were.
Newcastle's trade was principally in coal to London.

 

[Karl]

For me, the best chippies are the ones that do spam fritters.

Holy moly! I've not had a spam fritter for forty years! I wish I could get one here. Banana fritters were another delicacy in my youth.

 

[shredder1]

Holy moly! I've not had a spam fritter for forty years! I wish I could get one here. Banana fritters were another delicacy in my youth.

But what about Pinapple fritters, can`t believe this delicacy hasnt been mentioned, I had one the other week at the chippy facing the SVR railway at Kidderminster.

 

[yorksrob]

Holy moly! I've not had a spam fritter for forty years! I wish I could get one here. Banana fritters were another delicacy in my youth.

If you ever visit the Settle Carlisle, the chippy in Settle does a good one (not sure about banana though).