to mourn the fact that there isn't ONE decent chippy near me

[Greensleeves]

There are about 5 chippies within sensible cycling distance of us and they're all appalling :( we always have chips on a Friday night (because I allowed it to become a "thing" when the kids were younger and now they think it's a human right)

I grew up in Stoke on Trent where chippies are amazing...crispy fluffy chips, gravy, beautiful breaded fish, nice mushy peas. We've tried every available chippy here and it's always a soggy, meagre, greasy disappointment

Just wanted to let that out. Before the weekly abomination arrives and I have to shower it in salt and make the best of it.

CuriousAboutSamphire, that's the most galling thing - the chippy nearest to us is much lauded by the locals, if you search "best chippy in (our area)" it comes up first with great reviews from people who clearly wouldn't know one end of a battered cod from another! The food is dreadful. Every bloody Friday it gives me the rage!

The only way to have decent crispy fish and chips is to not wrap them up tightly. If you have a drive home open them up as soon as you leave the shop to let the steam out. As soon as they are wrapped tightly they sweat and everything goes soggy, no matter how beautifully crisply they were cooked.

I live in Manchester and the fish and chips are unrelenting awful. Even posh fish and chips in posh restaurants aren’t all that. We drive an hour to Yorkshire or an hour to Lytham for decent ones. But loads of chippies here have queues out the door! Philistines.

I live in Manchester and the fish and chips are unrelenting awful.

Funny, I've just mentioned this thread to DW, and commented "I'd be curious to know what Manchester is like ..."

I'd hope Liverpool at least had decent fish, what with being on the coast and all ....

A little tip,always check food hygiene ratings.
ratings.food.gov.uk/

There is also a useful app for when you are out and about. In my line of work i have occasion to go into restaurants and chippies/fast food places. A lot of fast food outlets i.e curry houses,kebab/pizza places are shocking. Many chippies arent much better. As a result i dont do fast food/takeaway full stop. I cook my own food at home.

Horrendous I’m afraid. Though there’s lot of good burger and pizza places so it’s not all bad.

Switch to something else. I grew up in Manchester where the chippies were awesome, and cheap - people would often eat from there when they couldn't afford much else.

Moved down south and they all suck. Fortunately we do have a good Chinese and order from there constantly 😂

raspberry I often find the lower the ratings the nicer the food!

I’m from Australia, and the term ‘chippie’ always confused me. Does it just mean you’re getting chips? Or does it actually mean fish and chips?

We have chicken salt on lots of our chips - food from the Gods

Where were your good chippies beesly? Though they’re probably hipster craft ale-eries these days

its mainly seems to be curry houses here raspberry why are they mainly the worst offenders??

My local chippy has just veen votes the best in the UK!! It's good but ive had better! Mother Shiptons in scarborough in my favourite, its hidden on the high street and i had never heard of it until my mum took me.

We've got a decent chippy a five minute walk away but the best one I've ever been to is about 15 minutes drive away. It's well worth it, the chips are always perfectly golden, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside and the fish is a decent size, perfectly cooked with lovely light and crispy batter. I really want fish, chips, curry and scraps now.

The worst fish and chips I ever had was at the seaside. The chips were cooked in beef dripping and were horribly pale and greasy, the fish still had the skin on with thick soggy batter and it cost twice what it does at home.

Been voted* must remember to spellcheck my posts!

We have a weekly Chippy Van...comes to the village square for an hour on Thursday tea time. And the fish and chips are really lovely and a great price. I feel very lucky!

Also the nearest chippy would be a 15 mile round trip.

its mainly seems to be curry houses here raspberry why are they mainly the worst offenders??

I've seen dire filth in chippies,curry houses, grotty kebab shops,pizza shops,,the kind of squalid outlets that invest every high street in the UK,much to our shame.

I suspect that is part of the issue. These grotty food outlets have little or no interest in food. It is simply a means to an end and that end is making money,preferably cash/laundering cash/employing people off the books sometimes illegal immigrants/cheap labour.

Energy theft, both gas and electric is rampant in such places because that provides another income stream.

It is a sad indictment on British society that they proliferate and that so many people buy from them rather than cooking at home.

Of course i generalise and im sure there are plenty that have 5 stars and produce good value/quality food.

Example
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-raid-curry-mile-restaurants-6056861

You're all bastards!

Got me craving a pizza crunch supper now

I'm scots but we lived all over as dad was in army, yep worst chippies were in south east I'm afraid - tried to hard to poncey them up, definitely a cuisine that needs to be kept simple.

Aussie pp - no not just chips, battered and fried fish, sausage, burgers also pea fritters, Cod roe, saveloys (dds favourite) pickled eggs, pickled onions, here in Scotland also pizza crunch (battered and deep fried pizza), some places also do burgers, pies, sausage rolls etc

Plus for on the chips you can have gravy, curry sauce, cheese, coleslaw...

Amazing chippies here, using beef dripping, but the one close to our house isn't one of those and is apparently a bit hit and miss. It seems to put its best efforts into lunchtime for the college kids.

I will never, ever get the attraction of takeaway fish'n chips (but then I didn't grow up in the UK). Never encountered one yet that wasn't utterly vile. Don't mind fish'n chips per se (although I prefer crispy french fries to chunky chips) but the ones I've tried from the chippy have been soggy and tasteless. Granted, it's been rare (and I've never gone to one myself) but they've been ones that friends have raved about. Just don't get it.

And as for chips with gravy or curry sauce Boak!!!

I found the perfect chippy by accident because I was hangry around the corner from my MIL. The chips were literally perfection and I'm now thinking about excuses as to why I need to visit MIL then have a chippy on the way home!

The only failing is that they don't sell rissoles. But perfect chips and rissoles would be far too an amazing thing to behold so I shall console myself with the chips toddles off to find excuse to see MIL by myself

I’m in the East Midlands. The problem with many chippies in this part of the country is that they try to sell too much other stuff, eg burgers, chicken even kebabs ffs. There is a definite shortage of proper traditional fish & chip shops that concentrate on doing one thing properly.

The best place I know of is ‘The Cod’s Scallops’ in Nottingham which has won national awards.

Thanks I've now had to order fish and chips- and ours deliver too!

Making me wish I hadn’t already ordered pizza now... our local (southern) chippy is actually ok, good fish batter but chips need improving. It’s alright for getting on with. We’re about to move and there’s a chippy at the end of the road... here’s hoping!

Yabu, Chinese and pizza is the way forward