The Fry Awards has announced the best fish and chip takeaways across the UK and some are right here in the North West.
For the past three months, people with arguably the best job in the world have secretly dined at each outlet in the running.
They’re assessing 40 aspects of the business, including everything from the quality of fish and chips and staff presentation to front-of-house hygiene and customer service.
The food remains the main focus, including ratings of the flakiness of the fish, crispiness of chips, crunch of batter and value for money.
The takeaways tested needed to hit a 96% pass rate of the assessed factors, much higher than any previous years so you know they’ll all be incredible chippies.
Reece Head, competition organiser, comments: “Announcing our award winners couldn’t come at a better time. The industry is going through a stage of uncertainty with coronavirus impacting the lives and incomes of thousands of shops and owners.
“This is just the news we need to lift the industry so that those that are still trading can tell their customers immediately, while those that are closed have something exciting to shout about when their doors open again.
“Our award winners are all at the top of their game and are moving with the times, embracing technology such as contactless payments, online ordering, and click and collect and delivery while still ensuring the food they are serving is top quality and the customer service is second to none.”
And the Greater Manchester borough that has managed to bag itself one of the top spots might be good at pies, but it turns out it’s also really good at fish and chips too…
Coming in the 50 Best Fish and Chip Takeaways is The Fish at Goose Green, on Clapgate Lane in Wigan!
It’s well loved by fans with a solid 4.8 out of 5 rating on Facebook and plenty of supportive customers.
One customer wrote ‘without a doubt best chippy in Wigan’ five weeks ago, and it turns out they’re not wrong!
There are a few other North West chippies topping the list too, including The Codfather on Manchester Road in Northwich, The Fish Bar in Crewe, and Fylde Fish Bar in Southport.
See the full list below:
Auckley Friery, Auckley, South Yorkshire
Bishopston Fish Bar, Horfield, Bristol
Callaways Fish & Chips, Dorchester, West Dorset
Captain’s Traditional Fish & Chips, Harrow, London
Chish and Fips, Norwich, Norfolk
East Coast, Musselburgh, East Lothian
Drakes, Babbacombe, Torquay, Devon
Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire
Finn’s Traditional Fish and Chips, Reading, Berkshire
Fish ‘n’ Fritz, Weymouth, Dorset
Fishtastic, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Fochabers, Fochabers, Moray
Frydales of Syston, Syston, Leicester
Frydays of Kendal, Kendal , Cumbria
Fylde Fish Bar, Marshside, Southport, Lancashire
Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, Glamorgan
Hill Top Village Fisheries, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
Hirds Family Fisheries, Halifax, West Yorkshire
Hooked@31, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire
Land & Sea, Sowerby, York, North Yorkshire
Market Hill Fisheries, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire
Middleton In Teesdale Fish & Chip Shop, Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham
Mister C’s, Fulford, North Yorkshire
Mister C’s, Selby, North Yorkshire,
My Plaice Fish & Chips, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk
Oysters Fish & Chips, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Penaluna’s Famous Fish & Chips, Hirwaun, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Plattens Fish and Chips, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk
Priory Plaice Fish and Chips, Ulverston, Cumbria
Proper Fish & Chip Co, Exmouth, Devon
Redcloak Fish and Chips, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
Robinson’s Traditional Fish & Chips, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
Sandgate Friery, Penrith, Cumbria
Scott’s Plaice, Gosport, Hampshire
Smith’s Chippy, South Shields, Tyne & Wear
The Chip Club, Kingston-Upon-Thames, London
The Codfather, Manchester Road, Cheshire
The Cod’s Scallops, Bramcote Lane, Nottingham
The Esk Cafe , Carlisle, Cumbria
The Fish at Goose Green, Wigan, Lancashire
The Fish Bar, Crewe, Cheshire
The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire
The Friary, Carrickfergus, County Antrim
The Magpie Café, Whitby, North Yorkshire
The Plaice To Be, Kilmarnock, Troon, South Ayrshire
The Real Food Café, Tyndrum, Perthshire
Topcatch Fish and Chips, Southampton, Hampshire
Towngate Fisheries, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Valerios Fish and Chips, Lanark, South Lanarkshire
Wetherby Whaler, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
Wollaston Fish Bar, Wollaston, Stourbridge, West Midlands