London's Best Fish & Chips
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By Guy Dimond
Posted: Tue Aug 16 2005 -
Whether you want the traditional takeaway, or would like to try one of the new bread of chippies, our experts have tried and tested the capital's tastiest fish and chip shops.
Central
Fish Bone
New
A change of ownership in June has seen standards soar at this chippie. All the fish is fresh and cooked to order: grilled, or breaded in matzo meal then fried in groundnut (ie peanut) oil. We found the haddock in matzo grease-free, in a batter that was crunchy yet fragile, and our sea bream was perfectly grilled. Fish Bone’s chips are hand-cut to the size of fat fingers. Mushy marrowfat peas are refreshingly un-artificial too. Fight over the two tiny outdoor tables when the sun’s out.
Fish Bone, 82 Cleveland St, W1T 6NF (020 7580 2672) Great Portland St or Warren St tube. Open Mon-Fri 11am-11pm; Sat 5-11pm.
Fish Central
A modern revamp has moved Fish Central up a notch from local chippie. Good-quality staples such as cod and haddock have been joined by grilled dover sole, mussels à la tarrantina (that’s with a sauce of white wine and tomato), fish soup and char-grilled scallops – all of which can be washed down with a decent chardonnay.
Fish Central, 149-151 Central St, EC1V 8AP (020 7253 4970) Old St tube/rail or 55 bus. Open Mon-Sat 11am-2.30pm, 4.45-10.30pm.
Fishcotheque Feature continuesAdvertisement
Ignore the unenticing exterior, location and reputation for boozy clientele, and try this one when you’re sober. The fish is fresh and the portions generous, but if you’re a naysayer then the chicken kebabs are terrific, complete with the sensational own-made chilli sauce. Few frills, then, but comfortable seating and the boisterously welcoming ambience should persuade you to eat in.
Fishcotheque, 79a Waterloo Rd, Southwark SE1 8UD (020 7928 1484) Waterloo tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 11am-12midnight; Sun 12noon-10pm.
Fryer’s Delight
Cabbies’ favourite
The cabbie’s choice and, it transpires, Time Out readers’. And for all of you who wrote in complaining that London lacked any good fish and chip shops (mostly those of you from Yorkshire), this is the place for you. Chips are fat , fish comes in a chunky batter and everything is deep-fried in beef dripping. Just don’t go expecting any healthy options.
Fryers’ Delight, 19 Theobald’s Rd, WC1X 8SL (020 7405 4114) Holborn tube. Open Mon-Sat 12noon-10pm, takeaway until 11pm. Unlicensed; no corkage charge.
Golden Hind
Good for BYO
An unassuming little place with busy service and signed celebrity photos. Food quality and portion sizes seem to be slightly hit and miss, though we have had some superb meals here. With the range limited, the big draw for chip-shop nerds is the decommissioned art deco fryer by F Ford of Halifax. The own-made tartare sauce is excellent.
Golden Hind, 73 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PN (020 7486 3644) Bond St tube. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-3pm, 6-10pm; Sat 6-10pm. Unlicensed; no corkage charge.
North Sea Fish Restaurant
A longstanding Bloomsbury legend, with old-school decor of red velvet seats and dark wooden furniture. Main courses are substantial, with fish portions coming as standard (huge) and jumbo (family sized – and that’s a Catholic family). If you can squeeze in some pudding, we recommend apple crumble and custard or the distinctly boozy trifle.
North Sea Fish Restaurant, 7-8 Leigh St, WC1H 9EW (020 7387 5892) Russell Square tube or King’s Cross tube/rail or 68, 168 bus. Open Mon-Sat 12noon-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm.
Rock & Sole Plaice
London’s oldest surviving fish and chip shop was established in 1871 and is still bustling (though admittedly under different ownership). Tourists, luvvies, suits and trendies – no one cares when they’ve got chunky chips and crisply battered fish in front of them. Outdoor tables, strung around with coloured lights, come into their own on a balmy summer’s evening.
Rock & Sole Plaice, 47 Endell St, WC2H 9AJ (020 7836 3785) Covent Garden tube. Open Mon-Sat 11.30am-11pm; Sun 12noon-10pm.
Seafresh Fish Restaurant
Some of London’s best chippies are run by Greeks; this one was founded in 1965 by Marius Leonidou and is now run by his son. A celebratory decor change this year from wood panelling and fishing nets to pine tables and white walls has reassuringly not been accompanied by a price hike. If you’re eating in the restaurant rather than taking away, try the fish soup or deep-fried king prawns. And if you want a change from the standard fried fish (though it is awfully good), might we suggest the hearty fish pie.
Seafresh Fish Restaurant, 80-81 Wilton Rd, SW1V 1DL (020 7828 0747) Victoria tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-3pm, 5-10.30pm; Sat 12noon 10.30pm.
Sea Shell
The decor (monochrome marble-effect tiles, light salmon walls and gilt-framed pictures) suggests that the Sea Shell is going for classy. To wit, fish can be ordered poached as well as pan-fried or battered. Recommended are the salmon fishcakes, whitebait with aïoli and, bizarrely for a fish restaurant, the vegetable soup.
Sea Shell, 49-51 Lisson Grove, NW1 6UH (020 7224 9000/www.seashellrestaurant.co.uk) Marylebone tube/rail. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-2.30pm, 5-10.30pm; Sat 12noon-10.30pm.
West
Costas Fish Restaurant
Distinctly Cypriot taverna with friendly service, a couple of pavement tables and a menu that gives room to houmous, calamares, baklava and retsina. Doesn’t stop them making some of the best fish and chips in town though.
Costas Fish Restaurant, 18 Hillgate St, W8 7SR (020 7727 4310) Notting Hill Gate tube. Open Tue-Sat 12noon-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm.
Geales
Posh eats
Crab and leek tart, smoked salmon, caviar, oysters… Geales is an upmarket chippie for upmarket Notting Hill types. Heavens, there’s even broccoli. So it pains us to say that they also fry a damn good bit of fish. Wash it down with a pint of draught London Pride and you’re looking at a pretty good meal.
Geales, 2 Farmer St, W8 7SN (020 7727 7528) Notting Hill Gate tube. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-3pm, 6-11pm; Sat 12noon-11pm; Sun 6-10.30pm.
See also
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Time Out London magazine (Issue 1826)
London On Sea The capital's 20 best boating experiences and London's hidden rivers. - Buy now
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26 comments
Fishers has to be one of the best, the skate was lovely, my wife had the cod, batter was perfect, fish was antastic, service was brill....and a good laugh as well..brill mushy peas, and sauses..will be def back and also recommend to all
I can't believe you've neglected to mention the most consistently brilliant fish and chip shop in London. Super fish in waterloo, the portions are massive and always perfectly cooked and for some reason they always give you three free prawns and bread as a starter.
The staff are nice enough, for London, the only problem being that by the time you leave you absolutely stink of fried food. But it's worth it.
Rock & Sole Plaice - rude people, appalingly agressive young lads working there in daytime, just rude and nasty, and the chips were shite too
Hallelujah North Sea Fish has re-opened after annual holiday.
Absolutely fantastic as usual, what else can I say. A visit to this restaurant is an absolute must for all fish & chip lovers.
Visited Fishers in Fulham today:-
1. Portion size good value
2. Friendly & efficient staff
3. Started off with Skate Wing (no middles), would have been
very good if had not been overcooked. This made it quite dry
and difficult to get off the bone.
4. Went on to Cod fillet, this was much better but not outstanding
5. Offered 1/2 portion of chips which was excellent idea.
6. Proper linen napkins - wonderful
Overall rating 7 out of 10
i have tried the rest,NOW try the BEST....FISHERS in fulham.everything cooked fresh, and value for money
A friend and I had the most appalling experience at Fryer's Delight last week. It was the worst fish n chips I've ever had! It was bland and the textures were all wrong: the fish was dry and overcooked, whilst the batter too thick and soggy. It was a new experience having undercooked batter on the inside with a raw doughy taste and squidgy texture. Likewise, the scampis' breadcrumbs were burnt on the outside and thick and doughy inside. The chips were soggy and tasteless.
Just to put it into perspective here is my UK Premier League ranked by quality (they're all deservedly award winners of some kind): Magpie Cafe (2nd) of Whitby, and The Boundary (3rd) of Market Deeping, Colemans (4th) of Newcastle.
As for recommendations in London, McDermotts (1st) in Addington is better than all the aforementioned and a many time UK champion in its own right. Ok, strictly it's outside London, but worth a trip if you want to see this genre done at its very best. In my First Division would be: Ollie's (5th) on a good day can be almost Premier League, but they sadly lack consistency, and Sea Cow (6th) was good when I was last there in 2006. Rock & Sole Plaice (7th) is reliably good, but never brilliant. Sea Shell is overrated and I'd never recommend it (Division 3?). So, this makes Fryer's Delight a Sunday club and Guy Diamond should remove it from this list.
Have been to North Sea Fish 3 times in the past month, absolutely fantastic. The excellent fish portions are huge, batter perfect including matzo and chips delicious. The staff are delightful. They are closed for next 2 weeks (annual holiday) will definitely have withdrawal symptons by the time they re-open.
Absolutely loved the goldenHind!!!! brilliant service, amazing food and well worth the money!!! Definitely go back!
I recently visited London and had fish and chips at the Nautilus. I had the fish (haddock) done in matzo meal - and yes, it was fantastic.
I'd been in the UK, including Scotland, for the previous four weeks and enjoyed fish almost every day, and it was all very good - but the Nautilus was definitely the best!
Was in London 2 weeks ago for a couple of days. Decided to try Fishers in Fulham based on the reviews I saw here. I was not disappointed. The fish was excellent, real chips, fair price and very friendly staff. Will definitely return when I am next in London.
I can recommend Rock and Sole Plaice, tried a few in and around soho and that so far is my favourite. Service varies, depending on your server. The fish I've tried is excellent, the fries though were the usual stuff found in almost every other F&C place.
Just eaten at North Sea Fish Restaurant. Used to really like this place, but quality has gone down quite a lot recently. On most recent visit I ordered scampi, but when it arrived it turned out to be processed fish in breadcrumbs. The manager told me that this is what scampi was supposed to look like.
The best fish ever is Oysters in Mitcham. I know, location off key but I've tried everywhere and I always take friends from abroad here and they agree it's the best. Better that the £20 I paid for fish & chips at Chop House!
I must say that I love fish & chips & I have tried seashell, golden hind, and various others but there is nothing to beat Mr Fish in bayswater in porchester road who served a truly superb fish & chips in their restaurant.
I would recommend it this establishment to anyone where the service is also terrific.
Well done you guys