London's best chips
-
By Rachel Halliburton and Jenni Muir with thanks to Michael Jacobson, Andrew Staffell and Sonia Zhuravlyova. Photography Tricia de Courcy Ling
Posted: Mon Jul 30 2007
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
40 Faulkner’s
A hand-painted sign, mauve shutters and the aroma of vinegar conspire to make you feel you’re at the seaside here. The interior is a riot of nostalgia where legendary fish-and-chip suppers are served. Tartare sauce and ketchup are on all the tables. The chips are made from Maris Pipers, free cut then tossed once into groundnut oil before serving.
Faulkner’s, 424-426 Kingsland Rd, E8 4AA (020 7254 6152) Dalston Kingsland rail.
39 Rock & Sole Plaice
Tourists and workers alike love the big portions dished up at this old favourite on the fringes of Covent Garden. Hand-cut chunky Maris Piper chips are thrown straight into groundnut oil and lightly fried, then served with either ketchup or mayonnaise. The accompanying fish is cooked just as conscientiously.
Rock & Sole Plaice, 47 Endell St, WC2H 9AJ (020 7836 3785) Covent Garden tube. Feature continuesAdvertisement38 Daphne’s
More like tempura than traditional chips, zucchine fritte or courgette fries go for a quick dip in batter before diving into hot oil. At Daphne’s they favour a shoestring cut about 3mm thick and (unusually) dunk the courgettes in milk before tossing them in a mixture of flour and grated parmesan.
Daphne’s, 112 Draycott Avenue, SW3 3AE (020 7589 4257) South Kensington tube.
37 Dove Kitchen & Freehouse
Surprisingly for a spot that specialises in Belgian beers, the chips here are thick and rugged – not the wispy strands of frites that are associated with the Low Countries. Fried in vegetable oil, they taste gorgeous, and are served in Hoegaarden pint glasses.
Dove Kitchen & Freehouse, 24-28 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ (020 7275 7617) London Fields rail or Bethnal Green tube then 55 bus.
36 Anchor and Hope
Waterloo’s iconic no-bookings-policy gastropub produces chips worth queuing for. Hand-cut, chunky specimens are made from peeled Maris Pipers (or sometimes Spuntas) and fried twice in vegetable oil.
Anchor and Hope, 36 The Cut, SE1 8LP (020 7928 9898) Southwark tube or Waterloo tube/rail.
35 Masters Super Fish
Stick to the old favourites – like mustard-battered cod – for the best experience at this ambitiously titled, but thoroughly old-school, Waterloo chippy. We’ve had some top chips here recently, even if it hasn’t always been that way. Once blanched, the long, fat hand-cut Maris Pipers are dunked into vegetable oil before being served plain for customers to dress as they see fit.
Masters Super Fish, 191 Waterloo Rd, SE1 8UX (020 7928 6924) Waterloo tube/rail.
34 Stanza NEW!
Stanza’s a new British restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue with a smart art deco inspired interior. Since opening, head chef Stuart Tattersall uses a special brand called Lovers for his chips, removing the excess starch with a good ten minutes of rinsing in water. The chips are part-cooked in water, too, before double-frying in vegetable oil, and the results are thoroughly luscious.
Stanza, 93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5DY (020 7494 3040) Leicester Square tube.
33 The Cut
The Young Vic’s Cut bar and restaurant does a fine plate of thick chips served with home-made-style Tiptree ketchup or cabernet sauvignon vinegar and salt. Potato varieties change throughout the year, but the chips are double-fried in organic sunflower and vegetable oils.
The Cut, Young Vic Theatre, 66 The Cut, SE1 8LZ (020 7928 4400) Waterloo tube/rail or Southwark tube.
32 Madhu’s
You can expect to find chips made from mogo (cassava – a tuber similar to the yam and sweet potato) in Brazilian venues and restaurants where the cooking derives from Kenyan-Asian traditions. This popular restaurant owned by the Anand family is one of Southall’s most stylish. Want fish with those chips? Go for the tilapia or tandoori salmon.
Madhu’s, 39 South Rd, Southall, Middlesex UB1 1SW (020 8574 1897) Southall rail.
31 Fish Club
One of the first outlets to take the chippy upmarket, Fish Club sources its potatoes direct from the farm. Co-owner Steve Orme reveals that while the water and sugar content changes frequently, Maris Pipers are best 90 per cent of the time. Their fat chips are double-fried in fresh vegetable oil. The important thing, says Orme, is that the chips are chilled after the first bout of frying. Plunging a cold chip into very hot oil results in a crisp golden exterior and fluffy middle. Fish Club also offers sweet potato chips – rather more challenging to cook thanks to the tubers’ high natural sugar content. They’re not fried for as long as regular chips, explains Orme, and cannot get really crisp without burning.
Fish Club, 189 St John’s Hill, SW11 1TH (020 7978 7115) Clapham Junction rail.
|
|
More ways to enjoy Time Out
-
Weekly London newsletter
The best of London in your inbox
-
Time Out Widgets
|
|
6 comments
Upscale is different than top range restaurants where they actually prepare fresh food on the premises. I love skin on chips and I think fried potato skins such a cheap dish that fits for the compost!
C. Elder
If you want to generalise about other people's countries then how's this:
-The Iraq War
-The BNP
-The WHOLE of British Imperialism
-The Canadian black bears that get killed each year to make those stupid hats that the guards at Buckingham Palace wear. One bear pelt to make one hat. Nice.
Imagine how ridiculous it would be if I harassed random British Citizens about the above.
Secondly,
I have never even seen a baby harp seal nor do I condone the culling of them to which you refer.
It's great that you're against it but I find it very odd that you use this point to label an ENTIRE nation of individuals as Philistines.
Lastly why did you have to turn a simple, friendly debate about chips into something political?
In Canada chips always have the skin on unless you are buying shitty fries from some fast-food chain.
The skins are both delicious and nutritious. I have yet to have a chip in England with the skin on.
Sorry mate,but having worked in an upscale restaurant,you never get a choice of skins on or off,you only find out when served,or if you ask,but they wont peel them just for you if they serve with skins on,as they are doing large batches of them(usually bought in and not done by hand for each order) and can't keep them separate(and if skins are off,they won't do them with skins on just for you either).And as for what gets washed in a restaurant and how thorough that wash is.....you are a bit naive.
I disagree with what you say. As potatoes grow below the ground any manure doesnt come into contact with the skin as it sits on the surface of the soil. The same applies to fertiliser. Nutrients from manure and/or fertiliser are absorbed into the potato and dont cling to the surface ie the skin. Even if they did, a wash under the tap removes contaminents. I think potatoes with skins do taste betterthan those without skins. Usually you are offered both options in a restaurant so I cant see how your cost saving arguement is valid.
Can't believe you fall for this nonsense about leaving the skin on the potato for "goodness" .On the farm,we were always taught that if it grows below ground(potato,carrot etc) you ALWAYS PEEL it,to get rid of the fertiliser,manure etc etc.The only reason restaurants leave the skin on is to do less work,so they don't have to pay staff to do it.Don't fall for the skin on myth.