When the batter coats a fresh cod fillet in a single layer and the frying time, temperature and oil are right, the fish effectively steams within its crisp golden shell. The hidden treasure – firm, glistening flakes of pearly white cod – distinguishes my picks for Top 10 Fish and Chips in London.
At its best, crispy battered fish delivers a sudden rush of happy hormones to our rewards centre.
David Miller, Head of Training at the National Federation of Fish Friers, divides the tasting experience into three successive sensations:
- The audible crunch as your teeth pierce the golden batter and its airy network of minuscule bubbles.
- The satisfying “fried” taste of the batter as it breaks down in your teeth and melts in your mouth.
- The coming of the cod and waves of mildly sweet flavour from dense, steamy flakes of contentment.
Before you rush on to the next bite, pause for aftertaste of the batter, with a note of oil. You might not care to see residues of frying oil on the bottom of your, or feel an oily trace left on their palates. That’s greasy, and greasy is bad. But though the frying oil should never seep through the protective barrier, a small amount will be absorbed by it. The very ingredient that dehydrates the batter to the point of optimum crispness turns it moist and melty.
“You don’t want to get rid of every last drop of oil,” says Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers. “Oil is part of the flavour profile.”
To be short-listed for my Top 10 Fish and Chips in London list, the battered fish had to be:
- Too hot to eat straight away but too good not to.
- As delectable detached from its batter as was the batter detached from it.
Declaration of Neutrality
I may live in London but, as a transplanted New Yorker, I have no tribal loyalties towards any regional style or tradition. That’s made it easy for me to maintain neutrality and dodge the great fish-and-chip debates: cod vs. haddock, skin-on vs. skin-off, vegetable oil vs. beef dripping, flat batter vs. lively batter, crisp chips vs. tender ones.
“With fish and chips, people like different things,” warns Crook. “You’re never going to keep everyone happy.”
I focused my comparative tasting on a single fish, Atlantic cod, risking the wrath of haddock hounds. (If you prefer haddock, have haddock. Don’t let me stop you.) I am partial to prime fillets cut from the loin, the fat middle section of the cod, yielding superbly chunky flakes of firm fish. A thinner fillet from the tail portion will close the distance between the top and bottom layers of batter, however, producing a crispy sandwiching effect cherished by tail-enders. One size fillet does not fit all. If you have a preference, it never hurts to ask for it.
Breaking through the batter of each contender for Top-10 honours was crunch time: I could judge how well the flakes of cod retained their firmness, moisture and freshness. I could lean my head over the exposed cross-section of the fillet, take in the fragrant steam and effectively give myself a Gadus morhua facial.
Chips Matter, Too
Forget what you’ve read, heard or said; chips are not french fries and french fries are not chips, even if it’s becoming a harder to tell these fried potatoes apart. At London chippies at least, the soft, long, stodgy, extra-chunky, single-cooked chips of yore may be going the way of the long-forbidden newspaper wrappers that trapped their steam and enhanced their sogginess. At most of today’s best chippies you’re served straight-cut jumbo cuboids blanched (pre-cooked) and later plunged into hot oil to set in colour and crispness.
Fish shops typically rotate potato varieties, which can affect the texture of their chips. The new, early-crop tubers introduced in July have a higher water content, yielding a tender outcome. Chips are seasonal and shouldn’t always be judged by their hue and saturation. This isn’t Photoshop. Look instead for a clean aroma, crisp surfaces highlighted by crisper edges, a fluffy interior and a true potato flavour almost suggestive of mashed potatoes. Do not look for french fries.
I’d Rather Wait for My Fish than Have My Fish Wait for Me
Many relate freshness to how recently the fish has been caught, or in the belief that it’s not been frozen at any point in its journey from fisherman to cook. But at a fish and chips, the freshest fish is one that’s only just been prepared. And that’s something that you, the customer, can impact. Simply ask that your fish be fried to order. It’s always better to wait for your fish than have your fish wait for you.
Some shops do a brisk trade, with constant queues. When battered fish fillets are done frying they don’t sit around for long. It’s drain and go. If, on the contrary, business is sporadic and preparation is not paced accordingly, the golden-bodied fillets can be left to lounge in the hot box like sunbathers at the beach, slowly drying out under the heat lamps. Requests for fried-to-order fish elicit a range of responses, from assurances that all fish is as fresh as can be to the proverbial two-minute plea: That fish was just made,” goes the fish tale. “It’s only been in there for two minutes.” Were you are told that ready fillet had been resting in the hot box for a minute, or even six, that could be credible – and acceptable. But two minutes? I’ve known hours shorter than that.
Tasting Notes
My system for selecting the Top 10 Fish and Chips in London wasn’t scientific, nor was it swayed by sentiment. Remember, I’m a New York lad. I have no childhood memories of fish suppers, no associations with British seaside summers to draw upon.
The list is a reflection of comparative tasting and gut instinct, both mine, with the quality of the battered fried fish accounting for about half of the equation; the chips, a quarter. The rest is covered by my feelings about the fish shop’s culture, from atmosphere and attentiveness to a sense of family and community. The condiments and side attractions ought to have been considered, too, but it just wasn’t feasible for me to assess the tartare sauce, mushy peas, curry sauce and pickled onions at every place I visited.
These are hard times for the food-and-chip industry, with the price of fish, oil, gas and electricity far outpacing the prices many Londoners will pay for a fish supper. Nothing is cheap-as-chips anymore. I hope this compilation will help inspire a reappraisal of a common food that, if conditions worsen, may not be that much longer.
Takeaway shops did qualify for consideration only if they offered an option for on-site or, at the very least, pavement (sidewalk) eating. Locals presumably have a home dinette, work canteen or sofa nearby where they can open a takeaway box and consume its contents while still warm. The rest of us do not.
When visiting a candidate for Top 10 Fish and Chips in London for the first time, I always paid my own way.
For the 2022 update, I owe a debt of gratitude to two of the UK’s leading authorities on fish and chips, National Fish Friers Associate President Andrew Crook of Skippers of Euxton, Lancashire and NFFA Regional Director for England David Miller of Miller’s Fish & Chips in Haxby, North Yorkshire. Their insights about the preparation and, importantly, the appreciation of fish and chips informed my assessments, as did their passion for upholding a British institution.
The Top 10 Fish and Chips in London
View Top 10 Fish and Chips in London
1. The Laughing Halibut
To stand behind your fish-and-chips business you stand in front, by the window, where everyone can see you. The bespectacled Mustafa Raif occupies that senior position at The Laughing Halibut, overseeing the takeaway counter and greeting familiar faces as he carefully scoops London’s crunchiest chippy chips into paper bags. He tries to filter out the chip fragments, but a couple of those irresistible bronzed bits invariably escape his screening. Behind the long frying range, a trio of deft fry cooks, including Mustafa’s son Arif, works the fish bar, bantering and bickering all day long in the spirit of either teamwork or rivalry, it’s hard to tell which. The tables in the back are occupied by knowing locals from the Westminster area and tourists from everywhere, all looked after by Mustafa’s wife Ayshe. If you prefer The Laughing Halibut’s lively batter when it’s applied to a thick cod fillet, or a very thin one, or if you want scoop of batter scraps, or extra chip bits, you must tell Ayshe. This is no place to be silent, until your fish and chips arrive and you gather the essentials – fork, salt shaker, vinegar, smartphone in camera mode.
The Laughing Halibut, 38 Strutton Ground, London SW1P 2HR, 020 7799 2844
2. Golden Anchor Fish Bar
Lou Chrysostomou glides his fingers down the sides of a fillet double-dipped in batter to wipe off all the excess. What would happen, he is asked, if he skipped this final step of prep prior to frying and left more batter on the fillet? The co-owner, with his wife Ellie, of Golden Anchor, curls his lip upwards as if it were caught on a hook. “It would get all smashy and the fish wouldn’t like it either.” Lou’s cod is anything but smashy, if I interpret that term correctly as a variant of smushy. It’s positively smashing: Plump, diagonal flakes of pristine cod burnished in steam and gilded with a contoured crunch. The once-fried chips are on the pale and soft side – very old school, just like everything else in this classic, local, mom-and-pop fish bar serving the South London suburbs of Mitchum and Tooting. Lou is part cod whisperer, part frying commenter, coordinating the lineups of fish and people and reporting joyfully to the latter on the progress of the former. At Golden Anchor the next glorious fish supper is there in the making.
Golden Anchor, 60 Gorringe Park Ave, Mitcham CR4 2DG, 020 8687 1655
3. Fish Central
Fish Central may lift its fish a beat or two early from the deep-fryer for optimum juiciness, but no one can complain their fillet is under-heated. Plump battered fillets are routinely served fresh out of the fryer when, according to fish-and-chips legend George Hussein, they’re too hot to taste. You must let the fish cool down, he advises, before diving in. But what if you can’t keep yourself from crushing that noisy batter and digging into the lustrous cod? “Then,” reasons George, with the special authority that comes from a half-century of experience, “you have to eat it.” Chips also arrive hot to the core, a function of a parallel crisping-and-steaming process. The potato supplies its own starch, which lacquers every chip with a transparent film, keeping most of the oil out and freeing the potato to fluff. A King Square institution opened in 1968 and still run by the Hussein family, Fish Central covers opposite ends of the fish-and-chips experience, from paper-napkin takeaway to white-cloth dining.
Fish Central, 149-155 Central St, King Square, London EC1V 8AP, 020 7253 4970
4. Ken’s Fish Bar
While it’s normal for children to take on their father’s family name, the two sons of the original Ken behind Ken’s Fish Bar have assumed their father’s Anglicised first name, too. It’s all terribly confusing but also understandable, especially since the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil made Ken’s a world-famous name. Host Phil Rosenthal came to Herne Hill in South London to praise the crisp and exceptionally potatoey chips – no shocker, given their quality and portability, but the cod hardly merits second billing. This is still fish and chips, not chips and fish. The interplay between crunchy batter and chunky fish is divine. THANK COD FOR KEN’S is spelled out in big green letters mounted on the tiled wall and, for extra emphasis, was registered as the fish bar’s Instagram username (@thankcodforkens). But you will also want to thank Ken or, more accurately, the Kens for cod like this. There’s no seating save for a pair of all-weather pavement tables. For winter visits from distant postcodes, I suggest you come dressed in layers or, better still, rent a nearby Airbnb for the occasion and have your order boxed for takeaway.
Ken’s, 131 Half Moon Lane, London SE24 9JY, 020 7737 4953
5. Poseidon Fish Restaurant
Poseidon, 100-102 High Rd, London N2 9EB, 020 3638 9171
6. The Kingfisher
Kingfisher, 147 Homerton High St, London E9 6AS, 020 8985 4444
7. Gigs Fish & Chips
The crunch from your first bite of Gigs battered cod is so resonant it almost feels as if the sound is coming from AirPods, not fish pods. It’s the crunchiest version in Central London and, if not left to drain for a good five minutes, as owners Aristos and Chris advise, possibly the greasiest, too. Don’t be put off by that straight away. It’s the batter that’s taken on the oil, not the pristine white flakes of fish within. This is fried battered fish at its unctuous peak, paired to best advantage with long, fluffy, crisp-edged chips. You can dine indoors in the dining room, with full-service comforts and prices to match, or al fresco at lower takeaway rates along the wooden-boarded beach terrace. There’s no sand or sea on Whitfield Street and there hasn’t been since this Fitzrovia mainstay opened 1958, but if it’s sunny and you’re ok sitting near free-spirited people who just might be licking their fingers it’s easy to suspend disbelief.
Gigs, 12 Tottenham St, London W1T 4RE, 020 7636 1424
8. Fladda Fish & Chips
In the lexicon of the chip shop, scraps are loose bits of fried batter which, having dropped off the fillets, are left behind after the fully cooked fish has been lifted from the oil. In the North of England, scraps are a traditional by-product collected in a scrap box and typically offered for free, as an accompaniment or a greasy snack. At Fladda in Camberwell, South London, the scraps are freshly prepared and integral to house fish recipe, so not technically scraps at all. The batter is dribbled into the bubbling oil, to fry alongside the fillets. As soon as the squiggles of batter have turned golden, they are scooped over the fillets to form bumpy mounds and embed a double crunch fish experience. The chips are lovely and the surroundings are modern and stylish, with a nautical blue-and-white frontage, cheerful graphics and choice tables inside and out.
Fladda, 55 Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8TR, 020 8127 6279
9. Poppies Fish & Chips
Poppies Spitalfields, 6-8 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR, 020 7247 0892
Poppies Camden, 30 Hawley Crescent, London NW1 8NP, 020 7267 0440,
Poppies Soho, 55-59 Old Compton St, London W1D 6HW, 020 7734 4845
10. Fish Lounge
At most restaurants, if there’s not much of a queue, there’s not much of a wait. The opposite can be true at conscientious chippies like Fish Lounge. When the tide of customers ebbs, you may wait an extra 10 minutes for your fish fillet to be battered, fried and drained. The proud and affable owner Gus Mustafa boasts of patient regulars happy to stand at the takeaway counter or sit at table while their fish is made to order especially for them. Fish Lounge is an appealingly modern yet unfussy refuge from the bustle of Brixton Hill. The calm suits the vigilant fry cook, Gus’s wife Ulgen, who is attentive to the frying time and temperature and the consistency of her flour-and-water coating. If the batter is too thick, reveals Gus, a telltale yellowishness will appear where the thick outer layer of cooked batter meets the undercooked fish. Fish Lounge is no place for extremes. The fish is crispy but not excessively so. The pale-golden chips are a little soft but not mushy. And the wait for your order is probable but not intolerable.
Fish Lounge, 99 Brixton Hill, London SW2 1AA, 02086788755
Poppies is just great. Great fish & chips and great service. Love the waitresses 50’s style dresses too 🙂
Ah… I knew Toff’s had to be fairly well rated on this list! They are excellent.
Quite like Seafresh too, though when I visited the new branch of Poppies in Camden I wasn’t too impressed.
Fish Central was an old haunt of mine when I lived in the area 3 years ago. Glad to see they’re still going strong!
Didn’t realise that Boris had banned F&C from s’arf London …
Fair point, Andy. Unfortunately amongst the South London chippies I tried only Masters Super Fish made the cut. What gems did I miss? Any suggestions or recommendations?
I disagree re Poppies.. we went to the new Camden branch a couple of weeks ago, we ordered 2 pieces of Cod, one was not cod and the other was undercooked! I contacted them to let them know and they have not responded. Definitely wont be back, but will try some of the others on your list!
Gina, You’re the second to report disappointment with the fish at Poppies’ Camden branch. I need to investigate. Thanks for the alert.
After reading your recommendation of Fish Central last week I thought it was about time I tried it. I’ve lived in the area nearly 7 years and never tried it.
I’m pleased to report it was just as good as you said. My only worry now is how often I will eating at Fish Central and what it will do for my waistline.
Did you try Rock & Sole Plaice in Covent Garden? How did it compare to the above? That had always been my uneducated benchmark (most local chippies are significantly worse)
Daniel – I did try The Rock & Sole Plaice, although not recently. This places are better.
I work by Gigs and I have to say they’re not a patch on Fishy Business in Brockley, South East London. Did you venture very far into South London for this review?
Meg – I tried and liked Fishy Business earlier this month but didn’t think it was better than any of these.
Daniel when you say
“Fresh fish too hot to eat straight away but too good not to.”
You actually mean freshly fried as opposed to using fresh as opposed to frozen fish , is that correct.
If you mean Fresh as opposed to frozen then it would be very difficult to come up with a list , non ?
Great job though this is the best list I have seen to date !
Good list. Toffs and Kerbisher and Malt in my top three. Suggest. you pay Two Brothers in Finchley Central a visit next time you venture near Toffs.
Thanks, Tony. I tried Two Brothers once and wasn’t overly impressed. Also got the feeling the regulars were being treated a lot better than me.
Can you add allergy notes? So many fish and chips places use nut oils and given that I’m deathly allergic, I’ve only had fish and chips in my work canteen since I moved to the UK. Took my sister to poppies when she visited (she liked it) but I couldn’t eat there for the reason mentioned 🙁
Jenn – You are right to be concerned: Most of the chippies on this top 10 use groundnut oil. I know that Kerbisher & Malt and Fish Shop use vegetable oils, not nut oils. Will have to check with the others. Regardless, don’t take my word for it. Policies and practices change. You can’t be too careful.
Wow. Just went to Fish Central for the 1st. The cod was moist and light as a feather while the crust was crunchy and dry on top. At 1st I thought the bottom was soggy but realized it was just the juiciness of the fish seeping through creating multiple textures.
My two favorites are Poppies and Masters Superfish. I need to go back to pick the best of the three! Thanks Daniel.
Your review is interesting, but you seem to be missing 50% of the meal.
The clue is in the name – Fish ‘& Chips’.
You haven’t mentioned the humble chip at all. The best chips make a decent bit of fish worthy of any Michelin star meal. The chip is the straight man to the comic genius.
Too many chip shops rely on frozen or pre-prepared chips. One of your top 10 has the nerve to put a picture of frozen chips on its menu. For that reason alone, I’ll never darken their doorstep.
Without a brilliant chip, Fish & Chips is merely Fish.
Maybe you should try your top 10 again with both eyes open?
Sutton & Sons in Stoke Newington High Street for me has to be one of the best fish and chips shops in England, not only London. I’ve eaten in many across the country and a few in this great top 10 compiled by this site and I have to say that the atmosphere on a friday night and the real taste of fried or grilled fish at Sutton & Sons is hard to beat. Add to that the great staff they have there that are very attentive. Thanks for this top 10 chaps! Couldn’t believe it when 4 of my favourites turned up on your list… Shows I wasn’t far wrong apart from Sutton & Sons deserving at least a top 5 place in my opinion. But that is only an opinion at the end of the day.
Did the Fish Central know you were a food critic ? I used to go in there regulary for many years but the last couple of years the standard has gone down. Kennedys in Goswell Road or Whitecross street is much better
Lou – Did they know in advance I was a critic? No, but I think by the third visit, when I turned up with a video camera they began to suspect something. Sorry, couldn’t disagree with you more about Kennedy’s. I’ve tried both locations and didn’t care for either. My lunch at Whitecross Street Kennedy’s was my worst experience in the process of putting together this list.
The Catch on chiswick high road is superb. Fresh fish, freshly cooked, great chips and huge portions. Made me fall in love with f&c all over again.
Woody, I’ve not tried The Catch. Thanks for tip. I must go.
Have you tried Oliver’s on Haverstock Hill, NW3? Apart from Fish Central they serve the best fish and chips I’ve eaten in London. I’d love to know what you think…
Stephanie, I’ve not tried Oliver’s and must, if not right away. I’m sure you’ll understand I need a short break from fish & chips 🙂 Thanks for the reco.
I haven’t been for a few years now, but when I tried Toff’s after a few recommendations I was sorely disappointed, maybe I should give it another chance.
Jamie – Not sure what to advise you. I’ve been to Toffs for one lunch and two dinners and was happy with fish each time.
You should try Nautilus in West Hampstead if you haven’t already. It’s matzo meal though, just so you know in advance!
Daniel, Just to let you know, a couple of weeks later, Poppies have emailed to ask us back. Will let you know, if we we go back, what its like. I quite like the idea of music with fish and chips so may will give it another chance now.
The Fish Club St John’s Hill SW11 1TQ is in my opinion the best in London. Perhaps you have not ventured South of the river?
Lydia, I have tried The Fish Club. Its chips are the crispest of any chippy I’ve tried in London. I like my fish but did not rate it as highly on the others on the list. But on your larger point, yes, I need to get around South London more.
Having walked past Gigs several hundred times since I last ate there in the late 80s, I was surprised to see it make this list. I thought maybe it warranted a revisit so today we gave it a try purely based on this list and the idea that these places on your top ten serve freshly cooked fish.
Big mistake. Fish came from the take away section next door where it had been sitting for some time, was dry, overcooked and the whole atmosphere of the place entirely soulless. When the waitress asked how the meal was (we were literally the only customers) there was no point in complaining. If these owners don’t know the difference between good and bad food service there really is no point in wasting breath on them. Why pay to eat dried up reheated food and bland limp chips?
Nice overview Daniel and some great chippies listed. Allow me to throw a different slant, one from my field of expertise. As we all know sustainability is still the buzz word and is foolishly used by many as a sales tool. Most have little or no understanding of its true meaning when directly associated with fish stock biomass. With this in mind one would like to think fish and chip shops may, or even should, lead the way in promoting such information even with just lip service as most restaurants currently do.
Of the 10 named in your blog only 8 have websites of which only 3 give any time to the term sustainable. The Fish House of Notting Hill briefly claims ‘responsibly sourced from sustainable stocks’. They have one MCS red 5 listed fish to avoid and a number of species not deemed sustainable on their menu. Sutton’s claim ‘sustainably sourced’ but have 3 MCS red 5 listed fish to avoid which is very poor, in fact the worst I’ve seen! They have other offers that are currently not deemed sustainable. The fish House offers the most comprehensive insight into its sourcing policy but unfortunately again 2 MCS red 5 listed fish to avoid a a few other areas of concern. One may assume their own insight is not understood by its writer?
It’s very easy with words to make suitability claims but these very few examples show, I hope, how the public are no closer to understanding what they are eating. Unfortunately on most occasions those serving the fish have very little understanding of this subject and they are assisted in this confusion by the majority of seafood wholesales who also have either no understanding or no wish to understand.
I realise your article was about taste so I apologise for moving away from the subject area but I thought it may be of interest to you and your readers. You know where I am on twitter if you want to delve into this further
This article makes a very interesting read but not when your feeling peckish! i live in sevenoaks but when im shopping in bluewater i always pop to a great fish and chips takeaway in Dartford Kent, Finest fish shop and certainly lives up to the name. All fish is only cooked to order even chips are fryed fresh too. The cod is lovely just the right amount of batter and a crispy golden colour u can ask for a choice if prefer skinless or cooked well done. Staff are very freindly even ask if you would like cup of tea whilst you wait! ( its not a cafe ).worth the visit. Plus they do few indian snacks all homemade especially a must try the pakoras…delicous!
forgot to mention they use groundnut oil. Can tell the difference between vegetable oil and nut, but not great if suffer from a severe nut allergy like my Father.
Sustainable Mat – thanks for being such an interminable bore like most eco-loons.
Haha, lovely stuff Jon. I’m possibly as far removed from an eco-loon as there is. I’m a fisheries scientist who understands and enjoys talking about the subject. Maybe my points are not for people that have little interest in education, however, many are interested in learning about the subject. May I suggest in future there is no need to be so rude, just don’t read the bits you don’t care about xx
regarding the fish club in battersea..that is the most un-fish n chip shop in sarf london,have you seen their video..no mention of fish n chips..only farty arty foods..give it a break ,keep to proper fish n chips…init
I lived in Islington for 10 years ending in 1996, only a few blocks from the Upper Street Fish Shop, the best! I’ll be back this winter, and tried to look it up but found only “The Fish Shop” on Upper Street. What a disappointment! I’ve dreamed of the old USFS’s fabulous cod & quite good chips, and I see that the new place (aside from being on the wrong side of the street) is a posh take on a fish shop. Oh, well.
Agree The Catch in Chiswick is very good!
I’m sorry you’re recommending Kerbisher and Malt, though. If you try to eat there frequently (I live nearby) you’ll find it so unreliable you’ll never want to risk it. On their now-infrequent good days their fish chips are the best I’ve ever eaten outside Yorkshire. Usually, though, they’re just OK, sometimes very bad indeed. On my last visit, with my son, another enthusiast of the genre, we got takeaway and actually threw half of it away.
You cannot get a nut allergy reaction from ground nut oil (nut oil)
Happy days just off algate east is the best ive had. Poppies is awful!
Forcing myself to stop trying the Top 10 Burgers, I went to Fish Central for the first time last week.
I loved the restaurant and the service and the fish was exceptional – my friend and I had cod & haddock to compare and contrast.
For me the major disappointment was the chips – as someone else commented they go hand in hand so both should be right. The fish was so good and the chips were just “meh”. I can’t say I’ve ever found a F&C shop in London that gets both spot on. I would go back to Fish Central, so I consider this a good recommendation.
But if this is really the best that London can do, there is scope for someone to do better.
See you at the LBBFINAL
North Sea fish in Kings Cross is famous and so so so good how are they not on the list?
HOOK CAMDEN should really be top of this list. Go there and rewrite this article…
I’ve been, Max. Very promising, with great dips and chips, but not yet where it needs to be.
Not as trendy as a lot of the places above and not in the centre of London but when I moved to west London about 10 years ago I discovered Mario’s in Isleworth. Daniel if you are really searching for proper fish and chips you have to try them out. The reason j think I love their food is that not only is their batter beautiful and crispy, and the the fish lovely and tasty, it’s as one of the earlier posts mentioned, they know how to do chips, proper fish and chip shop chips. I’ve eaten at poppies in Spitalfields, i thought it was perfect for tourists, great Devon, Kennedy and òlleys Ard both overpriced, but none of them make chip shop chips. If I want crispy on the outside chips I can go McDonald’s, but for stodgy, soft chips and great fish, try Mario’s in Isleworth (and you’ll got a fair amount of change from a £10 note which a lot of these new ‘traditional’ chippies won’t do)