Fish & Chips: England’s Iconic Dish
Fish & Chips - England’s national dish. It is as British as going down to the pub and having a pint with your mates. Where did it come from? And why is it special? And where can you get the best fish & chips in London?
The Rise of Fried Fish From Cadiz and Lisbon in The 1600’s
Cadiz - the oldest city in Europe - and Lisbon - the 2nd oldest city in Europe - were maritime and fishing powerhouses. In the 1600s, Sephardic, Jewish immigrants from these two countries brought with them the tradition of frying white fish in oil. Sold in London’s East End, these fillets were crisp on the outside, tender witthin and the ancestor of the “fish” half of the equation was born.
It should be noted that Cadiz remains the fried seafood capital of the world but that is a Substack for another day.
The Rise of “Belgium Fries” in the 1600’s
Potatoes arrived from Peru to Spain around 1580 and spread to Belgium around 1590 and into England around 1600 or shortly thereafter. It is likely that frying chips and selling them by street vendors migrated from Belgioum to London around this time.before the fried fish in the late 1500s, but it wasn’t until the early 1800s that fried potato “chips” were sold by street vendors in London and the industrial towns of the North. Cheap, filling, and portable, they became a working-class staple.
Fish Marries Chips in the 1860’s
While the exact reason how and why fish got paired with chips is not recorded. They seemed to coexist for 150 years without formally being discovered together. Finally in the 1860’s we do know these two shops were the first recorded in serving them as inseparable.
London legend: Joseph Malin, an East End Jewish immigrant, opened a shop around 1860.
Northern claim: John Lees in Mossley (near Manchester) served them from a wooden hut in 1863.
And ironically - they were called “Chippies” 🤣. I guess “Fishies” does not have the same ring. The growth of the railway network made fresh fish from the North Sea and potatoes from rural farms accessible everywhere. Fish & chips became the ultimate fast food of the industrial age. Chippies exploded to 35,000 before a long sad decline to 10,000 and shrinking today.
If you ask anyone what they think of Fish & Chips they will say “I love them”. When you ask “when was the last time you went? Six years ago.” It’s like the great British pub: Beloved by all and visited by none:
in the late 18th century. In Oliver Twist (1837)Dickens mentions “fried fish warehouses”, the likely precursor to the modern chippy. Sometime in the 19th century, the Jewish fish and the Belgian chips were brought together in holy matrimony, and the rest is history.
Back to Fish & Chips
The Fish - Controversial but simple
The classic fish are all white, flaky, mild-tasting species Cod, Haddock, Hake, Plaice, Pollock, Rock Salmon (Dogfish) and even Skate. By region:
South of England = Cod dominates.
North of England & Scotland = Haddock rules.
Historic London East End = Rock salmon/dogfish had its moment.
But, after visiting England for 40 years, living in Manchester two years and London for 18 years, I have come to conclude there is only one true fish for fish & chips and that is cod and let me tell you why. All these fish are delicious so that is not part of the reason Cod has two characteristics that matter: 1. A perfect cod takes on a slippery, almost glassy texture that perfectly offsets the rustic, crunch of the fried batter. Think fire and ice, oil and vinegar, sugar and spice - you get the idea. No other fish has that texture. And here is the clincher…not sure why… but Cod “flakes” - it is hard to describe but when you poke it - a slice hives off. I asked Chat GPT why this was and got this crazy chart:
This says that haddock is tastier but cod is flakier. Since things like batter, salt and vinegar are so flavorful, the benefit of Cod’s texture outweighs the benefit of Halibut’s taste.
The Size Of The Fish
You should always order large because you get the thck wet middle and the thinner dryer, crunchier end pieces. If you order the small - you miss out on the thich juicy middle. If you are two…never order two smalls. Share a big one!
The Batter
Crispy crust with plenty of craggy edges and minuscule nooks and crannies to retain a bit of the oil and salt will result in a flavor explosion to be offset by by the flaky, translucent cod inside. There is spectrum from light to medium to heavy batter that different folks prefer depending on tastes. I don’t eat them very often but, I like batter bombs! Batter is discussed well in this Serious Eats recipe by Genevieve Yam.
The Chips
I am American and grew up with crispy, skinny fries. I dislike McDonald’s - but those Mcfries? Yum. I really don’t like fluffy, fat chips but I know many people do (and dislike American skinny fries).
However, Heston Blumenthal, mad chef extraordinaire and owner of the iconic Fat Duck created the famous triple cooked chips recipe for his Hind’s Head pub that swept the world by storm. But the process is expensive and time consuming and chippies don’t do it.
My evaluations of the best F&C centers on the fish. If anyone knows of a chippy featuring a crispy, crunchy exterior and a fluffy, pillowy center - please let me know. Here is a great video about fat chips from Daniel Young.
Condiments & Sides
There is salt, malt vinegar, tartar sauce, curry sauce, ketchup (blech) and mushy peas and yes I like them all a bit but the only essential item is the salt. I order all the other stuff and try them out and they are pleasant but for me, besides salt, none are essential.
Here is a nice overview about condiments.
Except the secret, essential weapon no-one knows about: scraps.
These are the fried scraps that fall off the fish & chips into the fryer. It might sound nuts but sprinkling these on your fish or even your chips is a super delicious pro move. You have to ask for them and they will give them to you for free. For batter hounds like me - these are 😍
Pub Fish & Chips suck
Great fish & chips must be made by small specialist chippies. F&C cannot be on a menu like a Pub or a restaurant who are distracted by making other things.
Takeaway Fish & Chips Suck
The batter steams up and loses it’s crunch while the chips get soggy. Chinese food gets better as takeaway while Fish & Chips gets worse. Order your fish & chips on a plate - if there are no tables, set it on a nearby windowsill and eat it immediately. The further you walk - the worse it will become.
London’s Best Fish & Chips
Rock & Sole Plaice - The Oldest Fish & Chips in London is Excellent
Despite an annoying 3 word pun in the name: Rock & Sole (two kinds of fish and Rock & Roll) and Plaice - the fish not the place, this place is legit. It is the oldest Fish & Chips in London since 1871 ten years after chippies were established in England. The large, fat filets are perfect with a beautiful golden crust and flaky, translucent cod. The typical, fat chips are good enough.If I had to recommend one place in London this would be it. History, vibe, quality and central London location seal the deal
Here is a review from Infatuation
The Fryer’s Delight - Fried in Beef Fat
Beef fat is famous up North for frying fish and it is a strange and wonderful combination. Purists claim it is the only way. Amateurs are appalled by “polluting fish with meat”. I think it is delicious. Unfortunately, there are few places in London to try this. Daniel Young and I went to the Fryers Delight which is the oldest one in town. While the beef fat flavor was intense and delicious, you can see from this photo - this is not top class:
Poppies: London’s Most Famous fish & Chips
Poppies is a classic London chippy founded by Pat “Pops” Newland in 1911, who started working chippies at age 11 wrapping orders in newspapers. Known for its retro 1940s–50s décor and nostalgic East End vibe. The photo is to show what a perfectly wet “flaking” cod looks like. As discussed above this - combined with ultra crunchy batter is the key to a great fried fish. While other fish, like haddock, provide a slightly “better” flavor - it will be muffled by the batter while the wet, slippery cod flakes provide a fantastic counterpoint to the crunchy batter.
I love this graphic boasting about their freshness!
Make sure you go to the original location in Spitafields.
Harrod’s. The Most Expensive Fish & Chips in the world: 38 pounds plus tax 😱
Cod with a panko batter. Super refined and absolutely delicious. Apparently Harrod’s is closing all of their branded concessions so this is going the way of the Dodo bird. That’s too bad because there is nothing like this elsewhere in England or the world.
Here is an entertaining Tik Tok on the subject!
Laughing Halibut: Daniel Young’s favorite fish & chips
There is a lot to say about Daniel’s F&C. We tried halibut and cod at the Laughing Halibut and the cod texture trumped the halibut taste as usual. The cod featured the key element: wet, translucent flakes of cod: 10/10. With the batter we have a difference in preference (not quality). I like big “over-battered” crunch bombs. Daniel is celebrating a less battered, more “elegant” batter and that defines the two camps of batter. So Daniel is more thoughtful and restrained and likes the lighter batter here at Laughing Halibut while Jeffrey is louder and slightly out of control and the the batter bomb feautured down below at Fladdas (also recommended by Daniel. Is anyone surprised? Laughing Halibut is exceptional but for more refined people than me 🤣
Fladda’s; Jeffrey Merrihue’s favorite fish & chips
The neighborhood is dreary and the shop is drearier still, but, if you want to try my favorite chippie in London? This is it. Fladda’s has everything I like including perfectly fried cod with juicy, and translucent flakes. This is a crunchy, batter bomb and is not for those with delicate digestion or those shooting Ozempic. And the clincher is they mix the fried scraps from the previous batch of fish into the next batch - you can see the scraps sticking out in the photo above.
A Thank You and shout out to Daniel Young from Young and Foodish
Many thanks to Daniel Young from Young & Foodish who is a (reluctant) expert on Pizza, Burgers, Bagels and Fish & Chips. Here is his excellent of the top 10 chippies in London.
And here is another great London list from uber chippy guru James Dimitri
And here is a list of Best fish & Chips in every corner of England from Time Out
The only AI used in this post is this silly image:
Loved it. Now I need to get to London!
Where was the place we went with the FoodieHub gang a million years ago?