Top 3 Local Fish and Chips!
So what makes a great fish and chips?
Ok so in no particular order – fresh fish, crispy batter, fat home cut chips (crispy on the outside fluffy inside), cooked to order, a few extras such as home made fish cakes and I know they are bad for you but I am partial to a decent battered sausage. The bottom line is fresh preferably local ingredients well prepared. Simply delicious.
A clean shop and friendly service pretty much ties up a recipe for success.
The formula is surprisingly simple and so often wrong simply I think in order to save money short term, but in my opinion lose customers long term.
My other warning sign is a fish and chip shop that is also a kebab shop or even worse sells pizza. Maybe in the perfect scenario all these items would be prepared and cooked to perfection, but I doubt it. The reality will be heavily processed and frozen produce.
These are my top three local fish and chips to date.
Our favourite is TJ’s Fish & Chips Lilliput, Poole. Always busy which is a good sign. Freshly cooked to order. We always order haddock not cod. In my opinion cod is the most overrated fish ever. Haddock has more taste and a meatier texture. The large haddock is often whale sized and the chips are a great texture with a proper home cut appearance. Any chip shop serving frozen chips or even worse french fries is to be avoided.
Number two is not a fish and chip shop at all but a pub Another great pub lunch from The Crown Pub in Poole. The batter is really light and crispy which just makes fish and chips, to say nothing of the huge piece of fish. Not forgetting home made proper chips. I enquired and the beer batter is from Ringwood bitter. Delicious!
The new number three is a chippy in Westbourne. There have been a number of recommendations for this shop, but a longer journey. TJ’s was closed so we went to Chez Fred, which is a former "Best Fish and Chip Shop in the South West / Southern England", so my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. An excellent batter, great home made fish cake and a sausage in batter that was definitely identifiable as a sausage.
It is really important that we continue to support our local chippy. They are a great British institution and when done right are an excellent take away treat. The frozen supermarket equivalents can be ok, but there is no substitute for freshly fried fish.
Also for an island nation as much as we talk about it it we tend to be fish adverse. It is shocking how much great seafood goes to the continent. I am yet to meet an angler who actually likes eating fish. Fish is a great food source and for many people I think they would never eat fresh fish except for the chippy.
Like the a good local pub a great chippy is the centre of the community and we should pay that little extra to patronise these great institutions. If we don't your fish and chips will only be available from aisle three in the freezer section.
TJ’s - 254 Sandbanks Road Lilliput Dorset BH14 8HA Tel: 01202 707691
The Crown Pub - 23, Market St, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1NB Tel: 08721 077 077
Chez Fred - 10 Seamoor Rd Bournemouth, BH4 9AN Tel: 01202 761 023
