Sometimes we can't help thinking that these sorts of lists are produced solely to provoke outrage. What else could explain a list of the greatest fish and chip shops in Britain without a single nominee from Sussex or Cornwall?
The 20 chosen chippies are the Top 20 shortlisted for the 2018 Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award, the top prize available in what will be the 30th National Fish & Chip Awards. There has apparently been 'extensive judging' thus far, with more scrutiny to come before the list is whittled down to 10 – the winner will be announced on 25 January.
You can see the full process and criteria at the official website, but let's get to the bit you really want to know about: the fish and chip shops themselves. There are a couple of finalists for each of 10 regions:
Scotland
Cromars Classic Fish & Chips
St Andrews, Fife
Forehill Cafe
Ayr, South Ayrshire
Wales
Hennighan's Top Shop
Machynlleth, Powys
Penaluna's Famous Fish & Chips
Hirwaun, Rhonda Cynon Taff
Northern Ireland
Superbites
Crossmaglen, County Armagh
The Dolphin Takeaway
Dungannon, County Tyrone
North East England
(Northumberland, Co. Durham, Tyne & Wear, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire)
Fish and Chips At 149
Barnard Castle, County Durham
Millers Fish & Chips
Haxby, North Yorkshire
North West England
(Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire)
Fylde Fish Bar
Marshside, Merseyside
Seniors
St Annes, Lancashire
Midlands
(West Midlands, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire)
Oldswinford Fish & Chips
Dudley, West Midlands
The Golden Carp Chippy
Redditch, Worcestershire
www.golden-winyates-chippy.co.uk
Eastern England
(Lincolnshire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire)
Burton Road Chippy
Lincoln
Platten’s Fish and Chips
Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk
www.plattensfishandchips.co.uk
London & South East England
(Greater London, Middlesex, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Surrey)
Henley's of Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe, Essex
Newington Fish Bar
Ramsgate, Kent
Central & Southern England
(Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire)
Best Fry
Southampton
www.southamptonfishandchips.co.uk/bestfry
Captain’s Fish and Chips
Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire
www.thecaptainsfishandchips.co.uk
South & West England
(Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Avon)
Bishopston Fish Bar
Bristol
Harbourside Fish & Chips
Plymouth
www.barbicanfishandchips.co.uk
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