Fish and Chips

Our London Walks guide for the Jack the Ripper tour recommended Poppies as the best. We’re planning on going there Thursday to try them out. I’ll report back.

fish and chips is often served with malt vinegar. I've always wondered, are we supposed to put it on both the fish and chips or just the fish?

I put the malt vinegar on both the fish and the chips, I don’t use ketchup.

I second the recommendation for Poppies. But I also wouldn’t drive myself crazy trying to find ‘the best’

Both - the fish and the chips

wondered, are we supposed to put it on both the fish and chips or just the fish?

That’ll be up to you.

But the brutal truth is it’s almost never actually vinegar.

I'm personally a salt and vinegar (equiv.) on the fishie and salt only on the chips. That way my wifie can pinch a few chips which I repay by pinching a little of her kebab meat. Turnabout is fair play, eh?

As hinted above - the vinegar equiv. is a special product which is not vinegar made for the chippies.

So it is perfectly fine to have a bottle of Sarsons at home...

Well, it looks like I’m the exception that proves the rule. I prefer haddock over cod - it would seem that this is a ‘northern’ thing, and most northerners would hold that there are very few chippies of merit south of Sheffield (teasing!) - and I never add salt, vinegar or ketchup. No ‘scraps’ either. Mushy peas a ‘must’ though.

I love mushy peas! You just have to find a chippy that uses real peas. If they look neon green, they are from a can and not good.

I put loads of salt and vinegar all over the chips and the fish. I don’t let them do it in the chippie though. I do it the way I like it at home.

Yea, our family’s favorite place made the list! We eat there every time we are in London :
The Laughing Halibut.

My spot is the SeaShell of Lisson Grove.

The SeaShell of Lisson Grove has grilled fish as an option if you don't want the battered & fried fish.
Fish is still yummy!
I love this place.
After your meal, it's an easy walk north to see Abbey Road Studios and Zebra crossing.
The SeaShell is near Marylebone station, easy to find.

How about chippies in Bath? Any recommendations?

Two of my favorites in London closed down, that was Hook in Camden Town and Kerbisher & Malt.

But I do encourage people to expand their palette a bit. Skate is delicious and a very interesting texture, and the cod roe is a taste treat.

For Charlie:
The Scallop Shell, 22 Monmouth Place, Bath:
https://www.thescallopshell.co.uk/
Great fish and chips, grilled fish if you'd like.
It's a short walk from downtown Bath to the west.

It's not a posh place, but reservations are needed.

Bath is full of great restaurants.

I'd suggest a bit of caution for those who don't regularly eat much deep-fried food at home. I really like the idea of fish and chips, but eating much of it definitely doesn't agree with me. It seems I need to limit myself to one deep-fried component at a meal rather than two.

Yea, our family’s favorite place made the list! We eat there every time we are in London :
The Laughing Halibut.

We ate there last month, purely by chance! We enjoyed it.

I'd wanted to eat at the SeaShell again, since it was close to where we were staying, but it didn't work out this trip.

I've eaten at The Fryer's Delight many times.

acraven, we don't eat any deep-fried food at home. I know what you mean about the potential for an upset stomach. That's why we were delighted when we found The Seashell with its grilled fish. You don't have to get french fries/chips if you don't want them. They have other options. We don't like fried foods--not heart healthy.
Fortunately, there are lots of restaurants in London that served baked or grilled fish with vegetables. Most of the steak places in London have this option, or a big salad on the menu.