England

East beach café
Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5GB (01903 731 903; eastbeachcafe.co.uk)

Architecture junkies can savour beer-battered fish and chips at this hip “copper armadillo” shaped caff conceived as a giant piece of driftwood. The gurnard is caught by local day boats.

Hive beach café
Burton Bradstock, Dorset DT6 4RF (01308 897070; hivebeachcafe.co.uk)

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Highlights at this gastro-hut include the chef’s fish sausages, grilled mackerel and crayfish salad, with flawless chips. Cod and haddock are line-caught where possible from nearby Lyme Bay.

CHEZ FRED
10 Seamoor Road, Westbourne, Bournemouth BH$ 9AN (01202 761 023; chezfred.co.uk)

The queue speaks volumes outside Fred Capel’s well-garlanded fish and chip shop. Inside the walls are bedecked with signed photos of celebrity diners and there’s strictly no endangered North Sea stocks on the menu - the cod is frozen-at-sea from Iceland and the Arctic.

HANBURY’S FISH & CHIPS
Princes Street, Babbacombe, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 3LW (01803 329928; hanburys.net)

This takeaway-restaurant combo has a maritime vibe and sells a wide variety of fish from Polperro and Looe, including lemon sole, brill, John Dory, monkfish and gurnard. Staff are knowledgeable about sustainable and seasonal seafood and the fish is fried in vegetable oil.

SQUIRES FISH RESTAURANT
Exeter Road, Braunton, near Barnstaple, EX33 2JL (01271 815533)

Originally opened in 1969 as a village fish and chip shop, Squires now has seating for 120 and a takeaway next door. Join the high-season queue for chunky cod fillets covered in a light batter and chips that are thick and floury on the inside and crisp on the outside.

Stein’s fish & chips
South Quay, Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8BY (01841 532700; rickstein.com)

Gurnard and megrim sole come grilled, battered (in beef dripping) or breaded, at the seafood supremo Rick Stein’s white-tiled chippy. Sustainably sourced cod and haddock feature too.

Sophia’s restaurant
Promenade, Penzance TR18 4HH (01736 333363)

The fish at this dining gem comes in fresh each morning off the Newlyn boats visible from the restaurant window. The most popular dish is a battered medley of Cornish fish, including haddock, lemon sole, plaice and brill heaped with chips hewn from local Caesar spuds.

SCOOBY SNAX
3 Church Road, Brightlingsea, Colchester, Essex CO7 0JE (01206 306542)

A pretty seaside pit-stop for a filling plate of fish and chips in the 50-seater restaurant rounded off with a stroll along the beach. The friendly owners bring in a variety of fish from sustainable waters in Norway, including hake, skate and pollack.

Flora tea rooms
Dunwich, Suffolk IP17 3EN (01728 648433)

Terrific fish and chips are served at this black-tarred wooden shack on a shingle beach. Tuck into fresh brill and skate from nearby Lowestoft fish market and save on the bill by bringing your own drinks.

J THOMPSON
53 Tan Lane, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk NR30 5EP (01493 728006)

Fish and chips have been served at this Broads-side location since 1929. The menu comprises almost exclusively locally caught fresh fish from Lowestoft - line-caught cod and haddock, skate, plaice on the bone and lemon sole, as well as fish reeled in by customers.

AUDREY’S
2 Queen Street, Bridlington, East Yorkshire YO15 2SF (01262 671920)

The real traditional deal: mainly haddock from local boats and some frozen Icelandic cod cooked in beef dripping and served with double-cooked chips made with Maris Pipers from a farm up the road and mushy peas.

Magpie café
14 Pier Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire YO21 3PU (01947 602058; magpiecafe.co.uk)

Frequently hailed as the best fish and chips in Britain, the vast portions here are legendary. Choose from three sizes of battered cod or haddock, fresh off the boats in the harbour, washed down with a mug of Yorkshire tea.

COLMANS
182-186 Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JQ (0191 456 1202; colmansfishandchips.com)

It’s not in a pretty seaside resort, but this favourite of the Foreign Secretary David Miliband serves up only top quality fish from local day boats in North Shields and Sunderland. The menu changes daily and seasonal specials include gurnard, turbot and even lobster, alongside line-caught cod and haddock from well-managed, sustainable Icelandic waters.

SENIORS
106 Normoss Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 8QP (01253 885154; seniorsfishexperience.com)

Fish here is selected fresh by the owner Rick Horabin from the morning’s catch at Fleetwood fish auction. The superb value menu lists up to a dozen varieties of fish in season including hake and turbot and can be eaten in or taken on to the beach.

Wales

D Fecci & Sons
Oxford House, Lower Frog Street, Tenby, Pembrokeshire SA70 7HS (01834 842 484)

The Fecci family has been dishing up cod and haddock from Milford Haven served with mushy peas cooked to a secret recipe for almost 75 years. The chips are made from potatoes grown on a local farm.

Finnegan’s
16 New Road, Station Hill, Porthcawl, CF36 5DN (01656 782883)

A recent Welsh champion, Finnegan’s prides itself on a wide range of fish, including hake, plaice, haddock and whole-tail scampi. Fish is cooked to order.

ALLPORTS
Y Maes, Pwllheli, Gwynedd LL53 5HA (01758 612641; allportsfishandchips.co.uk)

A previous winner of the best chippy in Britain title, Allports’ USP is its twice-fried chips, double dipped in rapeseed oil to guarantee every customer tastes crunchy fries with light, fluffy centres. The oil used to cook the chips and haddock, cod or plaice is later recycled into biofuel.

Scotland

Anstruther fish bar
43-44 Shore Street, Anstruther, Fife KY10 3AQ (01333 311 866; anstrutherfishbar.co.uk)

Regularly voted Scotland’s top chippy, the Anstruther serves ethically sourced North Sea haddock, landed at nearby Pittenweem, and Shetland organic cod dipped in batter and fried in beef dripping. Lobster and fresh mackerel are available in season.

The fish & chip van
Fisherman’s Pier, Tobermory Harbour, Mull PA75 6NU (01688 302390).

The only Les Routiers-accredited fish-and-chips trailer. Find a spare lobster creel to perch on and tuck in to Scottish haddock and chips and fresh king scallops looking out to sea.

WEST END CAFÉ AND CHIP SHOP
3 Gallowgate, Rothesay, Bute PA20 0HR (01700 503596)

A proud two-time winner of the UK Best Fish and Chip Shop Award, fish tea at the newly refurbished West End is haddock, bright-eyed and fresh from the sea, with local-potato chips.

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