The Great Fish & Chip Quest Part 4 - the chippies!

From time to time, members of our community have been reviewing in these pages Cambridge pubs that serve fish and chips. But it’s worth remembering that the traditional purveyors of this beloved dish are “chippies” that were probably the first takeaway establishments in this country (some also offer eat-in facilities). There are a number of them dotted around the city, and I selected three to review below. (And in case you think I spend my life patronising fish-and-chip shops, I was led into this by my U.S.-based son, who on his visits back home likes to enjoy the real thing, as opposed to what you can get over there, where some places even use catfish – can you imagine? Though I did hear recently that some Fenland f&c shops are starting to use tilapia. Until I’m reliably told that cod and haddock are totally unsustainable, I’ll stick with them.)

First, a bit of background. Fish and chips is usually seen as a quintessentially British dish, probably dating back to before William the Conqueror introduced that foul French food. Actually, it arrived with another and much later wave of immigrants – Jews in the 19^th Century, who brought with them a tradition of frying fish. One of them, Joseph Malin, opened what is thought to have been the nation’s first fish-and-chip shop in Bow, East London, in 1860. The trend caught on big-time. In World War Two, this was one of the few foods not to be subject to rationing. Even today, immigrants continue to play a large role in the industry – at least in Cambridge, where my researches suggest that Turks or Turkish Cypriots are likely to be behind the counter in their white coats and aerated trilby-like hats.

One of the reasons I’m writing this is because it seems to me that the fish and chips you get from chippies is significantly different to what pubs serve. Why is this? Not surprisingly, it boils down (so to speak) to the frying machines they use. The ones in f&c shops are much bigger, capable of holding several gallons of oil or fat, whereas those in pubs can only take a few litres. Why does this make a difference? Knowing zilch about the subject, I consulted the internet, and the results are too complicated to go into here, but the crux is that the chippies produce a batter that’s much softer than what you get in pubs, which is crispier. In my book, crispiness is not a virtue in batter, masking the flavour of the fish which comes out better in the chip-shop version. One other point in this context. The mark of a good fish-and-chip shop is that it makes you wait. That means that your fish is being freshly cooked. If you’re in and out of the place in two minutes, the fish has probably been lying around for a while, drying out.

So here are the three places I visited, all of them takeaway only. It should be said that they also do fried chicken, burgers, sausages, kebabs and pies, but it’s the fish I’m talking about. You can also get sauces and soft drinks.

The Viking, 115a Milton Road, my son’s favourite, wins hands-down on convenience, being only five minutes or less by car from Cambridge Riverside – your supper will be still nice and hot when you get home. Some online reviewers say it’s also the best in town. I’ve had some good experiences there, but once or twice I was served with suspicious speed, and the product seemed a little overcooked. Surprisingly, it’s usually easy to park for a few minutes there – at least in the evening – on an off-street space in front of it. Closed Mondays.

Barracuda Fish Bar, 39 Ditton Lane, is a little further away, about ten minutes given average traffic. You have to wait a few minutes (thumbs-up), but there are a couple of tables and chairs with newspapers. Generous portions – even a “medium” fish is all you’re likely to want. Again, there’s parking in front or in the next side-street. This place doesn’t take credit cards, but there’s a cash machine a few yards down the road. Open every day.

For my third choice, I had intended to go The Codfather (haha), in Barnwell Road, only to find it had recently closed for good. So I went instead to the Anchor Fish Bar, Arbury Court, 42 Arbury Road – as far as I know, nothing to do with the Anchor pub in Silver Street. The food was okay, but on the evening I went they didn’t have haddock, although it was advertised. Again, it’s not far from CR, but parking is awkward if you’re not familiar with the area. Though you can see the place from Arbury Road, you can’t approach it directly by car, and have to park instead in a dark, unwelcoming and nameless alleyway nearby, between a block of flats and a line of lock-ups (from there, though, it’s only half a minute’s walk). This place also offered Turkish baklava, which I love, as a dessert, but it was pricy. Closed Sundays.

What do you pay for fish and chips? There’s been stuff in the press that the traditional working person’s dinner has gone beyond his or her budget, due to rising fish prices. The three places I’ve discussed all charged around £12 per person for a plateful (or more) of food. That doesn’t seem to me out of this world, though beans-on-toast is doubtless cheaper – as well as a lot less nourishing.

So, which is my chippie of choice? I think my award goes narrowly to the Barracuda, both for quality of product and easy recyclability of packaging. It’s worth the extra distance you have to travel.

On the subject of recycling, these places usually give you an industrial quantity of chips. Even a “small” or “half” portion is about twice what I can eat at a single sitting. But don’t throw away the ones you can’t immediately manage. Barbaric as it may sound, they can actually be refrigerated and later microwaved (60-90 seconds at 800-900 W per portion). The result is obviously not as good as freshly cooked chips, but it’s passable. And as for the prodigious amount of packaging they also give you, I know the oil can be a problem, but do try to dry the paper out and recycle it!

Patrick Worsnip