Fish 'n' Fritz

Whilst it is true that Rick Stein has gone a long way towards making fish and chips respectable, it is places like Fish 'n' Fritz who have in fact been doing it for a long time, indeed some of them I remember with great affection. They are the places that have taken the greasy spoon out of the equation and created an often functional, but perfectly adequate café, as an adjunct to the place where all the action is located. Often they contained, and some still do, plastic flowers, and bottles of familiar gastronomic unguents were clustered on the plastic tabletops. With all of this I have no problem whatsoever, and if some have moved on, well, that's progress I suppose.

Fish 'n' Fritz does the job in style, the bottles are still on the tables, and parties of children are welcomed by arrangement with party poppers, free squash, any combo meal off the children's menu and a tour behind the scenes, all for the very reasonable sum of £2.

Recently they have been experimenting using different types of fish, with skate currently appearing more often on the menu, though haddock, cod and plaice are still the all time favourites. For customers who like their fish without the batter (what's the point?) they will do it. There is an extensive vegetarian menu.

For those taking their fish and chips home there is the age-old problem of what happens when the children sit on it or the dog falls asleep on it and the fish becomes fused with the paper. Worry not, F 'n' F have the answer - corrugated boxes. Enjoy your takeaway hot, crispy and not stirred - sorry - crushed. Not for nothing is the Fish 'n' Fritz the national runner-up in the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year competition.