Food & Drink
Greater Manchester chippy named among the best fish and chip takeaways in the UK
I need to go here.
The Fry Awards has announced the best fish and chip takeaways across the UK and some are right here in the North West.
For the past three months, people with arguably the best job in the world have secretly dined at each outlet in the running.
They’re assessing 40 aspects of the business, including everything from the quality of fish and chips and staff presentation to front-of-house hygiene and customer service.
The food remains the main focus, including ratings of the flakiness of the fish, crispiness of chips, crunch of batter and value for money.
The takeaways tested needed to hit a 96% pass rate of the assessed factors, much higher than any previous years so you know they’ll all be incredible chippies.
Reece Head, competition organiser, comments: “Announcing our award winners couldn’t come at a better time. The industry is going through a stage of uncertainty with coronavirus impacting the lives and incomes of thousands of shops and owners.
“This is just the news we need to lift the industry so that those that are still trading can tell their customers immediately, while those that are closed have something exciting to shout about when their doors open again.
“Our award winners are all at the top of their game and are moving with the times, embracing technology such as contactless payments, online ordering, and click and collect and delivery while still ensuring the food they are serving is top quality and the customer service is second to none.”
And the Greater Manchester borough that has managed to bag itself one of the top spots might be good at pies, but it turns out it’s also really good at fish and chips too…
Coming in the 50 Best Fish and Chip Takeaways is The Fish at Goose Green, on Clapgate Lane in Wigan!
It’s well loved by fans with a solid 4.8 out of 5 rating on Facebook and plenty of supportive customers.
One customer wrote ‘without a doubt best chippy in Wigan’ five weeks ago, and it turns out they’re not wrong!
There are a few other North West chippies topping the list too, including The Codfather on Manchester Road in Northwich, The Fish Bar in Crewe, and Fylde Fish Bar in Southport.
See the full list below:
- Auckley Friery, Auckley, South Yorkshire
- Bishopston Fish Bar, Horfield, Bristol
- Callaways Fish & Chips, Dorchester, West Dorset
- Captain’s Traditional Fish & Chips, Harrow, London
- Chish and Fips, Norwich, Norfolk
- East Coast, Musselburgh, East Lothian
- Drakes, Babbacombe, Torquay, Devon
- Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire
- Finn’s Traditional Fish and Chips, Reading, Berkshire
- Fish ‘n’ Fritz, Weymouth, Dorset
- Fishtastic, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Fochabers, Fochabers, Moray
- Frydales of Syston, Syston, Leicester
- Frydays of Kendal, Kendal , Cumbria
- Fylde Fish Bar, Marshside, Southport, Lancashire
- Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, Glamorgan
- Hill Top Village Fisheries, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
- Hirds Family Fisheries, Halifax, West Yorkshire
- Hooked@31, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire
- Land & Sea, Sowerby, York, North Yorkshire
- Market Hill Fisheries, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire
- Middleton In Teesdale Fish & Chip Shop, Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham
- Mister C’s, Fulford, North Yorkshire
- Mister C’s, Selby, North Yorkshire,
- My Plaice Fish & Chips, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk
- Oysters Fish & Chips, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
- Penaluna’s Famous Fish & Chips, Hirwaun, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Plattens Fish and Chips, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk
- Priory Plaice Fish and Chips, Ulverston, Cumbria
- Proper Fish & Chip Co, Exmouth, Devon
- Redcloak Fish and Chips, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
- Robinson’s Traditional Fish & Chips, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
- Sandgate Friery, Penrith, Cumbria
- Scott’s Plaice, Gosport, Hampshire
- Smith’s Chippy, South Shields, Tyne & Wear
- The Chip Club, Kingston-Upon-Thames, London
- The Codfather, Manchester Road, Cheshire
- The Cod’s Scallops, Bramcote Lane, Nottingham
- The Esk Cafe , Carlisle, Cumbria
- The Fish at Goose Green, Wigan, Lancashire
- The Fish Bar, Crewe, Cheshire
- The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire
- The Friary, Carrickfergus, County Antrim
- The Magpie Café, Whitby, North Yorkshire
- The Plaice To Be, Kilmarnock, Troon, South Ayrshire
- The Real Food Café, Tyndrum, Perthshire
- Topcatch Fish and Chips, Southampton, Hampshire
- Towngate Fisheries, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire
- Valerios Fish and Chips, Lanark, South Lanarkshire
- Wetherby Whaler, Wetherby, West Yorkshire
- Wollaston Fish Bar, Wollaston, Stourbridge, West Midlands
202 Kitchen has revealed the launch date for an insanely Instagramable new venue here in Manchester.
Following the success of its first restaurant in Birmingham early last year, 202 Kitchen initially launched a pop-up unit on Bridge Street in Manchester from August – November last year.
But after outgrowing the space, they have now opted to move to a bigger, more permanent unit in Spinningfields, investing over £1million into the new larger space.
@202kitchen / Instagram
202 Kitchen will now be overlooking the River Irwell, occupying a 7000 square foot space in the heart of Spinningfields, a location formerly occupied by Zizzi and GBK.
The new venue will be dishing up street food-inspired cuisine with a 202 ‘twist’ including fried chicken, burgers, mac’n’cheese, waffles and grilled seafood.
The classic 202 Kitchen cocktail menu will be a feature too, with a choice of classics, originals and frozen tipples to choose from.
202 Kitchen Founders, Leon Beckford, Panikos Myrritis and John Sambo said: “After the success of our temporary pop-up on Bridge Street last year, we’re coming back bigger and better, and believe us when we say we’ve taken the brand to the next level. We can’t wait to reveal what we have planned.
@202kitchen / Instagram
“From the moment you walk in, guests will understand exactly what 202 Kitchen is all about. Customer experience is our number one priority and whether that be from the quality of the food and drinks or the service, everyone is going to be talking about 202.
“We are proud to have been the first to bring this concept to Manchester last year but appreciate that the hospitality landscape is constantly evolving. To provide a unique experience, we have evolved the concept to make sure we’re one step ahead in terms of ideas and concepts.”
202 Kitchen Manchester Spinningfields is set to open its doors on July 15th – bookings will be open from June 27th.
To make your own booking, visit their website here.
Manchester’s very own 20 Stories has been named as one of the best rooftop bars in the whole of Europe.
Opening its doors back in 2018, 20 Stories is perched on the twentieth floor of the NO.1 building in Spinningfields (so that’s where their name comes from…) and is Manchester’s tallest restaurant – despite technically being three storeys below the Cloud 23 bar in Beetham Tower.
The D&D-owned bar is estimated to be about one metre higher, and boasts gorgeous panoramic views of the city’s skyline and beyond.
@20storiesmcr / Instagram
On clear days, guests can even see all the way out to the Peak District from the elusive roof terrace – so, obviously, it’s going to make the cut for a list of the best rooftop bars, isn’t it?
The ranking was put together by travel guide Big 7 Travel, who analysing online reviews from Google, TripAdvisor, and previous media coverage.
In the fifty-strong list, 20 Stories came in nineteenth place, beating other contenders from desirable locations such as Oslo, Berlin, Prague and Ibiza.
@20storiesmcr / Instagram
Big 7 Travel said about the venue: “The rooftop terrace has fast become one of the must-be places in the city: it has has trees scaling two stories high and an outdoor lounge bar serving cocktails and craft beers.”
However, 20 Stories was beaten to the top spot by The Culpeper in London, which was crowned number one in all of Europe. Damn it.
Over the years, 20 Stories has become famed for its fancy cocktail menu, which includes original and local creations such as the ‘Champagne Supernova’, the ‘Manchester Gin Negroni’ and the ‘Manchester Tart Punch.’
@20storiesmcr / Instagram
It also runs an indoor restaurant up on the terrace, though it was forced to close for three days this week after a Covid-19 outbreak among staff members.
Click here to see the full list and all it’s wonderful contenders.
Food & Drink
This tap room on a farm with pizza, beer and incredible views of Greater Manchester is a must visit
Pizza, beer and pigs
A countryside farm has opened up on weekends to offer pizza, beer and gorgeous views of Greater Manchester.
Located on top of a hill in Rossendale, Farm Tap at Kiln Clough Farm, Helmshore, has now reopened its doors for the summer months.
The Farm Tap is run by brothers Barney and Josh Vines out of a barn on the site of their family’s working farm. They initially came up with the idea after they hosted a beer festival on the site back in 2016 – here, they decided to launch their own brewery and, thus, Northern Whisper was born.
Northern Whisper
The brothers went on to open beer tap bars in locations across Greater Manchester and Lancashire – Ramsbottom, Rawtenstall and Colne – but because of lockdown restrictions they have not yet been able to open.
But with Farm Tap having acres of outdoor space, the brothers have been able to reopen following the easing of restrictions in April.
Barney, thirty-two, said on the venue: “It is just great to be back open again.
Northern Whisper
“It’s our family farm, and my brother Josh and I organised a beer festival in 2016 which did brilliantly and that’s how the idea for our own brewery came about.”
Barney pointed out that, as well as stunning views, guests at Farm Tap will also be able to enjoy the presence of farmyard animals, too.
He said: “At certain times of the year you’ll see animals from the tap, but it’s a working farm not a petting zoo.
“We have a number of rare breeds here, and our pig barn is further down the lane. For people who are walking up here it’s not uncommon to see the pigs basking in the sun.”
Northern Whisper
All beers, which are priced at a very reasonable £4 a pint, are the brewery’s own, including core favourites like Chinwag IPA, Chatterbox APA and Oppenchops golden ale.
The beers are all named after some good Northern terms for banter, with Barney noting: “We liked the idea of names which could be associated with hearsay and rumours – Rossendale can be rife for small talk and rumours!”
The pizzas on site, alternatively, are priced between £9.95 to £10.95 with toppings including a classic margarita and ham and mushroom as well as their own slightly more adventurous concoctions, ‘meaty monster’ and ‘spicy monster combos.’
Farm Tap doesn’t take bookings, so it’s simply a case of turning up and finding a seat outside at the sprawling farm and admiring the stunning views of Greater Manchester all around.
For directions and more information, you can visit their website here.
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