The best fish and chip shops in the UK have been named

Chippies are all the same, aren’t they? It’s mostly batter anyway, and what’s the difference from one tweet to the next?

Wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

The difference between a good chip shop and an average one is absolutely huge. Would you get on a bus to travel to a mediocre chippy? Exactly.

Now, in the olden days we used to have to rely on trial and error to find out who did the best fish and chips, not to mention your pickled eggs, battered sausages and all the other accoutrements. Yeah, I said accoutrements. What are you going to do about it?

But we live in the future now. They have the internet these days, and you can use it to trim the fat when it comes to the best and worst of fish and chips.

Not literally, though, you want your cod to turn paper see-through from the levels of grease.

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, the 2018 National Fish & Chip Awards. That’s next year. See – living in the future.

In the ‘Fish and Chip Shop of the Year’ category, there’s a shortlist of 60 – read it and weep, sixty – chippies across all four countries of the United Kingdom, with the English entries broken down on a regional basis.

That means there’s a pretty good chance of there being an elite chip shop near you. No more handing over your money and gambling on a decent meal.

Here are the best chip shops in Scotland:

Cromars Classic Fish & Chips, St Andrews

Dinos, Ayr

Forehill Café, Ayr

Low's Traditional Fish & Chips, Aberdeen

The Real Food Café, Tyndrum

The Wee Plaice, Largs

And in Wales:

Hennighan's Top Shop, Machynlleth

Hooked@31, Fishguard

Penaluna's Famous Fish & Chips, Hirwaun

Posh Fish & Chips, Cardiff

The Crispy Cod, Gelli

The Crispy Cod, Porth

Northern Ireland:

Chaska, Enniskillen

Fish City, Belfast

Silverfin Traditional Fish and Chips, Newry

Superbites, Crossmaglen

The Dolphin Takeaway, Dungannon

The Friary, Carrickfergus

North East England:

Fish and Chips At 149, Barnard Castle

Sidhu Fish & Chips, Wallsend

Millers Fish & Chips, Haxby

Mister C's, Selby

Towngate Fisheries, Bradford

Pantrini's Fish and Chips, Whitley Bay

North West England:

Frydays of Kendal, Kendal

Fylde Fish Bar, Southport

Seniors, St Annes

The Big Blue, Warrington

The Codfather, Northwich

 The Esk Café, Longtown

Midlands:

Merchants, Bewdley

Merchants, Stourbridge

Norton Fisheries, Norton

Oldswinford Fish & Chips, Dudley

The Golden Carp Chippy, Redditch

Winyates Chippy, Redditch

Eastern England

Burton Road Chippy, Lincoln

Fishtastic, Peterborough

Grosvenor Fish Bar, Norwich

Platten’s Fish and Chips, Wells-Next-The-Sea

The Cod's Scallops, Nottingham

The Elite Fish & Chip Company, Sleaford

London & South East England

Brockley's Rock, London

Henley's of Wivenhoe, Wivenhoe

Newington Fish Bar, Ramsgate

Olley's Fish Experience, London

Papa's Barn, Ditton

Seafare, Guildford

Central and Southern England

Arlesey Fish and Chip Shop, Arlesey

Best Fry, Southampton

Broughton Award Winning Fish and Chips, Milton Keynes

Captain’s Fish and Chips, Hoddesdon

J Henry’s Fish & Chips, Southampton

The Codfather, Southampton

South & West England

Bishopston Fish Bar, Bristol

Dornan's Fish & Chips, Brixham

Harbourside Fish & Chips, Plymouth

Henbury Fryer, Henbury

Krispies, Exmouth

The Codfather’s, Portland

(Images: iStock)