Eats

Chips @ No 8, Prestwich – a chippy that’s consistently voted one of the UK’s best – is it worth the hype?

Daisy Jackson - 12th May 2023

Every year, the great and good from the world of fish and chips eagerly await the release of the Fry Magazine Top 50.

If your business involves battering, this is the big one, a shining endorsement of your efforts. Those in the industry refer to it as the Oscars of Fish & Chips.

And for the last couple of years, a tiny Greater Manchester chippy has elbowed its way onto the list, and stayed there.

Chips @ No 8 in Prestwich has been consistently named as one of the UK’s best by the magazine, earning national acclaim.

So is is actually worth the hype, or the queue that sometimes gets down the street?

Yes. It is.

I could just stop writing there, really, but let’s carry on.

There are a few things that make this little local hotspot so special.

They cook all their potatoes in beef dripping (or vegetable oil on request), which leads to the most jaw-droppingly perfect chips that retain their heat and texture for as long as it takes you to leg it home with your paper bag full of fried goodies.

None of that soggy nonsense sticking to the paper. These spuds have integrity.

Owner Dan Edwards must have sold his sole to the devil to come up with batter as light and crisp as his is, perfectly cradling buttery-soft fillets of cod and haddock.

Vegetarians are well-looked after too, with herb-battered halloumi that turns to a buttery, salty disc and a regularly changing roster of pies.

Read more: A Manc’s guide to Prestwich, the Bury neighbourhood that’s crafting its own cool

And local suppliers pop up regularly, like Grandad’s Sausages with their intimidatingly long meat products.

With food this good (I haven’t even mentioned their perfect curry sauce yet), Chips @ No 8 was always going to shine against so many hundreds of brilliant fish and chip shops nationwide.

But it’s the little extra attention to detail that set the bar even higher here.

It’s the map on the wall labelled with whiteboard marker, showing where that day’s potatoes and fish have come from.

It’s the disco ball hanging from the ceiling, so that even a Friday night sitting in your pants eating fried food and watching Netflix feels that bit more fun.

It’s their efforts to support local, from raising funds for EatWellMCR (through battered Creme Eggs, of course) to commissioning local artists to paint the windows.

Times are really, really tough for fish and chip shops in the UK right now. The fish has hit the fan and we’re losing these British institutions at an alarming rate.

Just this week, Dan shared a heartfelt statement stressing how dire things are, with energy bills doubling in the last month alone, haddock soaring 40%, and potatoes costing 25% more.

He wrote: “Why am I telling you all this? Because if and when our prices go up, it’s out of necessity, just to keep the doors open.

“Every fish and chip shop in the country is sweating over whether they should/could increase prices? Will people still come? How are the bills/staff/suppliers going to get paid?

“Support your local fish and chip shop, even if it’s not us, because if it closes, I guarantee another one won’t open in its place.”

Trust the hype. Trust the queues. Trust us. Chips @ No 8 is a gem.

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Featured image: The Manc Group