A beloved Prestwich chip shop has been named amongst the UK’s best for the third year running – and its owners are absolutely chuffed.
Prestwich chippy Chips @ No.8 was named amongst the very best in the country by 2023 Fry Magazine Awards.
Sharing the news with followers, ownerDan Edwards wrote: “Whoop whoop! Our little shop has made @frymagazine UK’s Top 50 fish & chip shops list for the 3rd year running!
“Very proud of our team who consistently deliver great fish and chips and fantastic service, even when they’re under immense pressure.
“They really are a brilliant group of young people and we’re very lucky to have them here! A massive thank you to all our customers who continue to support us. We are eternally grateful.”
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Image: Chips @ No. 8
Image: Chips @ No. 8
Daniel has previously revealed that when he opened the shop four years ago he didn’t even like fish and chips, and had only fried three fish in his life.
Having sunk ‘almost everything’ he had into doing the shop up and spending the rest down the road at All The Shapes manchester on ‘breaks’, six months later he opened his doors for a moment of truth.
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He called the move “a moment of madness”, and said that he had “just wanted to be my own boss” – adding “I either sank or swam… fortunately, I discovered I was incredibly bouyant.”
He’s not wrong. Locals absolutely rave about his little chip shop down a side street – and now, the national judges are too.
The UK’s 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways and 10 Best Fish and Chip Restaurants 2022/2023 see mystery judges go into premises unannounced and secretly scrutinise a host of aspects including the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the premises, staff knowledge, value for money, ease of ordering and social media presence.
Shops can achieve 100% if they score top marks on every section of the mystery dine, but had to achieve at least 95% or over for takeaways to win an award and 92% or over for restaurants.
This is the 11th year the awards have been held and each year the judging criteria reflects the changing nature of the business.
Reece Head, competition organiser, comments: “Once again we’ve had another year where it’s simply got harder to operate a fish and chip business, with rising energy, labour and ingredient costs taking a heavy toll.
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“It’s not easy but operators are working harder and smarter, staying ahead of changing tastes and behaviours and adapting accordingly.
“Although the profits might not be in fish and chips like they have in years gone by, the passion certainly is. And our awards are a testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment these operators put into running successful businesses. We’re seeing shops introduce vegan and gluten free options to appeal to a wider customer base, instal self-serve kiosks and develop online ordering apps to make serving easier, invest in new frying equipment to produce better quality fish and chips, and embrace social media to engage with and reach more customers.
“The businesses that make up our 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways and 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants represent the best in the industry. They are pushing forwards while not losing sight of what makes the chippy so engrained in British culture – high quality, value for money food with great customer service and inviting surroundings.”
The full list of Fry Magazine’s 50 Best Fish & Chip takeaways:
Ainsworth’s Fish & Chip Shop, Caernarfon, Gwynedd
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Angells Fisheries, Newark, Nottingham
Auckley Friery, Auckley, Doncaster
Bredon Village Fish and Chip Shop, Bredon, Tewksbury, Gloucestershire
Burnham Fish and Chips, Burnham, Berkshire
Catch Netherlee, Glasgow
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Chips @ No.8 Prestwich, Manchester
Churchill’s Fish & Chips, Eastbourne
Codfella’s, Greenwich Avenue, Ipswich
Croft Street Fisheries, Farsley, Leeds
Dunkeld Fish Bar, Dunkeld, Perth
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Ernie’s Fish and Chips, Hoyland, South Yorkshire
Farnhams Fish and Chips, Brook, Llantwit Major
Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire
Finney’s @ Port Chippy, Amlwch Port, Anglesey
Finney’s @ The Golden Fry, Benllech Anglesey
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Fish and Chips on The Waterfront, Anstruther, Fife
Fish Kitchen 1854, Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly
French’s Fish Shop, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
Garioch Fish Bar, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
Greg & Lou’s, Redruth, Cornwall
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Harbour Fish and Chips, Felbridge, West Sussex
Hiks, Swansea
Hill Top Fisheries, Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
Hillycroft Fisheries, Morley, Leeds
Hooked on the Heath, Knutsford, Cheshire
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Howe & Co Van 22, South Buckinghamshire
Kirbys of Horsforth, Horsforth, Leeds
Kirbys of Meanwood, Meanwood, Leeds
Land & Sea, Thirsk, North Yorkshire
Lily’s @ Hornsea, Hornsea, Essex
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Lighthouse Fisheries Of Flamborough, Flamborough, East Yorkshire,
Newington Fish Bar, Ramsgate, Kent
Off The Hook Fish And Chips, Sale, Cheshire
Pennington Plaice, Leigh, Greater Manchester
Pisces, Fleetwood, Lancashire
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Portside Fish & Chips, Harrogate Road, Leeds,
Scott’s Plaice, Gosport, Hampshire
Sea Salt +Sole, Dyce, Aberdeen
Stones Fish & Chips, Acton, West London
Sykes Fish and Chips, Pendlebury, Swinton, Greater Manchester
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The Bearded Sailor, Pudsey, Leeds
The Chippy Van, Penrith, Cumbria
The Fish at Goose Green, Goose Green, Wigan, Greater Manchester
The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire
The Friary, Carrickfergus, East Antrim
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The Hook of Halstead, Halstead, Essex
The Lincolnshire Fryer, Lincolnshire
The Oyster Shell, Bath, Somerset
The Village Fish & Chips, Petts Wood, Kent
The Real Food Café, Tyndrum, Stirling
Yans Fish Bar, Heath, Cardiff
Feature image – Chips @ No. 8
Eats
Glamorous new Salford restaurant speaks out as controversial resident parrot is rehomed
Daisy Jackson
A new riverside restaurant and shisha lounge has addressed the live parrot that was living in the middle of the restaurant.
Gardens Lounge in Salford opened last week, bringing Mediterranean dining to the banks of the River Irwell, just across the water from Manchester city centre.
But among those admiring the stylish decor were many issuing an outcry over Rio, a beautiful blue macaw displayed in a glass box at the heart of the restaurant.
A loud online campaign, Free Rio, was launched this week, including a petition that’s gained more than 10,000 signatures, which described his conditions as ‘suffering’.
The petition said: “Rio is a highly intelligent, wild animal who is being kept in wholly inadequate conditions. He is being used as a prop and décor to attract customers, this is not an appropriate or acceptable use of a living, sentient being.
“His current conditions cause us serious concern: His cage is entirely unsuitable for a macaw of his size and needs. He has no room to fly. He has nowhere to hide or retreat from the loud music and flashing lights he is subjected to for hours on en
“Macaws are highly social animals who mate for life and live in large family groups, Rio has no mate, no companionship, and no ability to express any natural behaviour whatsoever.
The restaurant has since been working closely with those campaigners – Protect the Wild and Vegan Manchester – and has made the decision to rehome Rio the parrot, saying that the bird has always been ‘a much-loved member of the Garden Lounge’s family’.
Gardens said that the parrot’s welfare has always been ‘of the utmost importance’ and stressed that his living conditions have been fully assessed and approved by the RSPCA.
In their full statement, Gardens said: “The welfare of Rio has always been of the utmost importance to everyone at Garden’s Lounge Manchester.
“Throughout his time with us, his health, wellbeing and environment have been thoroughly monitored and fully assessed and approved by the RSPCA.
The cage that housed Rio the parrot visible from the front door of the Salford restaurantGardens Lounge in Salford is open now
“Following extensive discussions and careful consideration, including conversations with members of the Manchester community whose views we greatly respect, we have made the decision to relocate Rio to a sanctuary environment, where he will have the opportunity to fly freely while continuing to receive specialist care and attention.
“Rio has been, and always will be, a much-loved member of the Garden’s Lounge family, and this decision has been made with his best interests at heart.
“We are proud of the love and care he has received over the years and are grateful to everyone who has shown him such affection and support.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Garden’s Lounge Manchester soon and thank our customers, friends and the wider community for their continued support.”
The tiny van parked beneath a tram stop that’s quietly making some of the best coffee in town
Danny Jones
In a city as big and bustling as Manchester, let alone all the other great on-the-go food and drink spots across the ten boroughs, it can be hard to know where to start – that’s why Elliott’s coffee van is cleverly grabbing people on their way in and out of town to sample his stuff.
With brilliant blends, bakes and other kinds of brews up for grabs, it’s becoming a regular stop for us.
Finding a good cafe in transit can often be somewhat of a challenge, especially when you want to support independent businesses wherever possible.
If you’re happy to settle with one of the big brands that you’ll find at most major stations, grand, but if you want a proper good grind, perfect temperature, not to mention great service from a friendly face, then come and see Elliot.
Having recently celebrated more than a year since he first posted up outside the admittedly ‘no man’s land’-ish Metrolink station, this busy little bee has brought a welcome dose of energy and colour to this particular Bee Network interchange.
While Cornbrook doesn’t feel as lonely and forgotten as, say, Pomona, just one stop along, it’s long felt ever so slightly too out of the way, lonely, and a bit grey.
Thankfully, these days (at least if you time it right), when you go around the corner and head towards the archways bordering Castlefield and the edge of Trafford, you’ll now hear tunes coming down the road, and instead of simply smelling petrol or dank water, you’re hit with a whiff of freshly roasted beans.
We get the same warm feeling when we arrive here as when we see neighbouring Libby’s canal boat cafe floating just outside The Wharf.
It’s also worth noting that Elliot doesn’t just buy any old grounds: he’s a passionate barista who has such a love for the good stuff that he decided to buy a little Piaggio Ape 50 three-wheeler van and turn it into a mobile cafe, serving speciality coffee from around Greater Manchester and loading it all up himself.
Spotlighting everyone from Kobean and Assembly to wholesalers like Carter – not to mention fresh pastries and sweet treats from beloved Stockport bakery, Sticky Fingers – this lovely lad is indie through and through.
As well as loyalty, he even does gift cards.When we say everything is freshly pressed, we mean it…
Having gone full-time last August after starting in June 2025, we’re chuffed to bits to see it going so well for him, especially seeing him slog through the Manc weather come rain or shine, even giving us our fix during the colder months in that often rather dark Cornbrook corner.
What’s more, he’s also got some solid tunes on rotation, whether you need an extra early morning pick-me-up on your commute besides the caffeine, or just want that added boost later in the day.
Elliot serves with a smile and is always happy to have a little chinwag; better still, while he’s getting bigger and longer lines nowadays, the queue always moves quicker than you think it will.
For anyone looking to pay him a visit, his opening hours are 7am-1pm every day bar Mondays (six days a week is still no joke), and you get him for an extra hour until 2pm on Saturdays.
Georgina Pellant -
21st March 2023 
