Fish and chips have been an iconic pairing in the UK for more than 150 years, after the first shops opened in the 1860s – but what does the nation’s best meal actually taste like?
Chips drenched in vinegar. Fish batter soggy from its own heat where it’s been wrapped in paper. And a car windscreen fogged up from the steam as you gaze at the sea on a grey winter’s day. For me, this is undoubtedly the best way to eat even the worst fish and chips. But what’s the best way to eat the UK’s best fish and chips? Earlier this week, I found out.
Visiting Cirencester, a pretty market town in the Cotswolds, I chanced upon Malt & Anchor, a ‘posh’ fish and chip shop and restaurant right in the centre, within sight of the stunning ‘cathedral of the Cotswolds’, the Church of St John the Baptist.
Since opening in 2017, the modest venue has scooped a plethora of awards for its fish and chips, including winning Best Newcomer at the National Fish & Chip Awards 2018, Best Fish & Chip Shop in the UK at the ITV Food and Drink Awards 2020 and England Winner in the National Fish & Chip Awards 2023. All this, despite a senior Labour figure warning fish and chip shops could vanish from the high street if Nigel Farage has his way.
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It scooped second place on the same awards last year and made into the top 50 best takeaways in this year’s Fry Awards. Who knew there were so many accolades for fish and chips?
The restaurant itself is a smart set-up with several tables and a wonderful bench seats in a gorgeous marine blue. The fish and chips are cooked in a separate kitchen so it feels much more like a restaurant than a traditional shop with fryers when you enter.
We took a seat in the expansive window but could have sat anywhere, as the restaurant was, surprisingly, completely empty at 745pm on a Monday evening.
The restaurant menu offers plenty of fishy food favourites that all come with chips including regular cod (£22.90), scampi (£18.90), tempura battered prawns (£19.90) and panko coated calamari (£20.50). It also has a selection of pies from Pieminister with chips (all £19.90) and seasonal specials such as Devonshire brown crab in April and May and Cornish lobster in July and August.
A variety of soft and alcoholic drinks are available, including Phoenix, a Costwolds-made white wine at £36 a bottle and Malt & Anchor Yeah Buoy!, a locally-brewed small batch lager, at £5.90 for 500ml. The takeaway prices are comparable to anywhere else, with regular cod and chips at £12.50 and battered sausage and chips costing £9.50.
We went for the traditional option of cod and chips, but here came the second big surprise of the evening. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Malt & Anchor offers a small cod and chips for two meal in the restaurant, plus a bottle of prosecco, for just £40.
Feeling more than peckish after a day exploring Cirencester, we chose to upgrade to a regular-sized meal, which was just £6 more on the bill. If you wanted to take the lot away instead, it would be £10 cheaper at £30. So, after much anticipation and with mouths watering, what was it all like? Well, the chips were just as they should be – crunchy and golden on the outside and soft and fluffy inside.
The cod was in a beautifully light batter and was perfectly white and tasty. And, even better, the it was accompanied by a delicious, home-made tartare sauce and the best mushy peas I have ever tasted. The organic prosecco was a perfect addition.
I love fish and chips, and have eaten takeaways at numerous seaside resorts and all over London, as well as the popular fish and chip restaurant chain Harry Ramsdens. But I can honestly say Malt & Anchor’s offering was among the very best I have ever tasted. And with the incredible prosecco deal it was unbelievably good value too – in fact, I would have happily paid the same price without the fizz. My only disappointment is that, living in London, Malt & Anchor is just a bit too far away for me to have a regular Monday treat.
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