Anstruther Fish Bar, in a quiet village on the Scottish coast in Fife, has won multiple awards and served the likes of Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Prince William – but one reviewer was not impressed
There are no shortage of fish and chip shops in the UK claiming to be Britain’s best, but few of them have the credentials to back it up.
Anstruther Fish Bar, in a quiet village on the Scottish coast in Fife, has the chops to prove it. The chippy’s trophy cabinet bears witness to the restaurant’s fried fish excellence, having won the ‘Best Fish and Chip Shop’ in Scotland accolade on four occasions. In 2007, Anstruther Fish Bar came second in the UK ‘Fish Shop of the Year’ competition before winning in 2009, beating 1,000 competitors to become UK Fish & Chip Shop of the Year. The list of celebs who have stopped in to snaffle an order of their famous haddock and chips is also testament to its worldwide reputation.
The chip shop has served the likes of Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro and Prince William even stopped off to grab a bite in 2021, his royal helicopter landing on the local playing field so he could grab a chippy tea. While the great and the good love to stop off at Anstruther Fish Bar, it is the locals that make it what it is. People leave the pubs in the village early to ensure they get their chips on the way home with lines of hungry punters forming outside – during Covid these queues reached 700m long as customers clamoured to get their fix.
While the restaurant has a stronger claim than most chip shops in the UK to the title of “Britain’s best” – there are some who don’t agree. Columnist and fried-food connoisseur Danny Mei Lan Malin recently sampled the fish and chips at the Anstruther Fish Bar and left unimpressed, he wrote in his weekly column for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Danny, who grew up in his parents’ chip shop, made the trip up to Scotland but after trying Anstruther Fish Bar’s famous grub he ultimately declared: “The best chippies are definitely in Yorkshire.”
Despite praising the “stunning” coastal location and perfect weather, he said that “it didn’t live up to the hype,” complaining the meal had not been fried in beef dripping. Meanwhile the restaurant continues to serve its signature fish and chips cooked in their secret recipe batter and see queues out the door, Danny listed a series of restaurants closer to home in his native Yorkshire where he will be eating in future.
