High standards maintained as Fry Awards 2021 announced

After a tough and challenging year for the fish and chip industry, we are pleased to announce the winners of our 50 Best Takeaways and 10 Best Mobile Units Awards 2021.

Following an unannounced mystery dining visit, shops and mobile units were marked on over 40 aspects of their business, from the quality of the food and customer service to their social media presence and their Covid safe practices. Once again, the food remained the main focus, with all outlets assessed on the flakiness of the fish, the crispness of the chips and the crunch of the batter, alongside value for money.

And even despite the challenges and restrictions posed by Covid, entrants didn’t let standards slip with the benchmark to pass set at 97% for takeaways and 92% for mobiles - the highest in the awards’ history.

The winners in alphabetical order are:

50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways

Auckley Friery, Auckley, South Yorkshire

Callaways Fish & Chips, Dorchester, Dorset

Carlo’s, Alnwick, Northumberland

Castiglio's Fried Fish & Chips, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire

Chippy Chippy, Holyhead, Anglesey

Chips @ No.8, Prestwich, Manchester

Chish & Fips, Norwich, Norfolk

Cox’s At The Lighthouse, St Neots, Cambridgeshire

Croft Street Fisheries, Farsley, Leeds

Davenport’s Fish & Chips, Louth, Lincolnshire

David’s Fish And Chips, Brixham, Devon

Dhillons Fish Inn, Throckley, Newcastle

Dunkeld Fish Bar, Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross

East Coast, Musselburgh, East Lothian

Every Fish Bar, Harrow, London

Farnhams Fish And Chips, Boverton, Llantwit Major

Fiddlers Elbow Fish and Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire

Finn's Traditional Fish and Chips, Reading, Berkshire

Fintans Fish & Chip Co, Llanishen, Cardiff

Fish 'n' Fritz, Weymouth, Dorset

Fisherman’s Bay, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear

Fochabers Fish Bar, Fochabers, Moray

Fraser's Fish and Chips, Penzance, Cornwall

Frydays of Kendal, Kendal, Cumbria

George's Fish And Chips, Hanham, Bristol

Harlees Fish & Chips, Westbury, Wiltshire

Henley's of Wivenhoe, Wivenhoe, Essex

Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, Glamorgan

Hooked On The Heath, Knutsford, Cheshire

Jason's Fish And Chips, Rackheath, Norwich, Norfolk

Land & Sea, Sowerby, York, North Yorkshire

Linfords Traditional Fish and Chip Shop, Market Deeping, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

Market Hill Fisheries, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire

McLeod's Fish and Chips, Inverness

My Plaice Fish and Chips, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk

Newington Fish Bar, Ramsgate, Kent

Priory Plaice Fish and Chips, Ulverston, Cumbria

Sea Salt + Sole, Dyce, Aberdeen

Seasmiths Fish + Chips, Porthtowan, Truro, Cornwall

Shap Chippy, Penrith, Cumbria

Shaw’s Fish And Chips, Dodworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Smith’s Chippy, South Shields, Tyne & Wear

Sykes, Pendlebury, Salford, Greater Manchester

The Cafe Royal, Annan, Dumfriesshire

The Cottage by Haddocks, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire

The Crescent Fish & Chip Shop, Flint, Flintshire

The Esk Cafe, Carlisle, Cumbria

The Fish At Goose Green, Wigan, Lancashire

The Fish Bar, Crewe, Cheshire

The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire

The Friary, Carrickfergus, County Antrim

The Golden Fry, Benllech, Isle of Anglesey

The Horseshoe Fish Bar, Pontnewynydd, Torfaen

The Little Chippy Tyldesley, Manchester

The Plaice to Be, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire

The Shire Fryer, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Tony’s, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire

Towngate Fisheries, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire

Valerio’s Fish And Chips, Lanark, South Lanarkshire

Yan’s Fish Bar, Cardiff

10 Best Mobile Fish & Chip Units

Cod’s & Rockers, Tadley, Hampshire

Flitch & Chips, Flitch Green and Dunmow, Essex

Go Fish & Chips, West Berkshire

Howe & Co Van 66, Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire

Howe & Co Van 22, Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire

Mobile Chip Shop, Leicester & Nottingham

Shappy Wheels, Shap, Cumbria

Tony's On The Go, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire

Trish & Chips, Telford, Shropshire

Tropics Two, Dersingham, Norfolk

Commenting on this year’s awards, Reece Head, competition organiser, says: “Without doubt, the last 12 months have been tough for fish and chip operators and many will not have dealt with this level of crisis management before.

“Allowed to operate during the pandemic, there was a lot they had to implement in a very short space of time to operate in a Covid safe manner. Many takeaways had to flip their businesses to click and collect and delivery, serve at the door, introduce card payments and work in much smaller teams. Likewise, mobile units introduced pre-orders and added new routes and additional vans to keep the nation fed.

“During a time of uncertainty, these operators have helped maintain a sense of normality. They’ve been at the heart of their communities, with a smile on their faces and hot food in their hands. And the fact that we’ve had our highest pass mark ever is testament to their hard work and dedication, and we would like to congratulate each and every one.”

All takeaways and mobile units that entered will receive their mystery dining report and competition packs over the next few days.

Fry Magazine would like to thank this year’s competition sponsors Goldensheaf, Frymax, Friars Pride, VA Whitley, Henry Colbecks, Middleton Foods, KFE, Brakes, Pro Fry, BD Signs, NFFF, Nortech Foods, Sarson’s and Acumen.

The Fry Awards 2022 will be open for entry in May when the 10 Best Restaurant category will return too.