This is one of the most expensive fish and chips in London and we decided to try it out. It is from none other than @mayfairchippy. They have gone super viral of late and as with any viral spot a lot of the bloggers have gone to give it a try. So, we were in the area and decided to be one of them too. This post will outline our review and experience and also a small rant will be included at the end. Lets go!!
The Mayfair Chippy Hype
Mayfair chippy are a super popular chippy that is famous for its high quality fish and chips offering. And with that quality comes the price. To dine in you’ll be paying £23.95 and to take away it is £16.75 (at the time of writing). Quite dear for a humble fish and chips meal, but let’s see if it’s worth the hype (and the price!). Because boy is there hype. The queues are a testament to that. It’s quite a small restaurant to begin with to be fair, but the queue stretches out quite far. Evidently very popular or everyone’s just here for the current hype. Or maybe it’s always been highly regarded… there was a tour guide who walked past us and he was proudly proclaiming to his tour group: this is the second best chippy in London! Let’s see!
Our experience
We tried calling ahead because we read some reviews claiming it is essential especially on the weekend. But no one picked up and we tried numerous times. So, maybe if you did want to dine in call days ahead. This was the first downer I guess. When we arrived there was a queue. A long queue. We didn’t mind taking this away so we skipped the queue, went inside and ordered takeaway (so you don’t need to queue if you want a takeaway – this actually isn’t so clear). Ordering was easy as you’d expect and we got our order in about 10 minutes or so? Let’s now talk about the taste.
The batter was nice and crispy. You can literally hear the crunch. It had a good bite to it too, but not too thick that it overpowers the fish. The star. We opted for cod (which is arguably the choice of fish for southerners). And it was everything you want the fish to be: flaky, meaty and juicy. The chips were perfect chip shop chips – fat, slightly soggy and just an ever so small crunch. Perfect for soaking up the condiments. And all of this wasn’t even too greasy unlike some cheaper chippy meals. It comes with curry sauce, mushy peas and tartare sauce. My favourite accompaniment is usually curry sauce, but here the tartare sauce was something else! So good! The mushy peas were meh, but I’m not the biggest fan so can I really judge? And the curry sauce I actually wasn’t a fan of. I think it’s the Chinese type (a bit more tangy). My wife liked it though.
The beer batter
They use beer batter for their fish, but you can ask for an alcohol free one. Also, get the gluten free one to ensure your fish is fried in a separate oil. You’ll have to request the curry sauce if you ask for gluten free as that gets taken out of the meal.
Rant time: most of the customers I saw on the day and I see online are from a particular part of the world (Arabs), and Arabs are mostly Muslim. So I am very confused as to why they want to stick to using beer batter for their fish. It’s 2024 and a lot of chippies up and down the country are happily using alternatives that are as a result more inclusive. Nonetheless I do appreciate that they do offer an alcohol free version, but I don’t know how many would actually even spot that the original has beer in it.
Also a quick tip regarding the takeaway. We actually got the takeaway version because the queue was too long and the weather was decent. We thought we could eat outside on a bench somewhere. But strangely we didn’t find one nearby. Only after finishing our meal did we see a corner shop (click here) that had a table and seats outside that would’ve been perfect. Ah well.
Getting there
Nearest station: Bond Street
Nearest mosque: Muslim World League Goodge Street
Parking: Ossulston Street – free evenings and weekends – plenty of parking spaces on Sundays – about 20-30 min walk from Soho/Chinatown, but it is just outside congestion zone
Google Maps link
