Proper fish and chips, from a proper fish and chip shop, unwrapped from paper, pre-sprinkled with salt and condiment, an excess of chips tumbling forth, all gobbled down with greasy fingers.
But it's getting more expensive.
And I can tell you how much more expensive because five years ago, in August 2018, I went round all the fish and chip shops within a mile of my home and noted the cost of cod and chips.
• Olympic Fish & Chips[2 Leywick St, West Ham E15]£4.70 + £1.80 = £6.50
• Station Fish Bar[2 Memorial Avenue, West Ham E15]£6.00 + £2.20 = £8.20
• Barry's Fish Bar[222 Devons Rd, Bow E3]£4.95 + £1.75 = £6.70
• Britannia Fish Bar[101 Grove Road, Mile End E3]£5.40 + £1.80 = £7.20
• Saucy Kipper Fish Bar[626 Roman Road, Bow E3]£5.50 + £1.90 = £7.40
On average, five years ago...
Regular cod:£5.30 Regular chips:£1.90 Cod and chips:£7.20
Yesterday I went round again, and eek.
Olympic Fish & Chips£8.50 + £2.40 = £10.90
They're on holiday at the moment, back on the 31st, but the price list is squintable through the window. This small family fryer used to sell the cheapest cod but they're now the most expensive in my survey, up 80% since 2018! Chips have increased by a slightly less awful 33%.
Station Fish Bar£8.00 + £2.30 = £10.30
This is the least 'chippie' of the five, more a mixed grill opposite West Ham station. It doesn't necessarily sell cod, the menu merely says 'Fish'. It used to be the most expensive fish but the price rise here is only 25%. A portion of chips has only gone up 10p! (but who's to say if portions are the same?)
Barry's Fish Bar£7.50 + £2.50 = £10.00
Prices here may have risen by 50% over five years, but this is now the only place locally where I can still buy fish and chips with a ten pound note. I wouldn't do so again though, I wasn't wowed last time. Fish is not the prime customer focus, chicken sells better. Nobody called Barry has worked here in years.
Britannia Fish Bar£8.00 + £2.50 = £10.50
Middle of the rankings last time and middle of the rankings again this time. If I lived a tad closer I might go more often.
Saucy Kipper Fish Bar£8.50 + £2.50 = £11.00
Chippie royalty on Roman Road, and the only one with a queue when I visited yesterday lunchtime. But also the most expensive of the five, mostly driven by a 55% rise in the cost of cod since five years ago.
On average, five years later...
Regular cod:£8.10(up 53%) Regular chips:£2.45(up 29%) Cod and chips:£10.50(up 46%)
The majority of these increases will have come in the last year and a half, triggered by fallout from the war in Ukraine. White fish is having to be sourced from countries other than Russia, electricity bills have shot up (which is bad news when your fryer has to be on all day), cooking oil costs a lot more and food inflation means bags of potatoes are more pricey. Meanwhile the cost of living crisis means customers have less money to spend, in many cases much less, so the price hikes have come at the worst possible time. It's a potentially existential crisis.
For a more accurate assessment I've also spread my net a little wider and checked the current prices at three more chippies in my local area.
Fish and Ships[1 St James's Ave, Bethnal Green E2]£8.50 + £2.90 = £10.90
That's the best name so far. This smart but solid chippie on the edge of Bethnal Green faces a pedestrianised piazza and has yet to celebrate its seventh birthday. It's also at the higher end of the price range, even with a 50p saving for those buying cod and chips together. They like to make a big fuss about the provenance of their food... either that or they'd just had a huge delivery of Palmer's Chipping Potatoes and had left all the sacks in the window.
Alan's Fish Bar[97 Brabazon St, Poplar E14]£8.00 + £2.70 = £10.70
This is a longstanding takeaway with throwback lettering, adrift at the heart of a large Poplar estate. It has a 'fish and chips' entrance and a 'kebabs and burgers' entrance, but inside it's one long counter where things either get fried or grilled - mostly the latter. Alan's almost feels like it's performing a service, taking on the mantle of the local works canteen. Its chips are on the pricey side but its fish is on point.
The Captain's Table[16 Market Wy, Poplar E14]£10.00 + £2.50 = £12.50
This is Chrisp Street's chippie, surrounded by social housing, so I was expecting better value here. But ten quid for regular cod is verging on extortionate given nowhere else has so far charged even nine pound something. A quick glance at the window display suggests their priority is more halal chicken than battered fish, but they've still kept the maritime focus in the takeaway's name, and something must have driven them to hike the price of their cod to a previously unimaginable threshold.
I did try going to Ifratelli's in Stratford, as recommended by more than one reader, but they were off on holiday and fully shuttered. I also went back to Gary's Fish House on Roman Road, but that's now the Ugly Duckling Beauty Clinic.
With an enlarged sample of eight...
Regular cod:£8.40 Regular chips:£2.55 Cod and chips:£10.80
According to the latest figures from the ONS, the average price of fish and chips across the UK is £9. Either East London's particularly expensive or prices have risen sharply since March 2023 when their data was captured.
I've kept two chip shops back because they're a bit different, as you'll see from the prices.
Fish House[128 Lauriston Road, Hackney E9]13.7
We're in what locals like to call Victoria Park Village, so what we have here is a "contemporary, independent seafood restaurant and traditional takeaway", ethically-sourced. We also have prices as decimals rather than currency, hence unsurprisingly we have the highest prices so far. Cod is not sold chipless and will set you back a mighty 13.7. Chips are 3.1 by themselves, because somebody saw this clientele coming. Also whereas most chippies describe their cod and chips as 'regular' and 'large', Fish House advertises 'small' (11.2) and 'regular' (13.7), so either its portion sizes are reduced or the business is sneakily trying to upsell. Also it doesn't open until 1pm so it's not attempting to provide for workers' lunchtimes, and basically if you can afford to come here regularly the cost of living crisis probably isn't bothering you.
Chipping Wharf[462 Old Ford Road, E3]12.5
Pre-pandemic this was the Old Ford Cafe but an enterprising businessperson has since transformed it into a gentrified chippie with a name that somehow doesn't quite work. It's quite small inside, with a counter that looks like it was assembled to try to look old and classy, plus an arty boxful of lemons upping the ante by the door. If you don't want to take your purchase home you're very welcome to sit and eat it on the smartly-painted terrace outside. But again the prices are poundless, with chips available on the 'Small bites' menu for 3, and it does feel like they're targeting the incomers across the street rather than estatefolk behind.
Ignoring those last two, here are all the 2023 prices in ascending order.
Generally speaking that's £8-£8.50 for fish, £2.50 for chips and £10-£11 for fish and chips.
Over five years up 58%, 33% and 51% respectively.
For many of us fish and chips is changing from a regular treat to an unaffordable luxury, if it hasn't changed already.
And I worry what the prices might be in five years' time, averaging out whichever local chippies are still serving up.
