New year, new winners!

Kicking off the new year with the news everyone has been waiting for, we’re delighted to announce the winners of our Fry Awards 2026.

The 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways and 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants 2026 celebrate the incredible achievements of fish and chip shops nationwide.

The results follow months of judging in which takeaways, restaurants and mobile units were secretly assessed by mystery diners on a range of aspects such as food quality, premises cleanliness, staff expertise, value for money, ease of ordering, and social media presence. 

Only the operators with the highest scores earn an award, making it a much sought-after accolade. The pass mark this year is 97% for the takeaway category and 96% for the restaurant category, although several businesses were successful in gaining 100%.

This is the 14th year the awards have taken place and judges were once again impressed by the quality of entrants and the food served. Feedback within the mystery dining reports included comments such as “The food was piping hot and had obviously been freshly prepared,” “This outlet was busy, but both staff members worked well as a team, with the customer service being excellent,” and “It was beautiful, succulent fish. The chips were lovely and golden”.

The winners in alphabetical order are:

50 Best Takeaways

Ainsworth’s Fish & Chips, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Auckley Friery, Auckley, Doncaster

Batterfly Fish & Chips, Surbiton, Surrey 

Beedle’s Chippy, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, 

Callaway’s Fish & Chips, Dorchester, Dorset

Catch, Netherlee, Glasgow

Churchill’s Fish & Chips, Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire

Churchill’s Fish & Chips, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Churchill’s Fish & Chips, Langney, Eastbourne, East Sussex

Country Fried, Ribble Valley, Lancashire

David’s Fish & Chips, Brixham, Devon

Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire

Finney’s Fish and Chips, Benllech, Anglesey

Fintans Fish & Chip Co, Llanishen, Cardiff

Fish N Fry,  Easton, Bristol 

Garioch Fish Bar, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire

Greg & Lou’s, Redruth, Cornwall 

Harley’s Fish Bar, Great Barr, Birmingham

Hikary’s Fish Bar, Neath, Neath Port Talbot

Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea 

Hird’s Family Fisheries, Halifax, West Yorkshire

Kirbys of Horsforth, Horsforth, Leeds

Kirbys of Meanwood, Meanwood, Leeds

Lighthouse Fisheries of Flamborough, Flamborough, East Yorkshire 

Linfords Traditional Fish and Chips, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire

Lows Traditional Fish and Chips, Berryden Business Park, Aberdeenshire

Monster Fish & Chips Co, Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire 

Moore’s Fish and Chips, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

My Plaice Fish & Chips, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Portside Fish & Chips, Starbeck, North Yorkshire 

Portside Fish & Chips, Kirkstall Road, Leeds 

Quintiliani’s Fast Food, Larkhall, South Lanarkshire

Redcloak Fish Bar, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Sandgate Chippie, Penrith, Cumbria 

Sandy’s, Folkestone, Kent

Scott’s Plaice, Gosport, Hampshire

Sea Salt + Sole, Dyce, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire

Shappy Wheels, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria

Sykes Fish and Chips, Pendlebury, Manchester 

The Big Chippy, Dudley, West Midlands 

The Cafe Royal, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway

The Chippie Van, Eden Valley and Carlisle, Cumbria

The Codfather, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

The Corner Plaice, Croxley Green, Hertfordshire

The Fish Bank, Sherburn in Elemet, North Yorkshire

The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire 

The Hook of Clacton, Clacton on Sea, Essex

The Oyster Shell, Bath, Somerset

The Proper Fish and Chips Co, Honiton, Devon

The Trawler, Golspie, Highland 

The Village Fish & Chips, Orpington, Kent

Town Street Fryer , Stockport, Manchester

Valerio’s Fish And Chips, Lanark, South Lanarkshire

Westend Fish and Chips, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire

Westend Fish and Chips, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire

Your Plaice or Mine Mobile Van, Thorne, South Yorkshire

10 Best Restaurants

Anstruther Fish Bar, Anstruther, Fife

Fish City, Belfast

Fishy Delishy, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

Harbour Lights, Falmouth, Cornwall 

Pier Point Bar and Restaurant, Torquay, Devon

Quayside Restaurant and Fish Bar, Gourdon, Montrose, Aberdeenshire

Seasmiths Fish and Chips in Town, Wadebridge, Cornwall

Shap Chippy, Penrith, Cumbria

The Elite Fish and Chip Company, Tritton Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Trenchers of Whitby, Whitby, Yorkshire

Trenchers Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear

Reece Head, competition organiser, comments: “Congratulations to this year’s Fry Award winners. Over the past 12 months, these operators have faced significant challenges, including higher wage costs, rising energy bills and exceptional pressure on fish prices. Despite this, they have maintained consistently high standards, supported and motivated their teams, and kept customers informed as changes were needed. That commitment was evident to our mystery judges and is what secured each business a place among the UK’s leading fish and chip shops. Exceptionally high pass marks of 96% and 97% were set this year, demonstrating the consistently high shop standards in place.

“Their success proves that our nation’s favourite takeaway remains nutritious, great value and stronger than ever.”

All takeaways, restaurants and mobiles that entered receive their mystery dining report, while winners also receive a plaque to proudly display in their shops. 

New for this year, every winner will also receive a premium eight-piece bundle of frying utensils, courtesy of award sponsor Hopkins. Worth around £200 per set, it includes a skimmer 50 mesh, spider, chip shovel, fish lifter, fish tong, chip scoop, food tong and fish drainer. 

That’s not all, all award winners will be entered into a draw to win pies and POS from Pukka. One lucky shop will win five free cases of Pukka Pies alongside its new POS kit, which includes items such as a bold illuminated outdoor sign and an eye-catching pavement swing sign, while 10 further winners will each receive three cases of Pukka Pies along with a POS kit featuring serving tools and promotional posters.

We would like to thank this year’s competition sponsors: Frymax, Seafood from Norway, Pukka, KFE, The NFFF, McWhinney’s Sausages, BD Signs & BDigital, Superior Frying Fat, VA Whitley, Henry Colbeck, Sarson’s, Central Foods, Hopkins and Kerry.