In search of Greenwich’s best… Chips

National Chip Week: clearly one of the very best PR stunts there has ever been. An excuse to eat chips all week is not to be sniffed at. And it’s Friday too, which has always been the best day for a chippy tea. Out of the paper, the smell of salt and vinegar making passers by jealous. Even if you’re not hungry, you can always steal a chip from someone (don’t do it to strangers, it’s frowned upon). But just one question, where in Greenwich are you going to get them? Here’s Greenwich.co.uk’s guide to the best of the local chip shop chips.

The Pier, Greenwich Church Street

Excellent. They’re very excellent at batter, you see. And sometimes pieces of batter fall into the portions of chips and it’s the chip shop version of getting a toy in your cereal. They’re good at crispy bits, they’re good at other things and they crack a smile and have a bit of a chat with you. Cheap as chips too (sorry). The only downside? Terrible, terrible curry sauce.

The Golden Chippy, Greenwich High Road

Regarded as some as the best chippy in Greenwich. I’d be inclined to agree if I didn’t live way on the other side. Good chips, good crispy bits and good prices. I can’t argue with popular opinion, these guys are excellent. If only they were closer to the town centre. Still, I can always walk there and back and burn off all of those chip-shaped calories.

Peter’s Fish Bar, Woolwich Road

OK, so they’re not strictly in Greenwich. But here’s the clincher: they deliver and that’s very unusual for a chippy. Sadly, that’s where my love affair with this particular chip shop ends. They’re not terrible, but the chips are never quite as bang on as you’d like them to be. A little dry, a little bland, not a huge amount of crispy bits and only just above average. I really want to love them – they’re the nearest chippy to me and the potential to have fish and chips delivered makes me very happy indeed. But I’m left a bit disappointed by them. Don’t totally write Peter’s off, though. They also own the greasy spoon next door and they knock up the finest bacon and egg sandwich this side of the river.

The Great British Fish & Chip Shop, King William Walk

When this place opened, it looked a little posher than the rest. And on the surface, it was. They’ve got swanky fish options lined up on the menu (look, chips and scallops is posh), there isn’t a single neon star blu-tacked to the walls, and it all felt a little more upmarket. But that lasted about a week. Now it looks tired. The chips were dry and tasteless, even with extra salt and vinegar once I got home. They’re expensive too. My first ever trip to the Great British Fish & Chip Shop will probably be my last. They do, however, sell the popular Goddard’s Pies.

Where else?

Mr. Fast Fry are confusing me – they’ve stopped delivering and they’ve been shut when I’ve gone to check them out. I’m not sure if this is temporary or not but I can’t comment on their chips if they’re never open. If you can cope with the flashing disco lights in London’s danciest kebab house, the Cutty Sark restaurant actually serves up a decent portion of chips. Certainly the best of the many kebab shops and takeaways in the area.

If you’re eating in, the Old Brewery’s chips are well regarded and the the Rivington Bar and Grill do a cracking chip. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and it comes with a really tasty smoked ketchup that I could probably eat with a spoon. Actually, they’d win it for me. They do takeaway chippy lunches too, all wrapped in a nice box.

Where are you getting your chips from this week?