Nothing gets excitement levels going in my house quite like the words ‘chippy tea’.
They’re not uttered as much these days. With the price of takeaways increasing as much as everything else, it’s become a rarer treat.
So it made it all the more special to be heading not to any old chippy, but an award-winning chippy on a rather drizzly Wednesday evening.
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Leigh’s Pennington Plaice is one of just four in Greater Manchester to make it onto this year’s Fry Magazine’s 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways list.
Pennington Plaice chippy in Leigh -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN
It’s not the first time it’s made the prestigious list – celebrating the very best chippies in the country and based entirely on mystery diner reports – and a 2023 winner sign is still on display in the window.
Inside, a single celebratory balloon is the only sign yet of this year’s achievement. Although the steady stream of customers arriving while my order is parcelled up is perhaps partially down to its recent accolade.
I decided to make things simpler and order in advance. With a 15-minute drive home, I was keen to grab and go and get back to the hungry hordes as quickly as possible.
The thick foil lined bags keep it all piping hot and my pack descend like wolves to plate up their variations of fish and chips or sausage and chips, ordered with a mixture of gravy, curry sauce and peas.
Fish and chips with curry sauce and peas -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN
Part of the fish batter is lost to the paper it’s wrapped in and we’re left with a few bald patches, but once flipped over, you’d never know and it sure looks enticing enough.
Golden and crispy, it’s exactly how you’d imagine an award-winning fish to look – and to taste for that matter – and it’s a decent enough portion to justify the £5.30 price.
It’s clear I’ve ordered far too many chips – when they say large portion (£3.40) they mean it – but they’re perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and super-fluffy in the middle.
Sausage and chips with gravy -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN
While my daughter laps up the smooth gravy with her sausage and chips (£1.95 sausage, £2.50 small chips), two of us are left fighting over the curry sauce, which at £1.20 for a regular I should have known wouldn’t stretch that far. Thankfully we have peas to add some extra moisture, not that it really needs it, but it’s a bonus if you like something to mop up with your chips.
Having seen it on the menu, I couldn’t not order the Super Barm and was intrigued as to whether it was worthy of such a title.
In the ‘Lighter Options’ part of the menu, it’s basically a barm cake – nobody in Leigh needs to be told what a barm cake is – filled with fish, chips and peas.
There’s a decent amount of everything on it and for £5.50 it’s seriously impressive. It’s a meal on its own for those with a smaller appetite than ourselves.
The Super Barm -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN
I think ‘Super’ is a fair assessment, not just of the barm but this place as a whole.
If you fancy trying it yourself, it’s open Monday to Saturday from 11.30am to 1.45pm and from 3.45pm to 8.30pm, closing half an hour earlier on Saturdays.
The other three Greater Manchester chip shops making it onto Fry Magazine’s list are Sykes Fish and Chips, located in Pendlebury in Swinton, Salford; The Fish at Goose Green in Wigan; and Town Street Fryer in Marple Bridge, Stockport.
You can find the full list here.