London's best blue-chip chippies

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Boutique: fish and chips with style

Frying high: Battersea's Fish Club

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On the face of it, a bright new fish and chip shop that sells only sustainable fish — pollack, gurnard, Megrim sole and line-caught cod — sounds like the kind of restaurant we would all like on the corner of our street, which makes the closure of Tom's Place in Chelsea all the more surprising.

Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens opened his fish and chip shop on a wave of eco-friendly enthusiasm, and from day one it was a busy place. Unfortunately some of his neighbours and the planners at the local council found fault with both the kitchen's extraction system and the “nuisance” caused by a thriving restaurant, and Tom's Place has had to close before its first birthday. 

This certainly bucks the trend as the current economic difficulties have seen an astonishing resurgence in the fish and chip industry. For the first time in five years, sales of fish and chips have gone up and, apparently, we now tuck into more than 276 million fish suppers a year.

The growth stems partly from our desire to eat “two portions a week” as advocated by a seafood industry campaign that points out the health benefits of eating fish, and partly from us wanting to save a little money.

Leading the way are the “boutique” chippies, such as the late lamented Tom's Place, where you can usually get your ethically sourced fish grilled, pan-fried or steamed. Here are six of the best.

The Fish House, 126-128 Lauriston Road, E9 (020 8533 3327) Mon-Fri noon-10pm, Sat & Sun 11am-10pm. Large cod and chips, £9.50 eat-in, £6.50 takeaway.
A modern restaurant that retains the traditional layout — fryers and takeaway counter to the left, eat-in to the right. The basics are done well here, crisply battered cod, good chips and mushy peas. Plenty of more ambitious options ranging from tuna salad Niçoise to whole sea bream.

Sea Cow, 37 Lordship Lane, SE22 (020 8693 3111) Tues-Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-8.30pm. Large cod and chips, £8 eat-in, £6 takeaway.
This place was at the forefront of the boutique chippy movement and has opened (and then retreated from) branches in Stoke Newington and Clapham. Daily deliveries from Billingsgate lead to some exotic offerings such as red snapper.

Olley's, 67-69 Norwood Road, SE24 (020 8671 8259) Mon 5-10.30pm, Tues-Sun noon-10.30pm. Cod and chips, £7 eat-in, £6.50 takeaway.
This is a large restaurant that started as a traditional chippy and then moved with the times as it grew — now there is a large range of less common fish on offer. Olley's was one of the first chippies to use the “twice fried” technique for its chips. The initial blanching leads to a very crisp outside and fluffy inside.

The Fish Club, 189 St John's Hill, SW11 (020 7978 7115). Tues-Sat noon-10pm, Sun noon-9pm. Haddock and chips, £7.45 eat‑in or takeaway.
As you walk into this restaurant you'll see a large display with a tempting array of different fish laid out on ice (no cod, it's unsustainable, but haddock, coley and whiting). The idea being that you pick your fish and then decide how you would like it cooked. The restaurant area is functional rather than luxurious.

Fish Bone, 82 Cleveland Street, W1 (020 7580 2672). Mon-Fri 11am-11pm, Sat
5-11pm. Large cod and chips, £7.90 eat-in, £6.90 takeaway.
Fish Bone is either a restaurant that thinks it is a fish and chipper or a chip shop that thinks it's a restaurant. Expect good classic fish and chips and a sprinkling of more restauranty options like sea bream, also various starters from the Greek restaurant tradition. Service is cheerful as befits a busy place.

Toff's, 38 Muswell Hill Broadway, N10 (020 8883 8656) Mon-Sat 11.30am-10pm. Large cod and chips, £10.95 eat-in, £6.70 takeaway.
The first Fish and Chip Shop of the Year competition in 1988 was won by Toff's, so there's no way it could be described as a newcomer. It does qualify as a boutique chippy, however because of the thoroughly modern attitude to fish. You can have plain grilled fish and even opt for boiled potatoes rather than chips. But if you do feel like proper fish and chips, this is one place where you can be sure they're up to scratch.

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