There’s nothing better than good old fashioned English fish and chips by the sea! And as it was such a beautiful day, we decided to do just that!
We had just been to Maroubra and stopped in Randwick where we stumbled across The Traditional Chip Shop. We have been to this chain before in Bondi and decided it would be rude not to check out this one in Randwick.
The Traditional Chip Shop, unlike other fish and chip shops in Sydney, serves North Atlantic Cod, Haddock and Scampi. I love cod and haddock and really do miss not being able to have it in Australia, but today I had massive cravings for a Jumbo Battered Sausage ($5.95) and we shared a regular portion of chips ($5.00). As well as serving cod and haddock, The Traditional Chip Shop also serves barramundi, salmon, calamari and battered prawns.
If you don’t fancy fish then The Traditional Chip Shop serves succulent fried chicken as well as a wide range of handmade pies including chicken and mushroom, steak and kidney, chunky steak and Guinness, and even Cornish Pasties!
There are also a selection of mouth-watering burgers to try out including the fish fillet burger and fishcake burger, although I did wonder what the Whirly Burger was?!
Now if you thought you’d just have some standards chips, then you might want to reconsider that as chips are served in a multitude of ways here. I could immediately smell the curry chips, but you could also order gravy chips, taco chips, cheesy chips, curry cheese chips, coleslaw chips, baked bean chips and even mushy pea chips…and that’s just some of the options!
Even though I’m English, I’m not a fan of mushy peas – in fact I can’t stand them (it’s definitely a Northern English thing and I’m a southerner though and through!); however for those that do love mushy peas, The Traditional Chip Shop has this on the menu too!
For even more English traditions though you can order your favourites and oddities such as onion rings, potato scallops, Deep Fried British Mars Bar, or even pickled eggs, pickled onions and pickled cockles. They sure love their pickles here!
Now for drinks! You can’t go to The Traditional Chip Shop and not grab a can of those English classic drinks! Forget the coke, it’s all about the Shandy Bass in my case or the DnB for my boyfriend. You could spoil yourself with other favourites such as Irn Bru, Dr Pepper, Vimto, Cream Soda or Lilt!
It was pretty quiet when we arrived, and it took about 10-15 minutes for our food to be ready. The Traditional Chip Shop in Randwick looks pretty new with high stools positioned opposite the counters overlooking the street, whilst inside the main restaurant is large with plenty of table seating and bright and airy.
It can get quite pricey ordering food here at The Traditional Chip Shop, but they do daily specials as well as lunch specials. Why not grab cod, mushy peas and chips for $20 or Calamari and Chips for $11.95.
We had our chips, potato scallop and battered sausage to take away and made sure there was plenty of vinegar and some salt. Annoyingly, if you want sauce, you have to purchase this separately, but if you eat in then this is all made available for you at each table.
The battered sausage was just what I expected; wonderfully crispy on the outside and juicy inside. It was a good portion size too and well worth the money. The chips reminded me of home and the regular size was enough for two and extremely moreish. Cooked in the traditional English fish and chip shop way, these are how chips should be; crispy and not too mushy, washed down with some Shandy Bass!
Overall, The Traditional Chip Shop serves a fantastic array of English authentic food. The chips are a must as are the battered sausages. It’s a great place to come if you’re missing traditional English food, but I wouldn’t come here too often as it does get a bit pricey, especially if you order cod or haddock priced at $14.95 and $15.95 respectively and that’s just for the fish.
If you care about the fish that you are eating (and you should) then The Traditional Chip Shop uses cod and haddock fished from sustainable stocks from waters in and around the North Atlantic. The fish is frozen and packed on board the ships within 5 hours of being caught ensuring that is of the freshest and highest quality. The fish is FASA supplied (Frozen at Sea Fillets Association), which also supplies sea fillets to more than 80% of UK fish and chip shops as well as to The Traditional Chip Shop here in Australia.
The Traditional Chip Shop currently has three locations, at Bondi Junction, Randwick and Bondi Beach and I can’t wait to try some more fish and chips over the upcoming summer months!