Chippy Takeaway · Battered Fish

Fish and Chips

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At its peak in the 1930s, Britain had more than 35,000 fish and chip shops — roughly one for every 1,300 people in the country.

Battered fish, deep-fried, served with thick-cut chips — the definitive British takeaway, sold from 'chip shops' and eaten from paper on the street or a bench, usually doused in salt and vinegar.

Why it's made this way: It grew out of two separate immigrant food traditions — fried fish, brought over by Jewish immigrants, and fried potatoes — that merged into shops selling both together from the 1860s onward; it became so central to morale that it stayed off the ration list during both World Wars.