National Fish and Chip Day: We tried Luton’s top-rated fish and chips shops as recommended by you

To mark National Fish and Chip Day today (June 2), Luton News tried some of the chip shops most recommended by our readers.

First up was Luton Fish Bar on Hitchin Road. It was clearly a popular takeaway as even at 12.30pm, there were delivery orders being placed. With no eat-in facilities, Natalie and I chose a bus stop to tuck into our meal.

The cod and chips was £8.98, with sauces at an extra 50p. The chips were more pale than I was used to, but don’t let looks be deceiving - they were salty and had a good texture.

The fish was evenly battered and had a great crunch. My favourite part was the fresh and thick chunk of cod we had. Natalie, who is partial to a chicken nugget or sausage, said: “This makes me want to get fish and chips more.”

And that is exactly what we did. We travelled to the highly-recommended The Wigmore for our second meal of the afternoon. This award-winning chippy had a lot to offer, from scampi and calamari to Tango Ice Blasts. We were greeted by Christina and Bobby and after waiting for our order, ate it on a bench.

In Natalie’s opinion, the batter was too soggy as the vinegar was poured onto the fish instead of the chips underneath - something that could be fixed next time if we asked. The fish was flatter but bigger than the first portion of the day and could easily feed two people, which it did. The fish tasted fishier than Luton Fish Bar’s which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

At £9.50 for cod and chips, this was the priciest meal we enjoyed. Despite the drawbacks, the food was hot and tasty and would satisfy any chip shop craving you had. While the fish wasn’t as flaky as we’d have hoped, there was no fish skin and it was presented very nicely.

Over in sunny Bushmead, we had our final load of chips of the day. Owner of Bushmead Fish Bar, Gurveer Kaur was chatty and friendly and took our final order. She said: “We cook on order so you can taste the difference.” Just under ten minutes later, we were treated to a sizeable piece of cod on a bed of chips for £8.15. This time I did the vinegar and salt myself so as to not get anything too wet before we sat on the chairs inside the shop.

The chips, although slightly softer than I would have liked, were fluffy inside and the piece of cod was long and chunky. The nice, thin batter was greasier than what we had experienced earlier in the day, but that didn’t make much of a difference other than more wiping of my fingers. The fish melted in my mouth and despite being ‘fish and chipped’ out, I really enjoyed our last portion which was very much value for money.

Overall, we enjoyed three great meals all with their own spin on the great British classic. All three takeaways had increased their prices at the start of the year to reflect to increased cost of living, energy bills and price of ingredients.