It’s National Fish and Chip Day: Cornwall’s Top Rated Chippies

Few things say Cornwall like a hot bag of chips on a harbour wall, the vinegar soaking through the paper and a seagull weighing up its chances.

And today, Friday 5th June, is the day to enjoy exactly that. National Fish and Chip Day is the country’s biggest food celebration, now into its second decade, and there is nowhere better to mark it than here. So to get you in the mood, we have found where Cornwall rates its chippies highest, from Launceston down to Penzance and out to the far west. Pick your spot, grab your wallet and go.

A quick word on how we worked it out, because we know you will ask. These rankings come from Google star ratings, so this is the verdict of thousands of customers who have queued, eaten and rated, not one of ours. We counted only proper chip shops, left out the seafood restaurants and harbour pubs, and stuck to shops with at least 100 reviews so one glowing write-up could not tip the scales. The ratings were pulled this week.

Right, aprons on. Here is the list in order.

Cornwall’s top rated chip shops

1. Highlanes Fish & Chips, Hayle: 4.8 (595 reviews)
2. Heamoor Chip Shop, Penzance: 4.8 (117)
3. Greg & Lou’s, Redruth: 4.7 (663)
4. The Pirates Rest, Penzance: 4.7 (374)
5. Charlie’s Fish and Chips, Truro: 4.7 (345)
6. Chacewater Chippy, Chacewater: 4.7 (220)
7. Golden Fry, Bodmin: 4.7 (196)
8. Francine’s, Newquay: 4.6 (1,168)
9. Flounders, Newquay: 4.6 (1,001)
10. Seasmiths, Wadebridge: 4.6 (726)
11. Francine’s, Launceston: 4.6 (537)
12. Lewis, Newlyn: 4.6 (419)
13. Cousin Jack’s, Camborne: 4.6 (353)
14. The Gem, Falmouth: 4.6 (347)
15. Charlestown Fish Co, Charlestown: 4.6 (257)
16. Nettles, Helston: 4.6 (226)
17. The Coddy Shack, Looe: 4.5 (3,004)
18. Cousin Jacks, Redruth: 4.5 (634)
19. Francines, St Austell: 4.5 (505)
20. The Crispy Cod, Redruth: 4.5 (398)

The one wearing the crown

Plenty of places hit 4.8 or higher, but most do it on a handful of reviews. Highlanes in Hayle holds 4.8 across nearly 600, which is a much harder trick. Hold a near-perfect score over that many visits and you are getting it right day after day. On the numbers, it has the best claim to the Cornwall crown. Regulars rave about the cod cooked in beef dripping and chips that come out golden every time.

Greg & Lou’s in Redruth is right behind it, on 4.7 from more than 660 reviews, with fans who write essays about the double-battered chips.

The one everyone has already tried

If sheer popularity is your measure, The Coddy Shack near Looe stands alone. It holds 4.5 from more than 3,000 reviews, more than ten times what most chippies gather. Keeping four and a half stars across a crowd that size, summer after summer, takes some doing.

Where will you be heading?

Wherever you land, today is the day to do it. Eat in, carry it down to the beach or balance it on a harbour wall, but back your local chippy and treat yourself. Plenty of shops put on something for the day, so it is worth asking when you order. And one quick tip before you set off, check the opening hours, because a few of these only fire up the fryers on certain days.

One last thing. With more than sixty chippies in our data and plenty more besides, we have almost certainly left off somebody’s favourite. So tell us. Drop the name of the chippy you would back in the comments, and we will keep building the picture.