We’re going to go on record and say that pretty much the one thing you can’t get in London are proper fish & chip shop chips. Anyone who’s ever been to a proper seaside chippy will know that to be the truth. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have great chips in this city. From crispy frites to chunky chips, served unadorned or loaded with delights, here are our current favourites.
Classic chips and fries
Cloth
City of London - 44 Cloth Fair, London EC1A 7JQ
Tucked away down a gorgeously atmospheric street off Smithfield, Cloth is serving up some of London’s most memorable fries right now. On our visit they arrived dusted with espelette pepper and we found them ‘gloriously crunchy’ a state we immediately compromised by dunking them in the gravy that came with our steak.
Henri
Covent Garden - 14 - 15 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8QH
Jackson Boxer’s love letter to the Parisian bistro in London includes a bowl of duck fat fries that every London food obsessive needs to try. First, there’s the size of the bowl. It’s a big serving and you’ll think that you can’t finish it. Mere minutes later you’ll be looking around for the chip thief who appears to have devoured them without you noticing. That culprit is you.
Toklas
Temple - 1 Surrey Street, London WC2R 2ND
Chip shop purists will want to make a pilgrimage to Toklas where their world-class chips feature both chunky chips and chip shards, those crunchy pieces that you normally find at the bottom of a really good bag of chips. They’re served with a homemade aioli on the side for chip nirvana.
Tollington’s
Finsbury Park - 172 Tollington Park, London N4 3AJ
If you’ve braved the crowds at North London’s hottest new opening, Tollington’s, you should celebrate getting a seat here by ordering an ice-cold caña and a plate of their amazing chips bravas. They come covered with bravas sauce and a punchy aioli and you’ll probably kick yourself if you don’t order twice as much as you think you’ll need.
The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW
Nothing The Devonshire pub serves up is amazing by chance. Their duck fat chips are peeled and cut by hand, rinsed, simmered until falling apart and then put in a blast chiller to steam dry. Then there’s a first fry, another stint in the blast chiller, followed by a second fry. All that effort more than pays off by delivering a bowl of chips that stands up to anything else on the menu here.
Quo Vadis
Soho - 26-29 Dean Street, London, W1D 3LL
Chef Jeremy Lee’s pommes frites at Quo Vadis are delightful - thin, crispy and the perfect accompaniment either to one of the stellar cocktails in the bar, or as an accompaniment to one of Lee’s great always-on pies.
Loaded chips and fries
For those of you who like to pimp their chips, piling them high with toppings, sauces, gravy and more…
Llama Inn
Shoreditch - 1 Willow St, London EC2A 4BH
Up on the rooftop of The Hoxton in Shoreditch, the must-have sharing dish to order is the lomo saltado - a Peruvian classic of strips of steak, fries, avocado and pickled jalapeno served up with a further two carb options of rice and scallion pancakes.
Funky chips
Camden - The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Rd, Chalk Farm, London NW1 8AH
Viral street food sensation Funky Chips are almost as well known for their epic queues at Camden Market as the chips themselves - go early or be prepared to wait. Of all their options the masala chips are probably the best ones to go for. First, they’re coated with a blend of spices herb and garlic, then covered with grated cheese, jalapeños, and sriracha. The final flourish is a generous dousing with a creamy Ottoman sauce.
The Frenchie
Canopy Market and Broadway Market
If The Frenchie’s duck fat raclette chips aren’t in your regular carb rotation are you really a chip fan at all? The street food folks hand chip them before they’re double-fried before being drizzled with a blend of duck fat and beef dripping that is infused with smoked paprika "and one other secret spice that we won’t disclose". The chips are then loaded with duck and your choice of melted cheese (we’d strongly urge you to choose the raclette).
Burger & Beyond
Borough, Shoreditch, Soho
This is as close to poutine heaven as you’re going to find in London. The fries at Burger & Beyond come topped with cheese curds and then loads of bone marrow gravy. What you end up with is a bowl of messy, stretchy carbs that’ll warm the cockles of any chip lover’s soul.
Special mentions
Dovetale
Mayfair - 1 Dover Yard at 1 Hotel Mayfair, London W1J 8DJ
Admittedly the beef fat chips at Dovetale aren’t available on their own and you have to order them as part of the starter of carpaccio of English Wagyu "Harry's Bar". But what’s a little extra wafer-thin beef among friends? Our tip, load up each fry with a layer of the wagyu for a fully luxe chip experience.
Duke of Richmond
Dalston - 316 Queensbridge Road, Hackney, London E8 3NH
This Hackney pub has served up a Cornish crab chip butty since Day 1 and there’s a reason why it’s never off the menu; there’d be an East London revolt if it wasn’t available. The bun is made in house, toasted and then loaded with chips held together with crab mayonnaise. It’s served with pickles and sachets of Heinz malt vinegar. Heaven.
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