Plus five shops challenging the status quo, from Korean-influenced fish and chips to
a fishmonger with serious fine dining pedigree.
Fish and chips is synonymous with Good Friday, even if this Friday is, ironically, a less-than-ideal day to finally give that local fish and chipper a spin.
(Not that you should let the madness of the long weekend stop you from supporting small businesses. The smart play is to pre-order ahead of Friday or order early on the day. Otherwise, be prepared to wait during peak hours. And always be kind and patient when ordering and waiting for your food. Good Friday is the busiest day of the year for suburban fish fryers.)
It is permissible, of course, to eat fish and chips outside of Easter. Like anyone that appreciates fried potato and crisp and juicy seafood, any Friday – or day – that I get to enjoy fish and chips is a good one. And while I’m thankful that most pubs serve some sort of riff on the dish, fish and chips eaten at a dedicated fish and chippers hits different.
The maritime set-dressing. The calming perfume of malt vinegar. The newspaper
clippings in the window and the colouring-in on the walls. The sensory, nostalgic
pleasures of walking into a fish and chipper is as integral to the experience as the
uncertainty and mild FOMO one gets when considering the menu. Fish and chips is not a meal to be ordered via delivery apps.
Just as the deliciousness of a pizza is influenced by the end user’s proximity to the pizza oven in question, eaters tend to carry torches for neighbourhood fish and chippers.
But beyond the convenience of being able to make the one stop to buy dinner and pick up a carton of milk on the way home, local fish and chip shops tend to be invested in their communities. The gig posters in the window. The sense that
you’ll bump into someone you’ll know, if not in the shop itself, then at least in the shopping centre that it’s bunkered down in.
Fish and chippers also have a habit of employing the teenage kids of people-you-
know. Kirsty Marchant, co-owner of Busselton’s Alberta’s and the one-time head
gardener at Copenhagen fine-diner Noma, got her introduction to hospitality at age 15 via her local fish and chip shop in Perth’s northern suburbs. Hers is not an
isolated story.
It goes without saying that in these uncertain times, stomachs and hearts alike crave the reassurance of familiar foodstuffs a la squid rings, mushy peas and potato cakes. Affordability also matters. A “small fish and chips” is often enough to sate a single diner. Although designed for four, most “family packs” feature enough food to feed a basketball team, bench warmers included.
Finally, and perhaps this is the immigrant in me typing, I also appreciate the latent, roll-up-your-sleeves opportunity that every fish and chipper – or lunch bar, or bakery, or indeed any small hospitality business – presents. In some instances, what started as a side hustle supplementing snapper and minimum chips eventually became the owners’ front hustle.
This was certainly the case for Nedlands’ impossible-to-book Marumo: the Japanese omakase restaurant that began life as a Leeming fish-and- chip shop.
Is a similar Cinderella story brewing at one of the following? I don’t know. But what I will say is that each of these suburban fish-and-chippers is doing something that pushes the genre forward while proving – not for the first time – that a local business can absolutely be a destination for others.
Happy hunting, friends. And please: drive and chew slowly this Easter.
Fins Bicton, Bicton
You can’t make great fish and chips without great fish. So it stands to reason that
Perth’s better fishmongers are where you’ll find some of the city’s better fish and chip options. (We see you, Kailis Brothers Leederville.) What Fins Bicton has that others don’t, however, is Seth James: a talented chef that won all the awards during his fine-dining era. Through the combination of assured technique, imaginative thinking and A1 seafood, our man has put an upmarket spin on the classics while also introducing tuna cheeseburgers and snapper ceviche to the fish-and-chip lexicon.
Special Delivery, Doubleview
Also from the department of fine-dining influenced fish and chips comes Special
Delivery: a two-night-a-week kitchen takeover helmed by Anisha Halik (opening
manager at Sealanes) and Jacob D’Vauz (Rockpool, Madalena’s) at the Doubleview Bowling Club. While the menu features a fluid line-up of tweaked Aussie and Asian classics, the fish and chips is a permanent item. Whether you go battered-and-fried or charcoal grilled, expertly handled seafood from Fins and good times are both givens.
Jinny & Co, Myaree
Tucked away in Myaree Village, this bijou eatery’s claim to fame is the Korean-
influenced menu that sits alongside the usual fish shop suspects: think Korean-style fried chicken, the country’s popular shaved ice dessert bingsu, plus other creations successfully unifying east and west. Great fish tacos, for one, star chipotle mayo, finely shredded cabbage, powdered parmesan and fried fish cradled in flour tortillas.
The Pickled Octopus, South Fremantle
A changing line-up of local seafood plus a picturesque location on South Fremantle’s dog beach equals an irresistible USP for these self-proclaimed “mobile grilled seafood slingers”. The Pickled Octopus might also be the only place in Perth slinging broodje haring: Holland’s famous rolls packing pickled herring, onions and pickles. A mustardy grilled whiting roll is another of the van’s fish-betwixt-bread options.
Peaceful Bay Fish and Chips, Peaceful Bay
According to the internet, this is the number one restaurant in Peaceful Bay. It’s also the only restaurant in the remote, double-digit-population town that’s an hour by car from Denmark on the state’s south coast. Still, Katrina and Ryan Phillips’ restaurant – it’s attached to the caravan park – would be a hit anywhere on account of the local fish that they catch, clean, fry and serve to guests. A day-trip worth considering for your next (Taste) Great Southern itinerary.
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Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.
