The UK's top 20 fish and chip restaurants have been revealed today (Thursday 12 October) as part of the 30th anniversary National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish.
Shortlisted as semi-finalists for the Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year Award - one of 15 categories in the 2018 National Fish & Chip Awards - the 20 shops will now compete for a place in the final and the chance to clinch the title of 'UK's best fish and chip restaurant'.
Hailing from across the UK, the 20 restaurants in what are considered to be the 'Oscars' of the fish and chip industry are:
Catch Seafood, West Vale, Halifax, West Yorks (pictured)
Craft & Harbour, Ayr, South Ayrshire
Eric's Fish & Chips, Thornham, Norfolk
Fish 'n' Fritz, Weymouth, Dorset
Food In The Park, Blair Atholl, Perthshire
Longsands Fish Kitchen, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear
Poppie's Fish & Chips, Camden, London
Poppie's Fish & Chips, Soho, London
Tailend, Dundee, Angus
Tailend, St Andrews, Fife
The Atlantic, Portreath, Cornwall
The Cod's Scallops, Nottingham, Notts
The Fish Factory, Worthing, West Sussex
The Fishermans Wife, Whitby, North Yorks
The Pelican, Barnstaple, Devon
The Rembrandt Restaurant, Easton, Norwich, Norfolk
The Scallop Shell, Bath, Somerset
Trenchers Restaurant, Whitby, North Yorks
Upstairs At No1 Cromer, Cromer, Norfolk
Whitby's Fish & Chip Restaurant, Catcliffe, Rotherham, South Yorks
To reach this stage of the competition, the 20 restaurants have been assessed against a wide variety of judging criteria, including menu development and innovation, responsible sourcing policies, staff training and development processes and marketing and promotional activity.
Over the coming weeks, judges will make unannounced visits to respective restaurants to undertake mystery dining assessments. This next stage of competition judging will whittle down the shortlist and establish the top five fish and chip restaurants that will compete for the overall national title to be presented at the 30th anniversary awards ceremony.
The winner of the Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year Award will be announced at The National Fish & Chip Awards' 30th anniversary ceremony in London on 25 January 2018.
Seafish is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) set up by the Fisheries Act 1981 to improve efficiency and raise standards across the seafood industry.