Fish and Chips to Take Down to the Water on a Warm Evening
The fish and chip shops and seafood counters across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne worth taking down to the water this summer.
Fish and chips should get eaten with your fingers, off butchers' paper, somewhere within sight of the water. That's the proper format: hot batter, a squeeze of lemon, and a seat on the sand or grass instead of a table and cutlery. Any chef can fry a piece of fish. Fewer places can send it out the door still crisp enough to survive the walk to your picnic spot.
Brisbane's Fosh comes from the family behind the beloved George's Paragon Seafood, serving fish caught and onto your cardboard plate within 24 hours. In Manly, the fish and chip shop at the wharf borrows its whole look from a 1930s milk bar that used to stand on the same site — checkerboard tiles, art deco lighting, and a burger on the menu named in its honour. Bottom of the Harbour has run the same counter in Mosman since 1989, still family-owned, still doing a fisherman's basket of prawn cutlets and calamari that hasn't changed in decades. And in Melbourne, Pipi's Kiosk — named for the shells that crunch along the beach it looks over — trades the usual flake and chips for salted cod croquettes and a pan-seared John Dory in Champagne cream. Presented by Honda ZR-V, the only thing left to sort is whose job it is to scare off the seagulls.
Read other guides in our A to Z with Honda ZR-V series:
Breakfasts That Make an Early Alarm Feel Completely Reasonable
Cheap Eats That Over-Deliver On Their Modest Price Tag
Espresso Bars and Specialty Coffee Roasters to Start Your Day Right
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RestaurantCerberus Beach House
212 Half Moon Bay, Black Rock
A converted boatshed overlooking Half Moon Bay, Cerberus fries everything in cholesterol-free oil, filtered daily, with flake and flathead both on offer.
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RestaurantPipis Kiosk
129a Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park
Named for the pipi shells crunching underfoot outside, this Albert Park kiosk hands beer-battered fish and chips straight through a beachside window.
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CafeBottom of the Harbour Seafoods
21 The Esplanade, Mosman
Open since 1989, Bottom of the Harbour sticks to sustainable fish only, best eaten on the sand looking out toward North Head.
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RestaurantFich At Petersham
98-106 Audley Street, Petersham
Since 2018, Fich has split itself in two: a takeaway counter for beer-battered ling and chips, and a restaurant for scallop tostadas.
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RestaurantManly Fish & Chips
East Esplanade, Manly
Checkerboard tiles and art deco lighting give Manly Fish & Chips a retro feel, serving beer-battered fish with tallow-fried chips.
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BarNorth Bondi Fish
120 Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi
Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan run this beachfront North Bondi room, its menu changing with whatever’s freshest that day.
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BarFosh Bar & Restaurant
39 Hercules Street, Hamilton
Fosh runs two venues in one at Portside Wharf, with Fosh Tails serving grilled or beer-battered fish at its own picnic tables.
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This guide was produced in partnership with Honda ZR-V. To learn more about the ultimate car for urban discovery, click here.