The fish and chip shop I grew up going to in south London fried everything in vegetable oil, and I did not think anything of it until a friend from Yorkshire told me that real fish and chips should be fried in beef dripping. I thought he was being provincial, the way people from specific regions always claim their version is the authentic one. Then I went to Poppies Fish and Chips in East London and ordered the cod, and the first bite told me he was right. The batter was crisper, with a slight richness and a faintly meaty savoriness that vegetable oil does not produce. The chips were the same, golden and fluffy inside with a firm exterior that held up to a splash of malt vinegar. I ate the whole thing sitting on a bench in Spitalfields Market and I have not been able to enjoy fish and chips fried in vegetable oil since.
Poppies is the most polished of the three shops I visited, with a retro interior designed to look like a traditional chippy from the 1950s, complete with tiled walls and formica tables. The fish is sourced daily from Billingsgate Market, and the batter is a simple mix of flour, baking powder, and beer, which produces a light, airy crust that shatters when you bite into it. The chips are thick-cut, fried twice in beef dripping, and seasoned with salt the moment they come out of the fryer. The cod was fresh, flaky, and mild, the batter providing most of the flavor along with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of vinegar. I also ordered the mushy peas, which came in a small tub and were exactly what mushy peas should be: dried marrowfat peas cooked until they break down into a thick, bright green paste, seasoned with salt and a little butter. Some people skip the mushy peas. Those people are making a mistake.
The second shop, The Golden Hind in Marylebone, is smaller and less tourist-facing than Poppies. It has been open since 1914, though the current owners took over in the 1960s, and the interior is plain: a counter, a few stools, and a narrow dining area at the back. The fish and chips here are also fried in beef dripping, and the batter is slightly thicker and more substantial than at Poppies, which I actually preferred. The thicker batter stays crisp longer, which matters if you are taking your food to go and eating it on a park bench in the cold. I ordered the haddock instead of cod this time, and the haddock had a slightly sweeter, more pronounced flavor that paired well with the richer batter. The chips were excellent, thick-cut and cooked through without being greasy. The owner told me they change their beef dripping every three days, which is more frequently than most shops, and the freshness of the fat makes a noticeable difference in the clean flavor of the fry.
The third shop, Kerbisher and Mallet in Hammersmith, was the only one of the three that offered a choice of frying medium. You could have your fish and chips fried in vegetable oil or in beef dripping, and the waiter told me that about sixty percent of customers choose the dripping. I chose it, obviously, and the result was good though not quite at the level of Poppies or the Golden Hind. The batter was lighter and more delicate, almost tempura-like, which I liked for the haddock I ordered, and the chips were thin-cut and very crisp. What set Kerbisher and Mallet apart was the selection of homemade sauces. Alongside the standard malt vinegar, they offered tartar sauce, aioli, and a curry sauce that was surprisingly good, thick and mildly spiced, closer to what you would get at a British chip shop in the 1970s than the sweet, gloppy curry sauce sold in most places now.
The thing about fish and chips in London is that it is easy to find a bad version and surprisingly difficult to find a truly great one. There are hundreds of chip shops, but many of them have switched to vegetable oil for cost and convenience reasons, and many more use frozen fish that has been battered and par-fried before it reaches the shop. The three places I visited all use fresh fish and beef dripping, and the difference is immediate. The batter crisper, the flavor richer, the whole thing more satisfying. If you are in London and want one proper fish and chip meal, go to the Golden Hind. It is not the prettiest shop or the most famous, but the fish is fresh, the dripping is clean, and the chips are exactly what chips should be. Bring cash, because they do not take cards. Order the haddock, ask for extra vinegar, and do not skip the mushy peas.
