We had a visit from Blai’s mother last week and she was keen as usual to taste the best of what London had to offer. There was some serious pressure! One request from last time was fish and chips and thank you very much to everyone on Twitter who responded to my plea for the best fish and chips in London. It’s clear that there’s no consensus on the issue but one that did come up again and again was Masters Super Fish (Ibrahim of Will Eat For Money is a big fan) in Waterloo. Two Monday nights ago, we went there for dinner.

To my surprise, there was a Masters Super Fish and a Masters Chinese takeaway side by side! Only in London: the waitress was Chinese and the cook was Italian and the cuisine was English. The fish and chip restaurant itself looks like it hasn’t been touched in 30 years or so and the majority of the customers looked like regulars.

After we put in our orders, three plates with three boiled prawns each were brought to the table along with a basket of sliced baguette and butter pats. I wolfed down my prawns and then one of Blai’s prawns and then had to restrain myself from snarfling all the bread too – I was starving but the giant plates of food arriving at the other tables made me hold tight.

Prawns

Blai and his mother chose the cod…

Cod and Chips

… while I had the haddock. When your plates come, the waitress also comes over with large bowls of pickled cucumbers and pickled onions – I had one of each. It turns out I quite like pickled onions.

Haddock and Chips

We also had a side of mushy peas, our “greens” for the meal.

Mushy Peas

I loved that the sauces came in Chinese rice bowls! With so much tartar sauce, there was no need to ask for more.

Tartar Sauce and Ketchup

The fish was beautifully fried and very fresh. The chips were tasty with a good potato flavour but a little soggy, which was a little disappointing. Still, it’s a solid place for fish and chips. I’m keen to try all the other places that were recommended to me (The Golden Hind, Fryers Delight, Golden Union) but it’s going to take time – I don’t think I can handle fish and chips more than once a month! What’s your favourite fish and chip place?

Masters Super Fish
191 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8UX

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