【烏丸御池校/桂校】Fish 'n' Chips
2026.11.04
The most famous British food is undoubtedly fish and chips. While I think there are far better, far more famous foods that come from the U.K., I want more people to taste authentic British fish and chips. This is a problem, however, since I think that real fish and chips can't be found in Japan. I will never forget getting my first fish and chips in Japan. It was at a British-style pub chain. The fried fish was small and cooked like tempura, the chips were unsalted and cooked in the oven. Even the tartar sauce was strange, tasting more like an ‘egg mayo’ than British tartar sauce. And most strange, they gave me chopsticks instead of a fork! I was in shock, I was horrified. I thought, “Is this what Japanese people think fish 'n' chips are!”
When I was a child, I actually didn't like fish and chips. However, I loved the fish and chip shop, or the ‘chippy’ as we call it. There is far more to buy at the chippy, than just fish. A childhood favourite of mine was the jumbo battered sausage with chips. Far bigger than any sausage I've seen in Japan, it was truly elephant-sized. So big that even one sausage is too big for a small child to eat. I could only have half. Up north from my hometown, in Scotland, there is something similar. The national food of Scotland, in jumbo sausage style, is the fried haggis and chips. Haggis is largely unknown in Japan, but I love it. Haggis is a sheep stomach, heart, liver and kidneys, diced up with oats and spices. Maybe that doesn't sound nice, but you should definitely try it. One food I can easily recommend is scampi, because scampi is just like shrimp tempura. Perhaps, scampi is the easiest food to recommend to Japanese people.
The image of fish and chips in Japan is very classical, but old-fashioned. Fish and chips are not served in newspapers now. It's too unhealthy, since the ink soaks into the fish, and newspapers aren't cheap anymore besides. Almost every regular chippy in the U.K. serves fish and chips in cardboard boxes with wooden knives and forks. Of course, there are no chopsticks! The average chippy is take-out only. On a Friday, or Saturday evening, the chippy is always busy with people who have driven to collect their chippy teas or fish and chip dinners. These days, fish and chips are more expensive, so people don't go as often as they would like to. However, for a weekend treat, the chippy is a good choice.
What may surprise many Japanese people is that fish and chips can sometimes be a nice, fancy, sit-in meal. Back in my hometown, we have the restaurant, Spanish City, which serves freshly caught fish that day. Originally built in 1910 as a concert hall, restaurant, roof garden and tearoom, it now serves luxury fish and chips alongside afternoon teas in a 1910's style restaurant on the ground floor. The place also has a bar and function room on the first floor above. Some may think, ‘what makes this place so special?’ Well, aside from the piano player who plays every weekend there's also an acoustic band to enjoy every weekday. Not to mention the wide selection of delicious desserts after dinner. Those that are still not enticed could even try something slightly ‘exotic.’ You can get a katsu curry at Spanish City chippy! That's right! At some of the nicest chippies in the U.K. there's something for everyone. Chippy classics like fish and chips, battered sausage and haggis, to more international dishes like Japanese katsu curry, Moroccan tagine or American burgers. So please, next time you think about fish and chips, remember what it means to a British person. It's not simply food for us; it's an important part of life in our country. I personally hope that this mainstay in my life, the U.K. style ‘fish 'n' chips,’ continues to advance in Japan.
