Capalaba fish and chipper named best in the country

A family-owned cafe in the Redlands has beat hundreds of entries from across the country to be crowned Australia’s best fish and chips.

A suburban family-owned eatery in the Redlands has been awarded the title of best fish and chips in Australia, in a national competition that attracted more than 300,000 public votes.

Costa’s Seafood Cafe in Capalaba took out the 2021 Great Australian Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafood Industry Australia (SIA), bringing in more than 25,000 votes.

“We’re really, really excited about it. We’ve been working pretty hard so we’re pretty happy about it,” said Chris Tapinos, who runs the business with his parents Maria and Costa and brothers Jason and Michael.

The competition attracted the most votes in its history, with the public available to vote once a day for two months.

Mr Tapinos said the family was incredibly thankful to their loyal customers for the support and believed it was the business’s commitment to the best quality produce that made them a hit with diners.

“The fish, we always buy the best quality, if it’s not the best, we send it back,” he said.

“And our customers, they love the service and we give pretty generous portions and, of course, good food.”

A seafood platter from Costa's Seafood Cafe in Capalaba.

The shop serves an estimated 3000 serves of fish and chips a week, using mainly Australian and New Zealand seafood, with their biggest seller a $32 platter for two including four pieces of fish, four pieces of calamari, two sea scallops, two prawn cutlets, two seafood bites, one seafood stick, half a serve of chips, tartare sauce and salad.

Costa’s, which only opened three years ago, won the title of Queensland’s best fish and chips in the same competition in 2019, with Maria and Costa in the store daily from 4am to ensure everything is the best quality.