Here’s why we can be more discerning about fish and chips

Fish and chips used to be an uncomplicated dish wrapped in newspaper and wolfed down in sunny weather. But now it’s so much more. We reel in the Harbour City’s very best.

Everyone loves an old-school fish and chip shop but some days call for something a little more refined.

Fish and chips used to be an uncomplicated dish wrapped in newspaper and wolfed down in sunny weather. But now it’s so much more. We reel in the Harbour City’s very best.

Fich

Petersham – fichpetersham.com

Fich.

We love an old-school fish and chip shop, a paper-wrapped bundle of vinegar-doused deep fried goodies tossed onto a lino-covered counter ready to go. But some days call for something a little more refined. Enter Fich, the Inner West fish shop that has Sydney chefs clamouring for a table. Equal parts chippy and fancy seafood diner, Fich is headed by Jose Silva (Bennelong), who dishes out the kind of quality fish you’d expect from such an experienced chef. For the full experience, pair your beer-battered ling with a monkfish shish, raw fish taco and the instantly infamous potato scallop – easily one of Sydney’s best.

3/98-106 Audley St, Petersham NSW

Fish Butchery

Waterloo – fishbutchery.com.au

Fish Butchery.

When it comes to fish in Sydney, there’s no bigger name than Josh Niland, the Saint Peter chef celebrated for his fin-to-gill approach to the treasures of the sea. Come the weekend, the doors of his fish production hub in Waterloo swing open to the public, Niland’s fish masters slinging top-notch cooked-to-order fish gathered from their network of fish-catchers around NSW. Pick up crisp-battered pink ling with perfect chips and a tangy yoghurt tartare, a cone of salt and pepperberry whitebait, a yellowfin tuna cheeseburger, a couple of swordfish empanadas and, while you’re there, some dry-aged fish to fry up for dinner.

965 Bourke St, Waterloo

Fish and Co.

Forest Lodge – fishandco.com.au

Fish and Co.

‘Sustainable’ has become a bit of a buzzword on the fish and chips scene, and while it’s great to see a widening focus on where our fish comes from and which species we should be eating, few have flown the sustainability flag higher or longer than Fish and Co. Though they may have relocated a few clicks from their Annandale digs to the Tramsheds precinct in 2015, nothing has changed about this dine-in and takeaway joint’s approach, sending out wild-caught and – yep – sustainable fish in rice bowls and burgers, on tacos and, of course, battered, crumbed or grilled to perfection and dispatched with hot, golden chips.

1 Dalgal Wy, Forest Lodge

Felon’s Brewing Co

Manly – felonsbrewingco.com.au

Felon’s Brewing Co.

Few things go better with fish and chips than a beer, which is probably why the dish has become such a pub classic. And while every beer hall worth its (chicken) salt slings their version of a battered fillet and chunky chips, few do it better than Manly’s former Wharf Bar, where Brisbane brewing outfit Felon’s took over things in late 2024. Former Rockpool chef Corey Costello runs the kitchen these days, coating the catch of the day in a suitably beery batter and sending it out with blonde-hued chips, chunky tartare and – presumably a nod to the English backpackers of Manly – a little mound of mushy peas.

E Esplanade, Manly

Sydney Fish Market

Pyrmont – sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Sydney Fish Market.

Sydney’s a town with no shortage of food highlights, but feasting on some just-cooked, market-fresh fish at the fish market has got to be one of the most iconic. Whether you’re keen on a slab of battered fish with a mountain of chips, or prefer a grilled lobster luxuriating on a pile of noodles, the folks at the Nicholas Seafood, Christie or Peter’s stalls will cook up your pick of the day’s catch however you like. Grab a beer from the neighbouring bottle shop, find a table outside and dig in while you watch the new fish market being built next door (due to open late 2025). Just watch out for those seagulls …

Corner Pyrmont Bridge Rd &, Bank St, Pyrmont