COD ALMIGHTY there are some ripper spots to grab fish and chips on the Gold Coast.
While everyone has a horror story or two, that’s all the more reason to get informed on the best spots for fish ‘n’ chips on the beach or a whole family chippie dinner.
Here are the top 10 on the Gold Coast as voted by you as part of our Best of the Gold Coast 2016 series.
MORE CHAPTERS IN THIS SERIES:
10. Benowa Gardens Seafood
Stockland Benowa Gardens, Ashmore Rd, Benowa
Ph: 5597 0555. Facebook page
Tucked away in Benowa Gardens Shopping Centre, this simple little seafood store delights passers-by as well as loyal locals. The team call themselves the hot and cold seafood specialists, with an exceptionally wide range of fresh seafood that you can bag up and take home to do what you will or have it cooked on-the-spot in store, ready to rip into.
9. Hooked and Cooked, Oxenford
15/100-106 Old Pacific Hwy, Oxenford
Ph: 5502 7483. www.hookedandcooked.com.au
Customers of Hooked and Cooked out at Oxenford always seem surprised that a landlocked suburb produces such outstanding ocean-orientated food. With a range of Australian-caught fish as well as favourites flown in from New Zealand, you’ll find a select range of fresh, seasonal seafood for the whole family.
8. Fishmonger, Burleigh Heads
9 James St, Burleigh Heads
Ph: 5535 2927. Facebook page
A longtime favourite in Burleigh Heads, there’s nowhere better to grab fish and chips for a day at the beach. Located on Burleigh’s bustling James Street, Fishmonger caters to picnicking groups and families, hungry surfers, passers-by and plenty of tourists. The vintage beachy memorabilia adorning the shop only adds to the old-school vibe — no matter how far we’ve come, good fish and chips will always have the same formula.
7. Peter’s Fish Market, Main Beach
120 SeaWorld Dr, Main Beach
Ph: 5591 7747. www.petersfish.com.au
If you’re wondering if Pete’s is really that good, how many other seafood shops do you know that need a security guard by the door to manage the crowds? During peak times, Pete’s is a chip on the beach and the people are the seagulls. With undoubtedly some of the fresh seafood on the Coast, Pete’s is worth waiting for. Whether you’re grabbing hot, freshly battered, crumbed or grilled fish and chips for a Spit session or grabbing fresh seafood for dinner, locals have been loving Pete’s for over 15 years.
6. Kiwi Fish n Chips, Broadbeach
2717 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach.
Ph: 55610523. Facebook page
Melissa and Tommy-Lee Doull decided their Broadbeach Kiwi Fish n Chips Broadbeach location would be aimed at the tourists to give them a taste of New Zealand in the heart of the Gold Coast.
“Broadbeach is definitely more of a tourist attraction, it’s got a real New Zealand theme,” Melissa said.
“We stock as many Kiwi products as we can — the fish and chips but also the chocolates, drinks, snacks — all the stuff we miss from home.”
With two successful locations on the Coast, Melissa said the trick to good fish and chips is care, attention and freshness.
“You’ve definitely got to make it with love, we don’t take the easy way out,” she said
“Everything is made to order and nothing’s pre-made so everything is better looking and better tasting.”
5. The Hangi Pit, Oxenford
7a/14 Studio Dr, Oxenford
Ph: 5502 7040. www.thehangipit.net.au
The family-owned and operated business has experienced a whirlwind ride since they opened in 2013, gaining a cult-like following addicted to their traditional New Zealand cooking style. According to the crew, Hangi means ‘earth oven’ and is a traditional method of cooking Maori food. While they can’t emulate this for their fish exactly, owners Nicky Bright and Kay Brooking have done their best to emulate these flavours creating fish and chips that make Kiwis miss home and Aussies convert.
4. Scales Seafoods, Tweed Heads
47 Kennedy Dr, Tweed Heads
Ph: 5536 6937. www.scalesseafood.com.au
Choose from fresh fish, prawns, crab, oysters, squid, octopus, mussels and more at Tweed Heads’ beloved Scales Seafood, most of which is caught by local trawlers. The team boast personal service and an expert knowledge in everything seafood, which means you can have them cook it for you instore, buy ready made fillets or have them fillet a whole fish on the spot. There won’t be any chips leftover, either, lightly fried and perfectly salted you’ll eat the lot.
3. Crisp Fish and Chips, Mudgeeraba
1a/193 Gemvale Rd, Mudgeeraba
Ph: 5530 7021. Facebook page
The team at Crisp Fish and Chips cook up moist, delicious fish with crispy chips and always generous servings. This unpretentious little gem even do an everyday special where you can grab fresh cooked fish and chips for $7.50.
If you’re curious about their opening hours, owner Tim said “We are open everyday from 11am until 7.30pm, barramundi when we are open from 4pm until 7.30pm
2. Kiwi Fish n Chips, Helensvale
14/112 Discovery Drive, Helensvale
Ph: 5733322. Facebook page
No, it’s not journalists getting things wrong, Kiwi Fish n Chips really do have two spots on the top ten list, with their second location in Helensvale nabbing number two.
Unlike many brands with multiple locations, Melissa and Tommy-Lee Doull have made their inland spot different to Broadbeach, with Helensvale being more local and family orientated.
Melissa says the different areas actually sell different fish.
“It’s surprising but the different areas actually move different fish — Helensvale has more Australian products and fish like hoki, snapper, terakihi” she said.
“It’s all flown over fresh from New Zealand so it’s never pre-battered and stuck in the freezer. “It’s all made ready to order so you might wait a little longer but it’s because we’re doing it right.”
The husband-wife duo are keen to keep up their momentum with more shops in the future purely because they love what they do.
“My first job was in a fish and chip shop, I’ve been doing it 10 years and I just love it,” Melissa said.
1. Great British Fryer, Helensvale
20 Siganto Drive, Helensvale
Ph: 5519 3897. Facebook page
Co-owner Tracy Corrigan was beyond blown away when she was informed of her win.
“I didn’t expect that at all, we didn’t even know we were in the running until three or four days ago, one of our customers messaged us to let us know,” she said.
That might be because this particular chippie has only been open for nine weeks as of yesterday.
Yes, this new cod on the block has been blowing customer’s minds with their British styled eatery, experiencing crowds at the door similar to preteens lining up for a Justin Bieber concert and surmounting over 1.5k likes on Facebook with no promotion.
Tracy said the inspiration for Great British Fryer is simply because the British do fish and chips the best in the world — North Atlantic cold water fish and “soggy” chips, soaked with salt and vinegar.
“The North Atlantic cold water fish just tastes better, we get heaps of compliments about it — especially the cod,” Tracy said.
“We lived in Scotland until we moved to New Zealand about 12 years ago and then to Australia about 3 years ago,” she said.
“Both of those places do wonderful fish and chips and when we moved to Australia we just missed them.”
When Tracy and Brian moved to Australia they opened a shop in Cleveland called ‘Flavours from Home’ and was dedicated to stocking everything people from overseas couldn’t find in Australia.
From this they realised they weren’t the only ones who missed things from home.
“When we opened Flavours from Home we had people travelling specifically from the Gold Coast and thought it would be a great idea to venture down there.
“Found that spot in Helensvale and thought it was the perfect location so we went for it.”
Despite not having a history in hospitality, Tracy and Brian have a natural knack for customer service, drawing inspiration from other businesses they admired and implementing simple, common sense procedures.
“We always ask ourselves ‘Would we be happy with it?’ and we also believe in constantly checking the food — every delivery of fish, every batch of chips,” Tracy said.
“That’s the best way to make sure everything is always delicious.”
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