Fish and chips: the best in London, including a vegan version, and the dish’s Jewish (and French?) origins
- London owes its traditional fish and chips to Jewish immigrants to the East End, who introduced fried battered fish in the 19th century
- From Whitechapel to Herne Hill to Hackney, we try some of the best chippies in London, both classic and modern
Despite the arrival of Indian and Chinese takeaways, fried chicken shops, and the emergence of London as a bullishly self-confident “foodie” city, the British capital still has plenty of fish and chip shops.
As a lifelong devotee, I’ve decided to go in search of the best – and, in between stodgy, salt and vinegar-laden bites, find out more about its history, ingredients and place in British culture.
First, the history.
Whitechapel, which has been home to successive waves of immigrants over the past few centuries, is now the centre of Britain’s largest Bangladeshi community, but between the mid-19th century and the second world war, this was Jewish London.
That’s why fish and chips emerged here – or at least the fish part, which was bequeathed to Britain by Jewish immigrants. (The origin of chips is more opaque, but France seems most probable.) “Fried fish is indisputably Jewish,” Panikos Panayi, author of “Fish and Chips: A History,” tells me from his office at De Montfort University in Leicester.
