Leeds chip shop among Britain's top 10 takeaways in National Fish & Chip Awards 2026
Britain’s official top 10 takeaway fish and chip shops for 2026 have been revealed — including a standout in a Leeds village.
The shortlist for The National Fish & Chip Awards 2026 best chippy takeaways is in - and they span the length and breadth of the UK.
Yorkshire boasts the most nominations for having the best fish supper with four, including The Fish Bank in Sherburn-in-Elmet, followed closely by Scotland with two.
The country’s capital, London, as well as Oxford, Essex, and Durham have one each between them.
The National Fish & Chip Awards is the UK’s official competition rewarding excellence within the fish and chip industry since 1988.
There are 14 categories, including the coveted Takeaway of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year and the all-new Menu Innovation award.
According to the organisers they created by the industry for the industry and are widely regarded as the cornerstone event for the fish and chip sector.
And the awards acknowledge and honour the outstanding businesses and individuals serving up this most beloved British dish.
Every year, hundreds of entries are submitted by hopeful chip shop owners, and a panel of fish frying experts, who are at the top of their game, are tasked with selecting an initial top 40.
According to the organisers, the panel devise the industry’s most rigorous judging process to ensure the sector is consistently achieving the highest standards.
Entries ticked a number of boxes including, skill, taste, operational and environmental sustainability, product quality, training and development, as well as customer service.
The judges then perform interviews and assessments to whittle it down to the top 10.
Then 'mystery visits' take place to decide the overall winner.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), which runs the awards says: "Each category of the National Fish & Chip Awards has been carefully designed to recognise and celebrate the skill, dedication and expertise of the incredible talents running successful fish and chip shops.
"Our judging process is robust and comprehensive covering operational and environmental sustainability, product quality, training and development, customer service and more.
“Finalists are assessed through interviews, skills tasks and anonymous taste tests to ensure gold standards are being upheld.
"There’s a lot of hard work and precision craftsmanship that goes into exceptional fish and chips and the lineup of 2026 finalists represent the very best in the industry.
"We are looking forward to celebrating all the incredible people and independent fish and chip businesses at the heart of our local communities, recognising their determination to deliver the most delicious portions of fish and chips to customers the only way they know how.
"So, we ask everyone to please continue supporting their local chippy and help keep the legacy of the iconic dish thriving for generations to come.”
The prestigious event - which is now in its 38th year - will take place on Wednesday, 25 February at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London.
National Fish & Chip Award 2026 finalists: https://thefishandchipawards.com/national-fish-chip-awards-2026-category-finalists/
Full list:
- Bells Fish and Chips (Framwellgate), Durham
- The Fish Inn, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
- Brockley’s Rock, Brockley, London
- Harrison’s Fish & Chip Co., Oxford
- Mister C’s, Selby, Yorkshire
- Shaws Fish and Chips, Barnsley, Yorkshire
- The Fish Bank, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Yorkshire
- The Scrap Box, York, North Yorkshire
- Garioch Fish Bar, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- The Fish Works, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland