Fraser’s Fish and Chips on the West Promenade in Penzance are a former National Fish and Chips award winner. They have been here since 2016 and hail from the award winning Harbour Lights in Falmouth. This all sounds like excellent fish and chips provenance to me and a prime reason why we sought them out for our Chippy Tea when we visited the town

In there own words;

“We major in amazing fish and top notch chips. Some say fish & chips fanatics… We think connoisseurs or passionate and a little obsessed. It’s all about the ingredients and we use the best. Fish & Chips Done Proper.”

“We’re all about celebration. Whether your a loyal local or a first-time visitor, we look forward to welcoming you and celebrating the best double act in history. We source quality local Cornish ingredients wherever possible, and we are proud of doing so. We think you can taste the difference. Eat in with a view of Mounts Bay or take out walking along the prom, with your favourite traditional fish and chips serve how you like them. Battered, grilled with chips or salad or even a bit of both, we are happy to oblige.“

I had already seen the menu online and while the thought of line caught Haddock, and Cod are always my mainstays with my Fish and Chip supper, today I had my eyes elsewhere.

I had read that they had a local Fish of the Day and also Cornish Hake locally sourced. It was that which I so desired on this occasion.

CORNISH HAKE, CHIPS & MUSHY PEAS

This Fish and Chips tray was a bit of a mixed bag, I was underwhelmed by the portion size of my Hake especially as it was £10.20, it looked more like a small portion.

Positives were that the batter was done really nicely, it was well coated all over, well crisped and slight chewy just as I like. Inside the actual Hake Fillet was lovely, moist, juicy, firm white flesh, with the fish just falling apart properly into flakes as you cut in with your wooden fork.

I wasn’t that keen on the chips*, some were ok, but there was lot of dried overcooked ones and considering how busy the place was I expecting perfect big thick fluffy ones straight from the fryer all nice and plump for my delectation.

(*edit: I later re-read the menu which described the chips as ‘Our double cooked famous chips. Crunchy on the outside fluffy on the inside’. note: still not keen)

The mushy peas were a fair portion, the pot was about a third of the size of the chip tray so really quite generous really. They were quite creamy and had a good taste, perhaps I could have added a bit of salt and vinegar to lift them up a bit to perfection.

All in all it was a decent Fish and Chip supper, perhaps all the talk of award winning and the such like had elevated our expectations. In the end you can’t complain about an opportunity to eat your meal on the Promenade in sight of the sea looking out over Mounts Bay!

For the record I had read afterwards mixed reviews about this Chippy, some had also commented about the ragged chips and some about the high prices. I am not sure all the moans about the cost are fair considering that they offer a deal of Haddock, Chips and a Side for £12.50 which in this day and age is more than reasonable

I also have to comment on how busy the place was. There were people crammed inside and waiting outside where those who had already ordered had spilled out onto the street mostly all locals and all that we spoke to said it was really good and popular

Fraser’s Fish and Chips are located on the Western Promenade in Penzance in Cornwall. They seemed to be nearer to Newlyn than the middle of Penzance, but what do I know it all seems to merge into one I do know it was a long walk up and down the hill!

You can check them out on their website, Facebook page and Instagram profile