I never thought we’d find ourselves travelling all the way up to Knightsbridge for fish and chips, but we did, and it was really fabulous.

The Mayfair Chippy is an award-winning, quintessentially British restaurant, that’s perfected classic fish and chips and a lot of other dishes too. It’s just opened a second restaurant, this time in Knightsbridge and we went along to see what all the fuss was about.

Reader, this place takes fish and chips to a new level.

The Restaurant

Spread across two floors, The Mayfair Chippy Knightsbridge is a larger extension of the flagship Mayfair site, which has become known for its round-the-block queues.

The Knightsbridge restaurant is a great pit stop for museum tours or Christmas shopping sprees – as Harrods is but a stone’s throw away.

It’s a luxury fast-casual restaurant with an emphasis on great fish, chips, shellfish & British classic dishes.

The decor is stylish with lots of wood and tiled tables, yet despite the hard surfaces, the tables are well spaced out so noise isn’t a problem.

There is a Gin Bar, which, I noticed, stocks not just a few, but 15 different gins!

Our Meal

Needless to say I couldn’t resist a Negroni and my husband enjoyed a zero alcohol beer.

We started with a portion of Coronation Chicken Fritters and another of Battered King Prawns.

The fritters were very tasty and served with a mango and onion chutney. There were three of them and, with a side salad, would make a perfect light lunch.

The prawns…what can I say? I think the batter at The Mayfair Chippy is the lightest, non greasy, tastiest, fluffiest batter I’ve ever tasted. There were four fat prawns, piping hot and served with some salad leaves and a classic cocktail sauce.

For mains, my husband opted for classic fried cod with chips, mushy peas, tartar & chip shop curry sauce. (gluten free and alcohol free batter is available). The portion was incredibly generous and our lovely server, Kevin, had suggested we try the loaded chips (with truffle and Berkswell cheese no less), which, although delicious, were in fact, surplus to requirements.

I’d been tempted by the Lobster & Crayfish Roll, which I’d seen being served at a nearby table, so opted for that, plus a portion of Mayfair Slaw. My ‘roll’ was in fact a giant slice of brioche, split and toasted, packed with lobster, Marie Rose sauce, pickles and garlic mayonnaise, and served with chips.

Again, the batter was amazing and the fish cooked perfectly. The mushy peas were classic style and the tartar sauce homemade. It’s served in a paper lined metal basket, which looked impressive, but wasn’t that easy to negotiate without having soggy paper that would allow sauces to soak through the basket.

My roll was stupendous, but there was a lot of brioche and a generous portion of piping hot chips, so I felt rather remorseful not being able to manage it all.

The slaw was lovely – American style, without any mayonnaise, just a light oil and vinegar dressing.

I enjoyed a glass of English wine: Balfour Leslie’s Sparkling rosé, a new one to me and it paired well with my main.

My husband surprised me by having enough room to enjoy a generous portion of Apple & Blackberry Crumble with custard and hazelnuts, which was declared fabulous. I chose a selection of Hackney Gelato, which was the perfect end to a really good meal.