Time to nominate your top chip shop

WE’RE on the hunt for the best fish and chip shop in South Wales – and we need your help to pick a winner.

This year the Echo is launching its first ever Chippy of the Year contest and we’re asking our readers to vote for who they think provides the best fish and chips in the region.

We want to hear about your favourites takeaway options in Cardiff and, outside the capital, we also want to hear about your favourite chip shops in the Valleys, Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend.

We’re also asking for fish and chip shops who think they’re worthy of the title to get in touch with us and tell us why they think they serve the best fish suppers in South Wales.

Paul Clough, owner of Younger’s Fish Bar, in Heath, Cardiff, said he thought the competition will be good way of promoting quality fish and chip shops.

He added: “There are so many fish and chip shops now in Cardiff and the market is becoming quite saturated and we’re at that point where only the best will survive. We have got a really good chance of winning the competition because we’re still the only fish and chip shop in South Wales that serves fresh cod and fresh hake every day.

“We won at the Echo’s Food and Drink awards and it would be massively motivating to the team to have another achievement like that. It vindicates all the hard work they put in throughout the year. They work extraordinarily hard and are very creative when it comes to menu options.”

Waseem Akhtar, owner of the popular Albany Fish Bar, in Albany Road, Cardiff, also thinks his chip shop – which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary – is in with a good chance of winning.

He said: “It’s a really good idea to promote the fish and chip shop trade in Cardiff, there are quite a lot of good shops in the city and we want to make sure they keep alive and running.

“Fish and chips is one of the cheapest and healthiest options compared to other takeaway foods and it’s our national tradition. Anything that promotes that is good news.

“Any shop which has continued traded for 50 years – and for 30 of those years in the same hands – means we’re doing something right and our customers are happy with what we’re providing.

“So, on that basis, I believe we have got a good chance of winning.”

Any fish and chip shops who want to take part in the competition should email stephanie.lake@trinitymirror.com between this Monday and midnight on Sunday, April 15.

They will then appear in a picture supplement which will be published on Monday, April 23. Readers will then vote on their favourites over the following two weeks. The top five chip shops with the most votes will be visited by judges who will sample their produce before making their decision.