We put Cardiff’s two famous chip shops to the ultimate test
CARDIFF City v Swansea City, Ospreys v Scarlets, Wales v England.
Of course these Welsh rivalries are big – but none are on the same scale as Dorothy’s v Tony’s.
When it comes to Cardiff city-centre late-night takeaways, people’s loyalties tend to fall between Caroline Street’s two most iconic destinations.
Amazingly, both of these venues were established in 1953 so they’ve been serving chips and gravy, rissoles and sausages and batter to drunken revellers for almost 70 years.
With rivalry this fierce, we decided to pit them against each other head to head. And what better way to decide the champion than by ordering their signature dish – chicken curry off the bone and chips?
Slightly lacking in authenticity, I visited both venues on a Friday lunchtime and was entirely sober.
However, here are my thoughts on the two.
Dorothy’s
■ The venue – With its wood-panelling, metal counter and brown and yellow colour scheme, Dorothy’s has a heritage feel. It’s the kind of place that looks like it could have been serving deep-fried goods for over 70 years.
I also like that they celebrate their house speciality on the window with some stickers. Dorothy’s proudly proclaims that they were the first business in Cardiff city centre to start selling chicken curry more than 40 years ago and their recipe remains unchanged. It certainly reassures you that they know what they’re doing.
■ The price – £6
■ The wait – Despite there being someone ahead of me in the queue when I walked in, I was served almost immediately and my lunch was ready in a matter of minutes. A couple of people were also sitting down enjoying their own portions of chicken curry off the bone and chips, which was good to see.
■ The chicken – Plentiful tender chicken was served off the bone as described. I didn’t encounter a single piece of gristle or bone.
■ The curry sauce – I can see how the recipe for this curry sauce dates back more than 40 years, but I mean that in a positive way. It was almost like a gravy meets curry sauce hybrid with a good meatiness and delicate warming spice. It also had an ideal thickness so it sank through the meat and coated all the chips.
■ The chips – A really good quantity of chip shop-style chips. They were all a nice shade of brown and weren’t soggy. Neither were they crisp but that’s not
the kind of thing I expect from a chip shop chip.
Tony’s Fish Bar
■ The venue – In contrast to Dorothy’s traditional look and feel, Tony’s has turned its back on its traditional white and red painted sign in favour of a snazzy new electric logo. It gives the impression that this is a venue serving 21st-century chicken curry off the bone and chips.
The interior is much more busy and colourful than Dorothy’s, with visual menus advertising the range of fish and chips and kebabs on offer.
The price – £5.40, so it’s a little bit cheaper than Dorothy’s but 60p isn’t a
deal-breaker for me.
The wait – When I arrived at Tony’s, I was the only one there but someone arrived soon after. My order was prepared on the spot and I was out of the door in minutes.
The chicken – Once again, this was a generous quantity of boneless meat and it was enjoyably tender.
The curry sauce – This was much more of a curry house style sauce with a more assertive and slightly harsher spicing and a bit more fruitiness. It was also much thicker so it sat on top of the meat and chips rather than coating everything.
The chips – Tony’s portion was also plentiful and hit the mark for a chip shop style chip. There was also the occasional bonus crispy bit.
The final verdict
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed both portions of chicken curry off the bone and chips from Dorothy’s and Tony’s. The chips and chicken from both venues were very good.
But Dorothy’s was the clear winner for me and it was purely down to the curry sauce. I really enjoyed its meaty mild spicing and it’s clearly a recipe which has been well-honed over the decades.
So that’s Wales’ greatest rivalry settled once and for all – or is it?