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A review of the Mayfair Chippy, the poshest fish & chips in Town.
Review time & we review the Mayfair Chippy, the poshest fish & chips in town.
Fish & chips are one of Britain’s favourite foods, so today we see if the Mayfair Chippy can live up to its billing. Today, I’m joined by my better half, Mrs Mayfairfoodie.
I must admit I’m excited & been looking forward to today as it’s been on my wish list to eat at the Mayfair Chippy for ages however, there is a slight amount of trepidation in me as we make our way to Mayfair.
So why the trepidation? Fish & Chips are probably the easiest dishes to review; they are either good or bad, and there is no middle ground. Most Brits will agree with me on that; I have had lots of good fish & chips in my time, and unfortunately, some that I’ve had that fall in a bad category.
As with all classic dishes, there is no hiding place in terms of quality. For those of you who are new to traditional British fish and chips, it is a British institution; in Britain, there are thousands of fish & chip shops, all serving fish in batter with chips.
The Mayfair Foodie co-founders Jamie Jones & Pete Taylor set up this quintessentially British restaurant in Mayfair with a nod to their Northern background.
As much as it pains me, I have to admit good fish & chips do usually have roots in the North (however, there are many good exceptions to this rule).
So the scene is set-lets see how the Mayfair Chippy faired;
1 Location
Location-wise, you can not get any posher, the Mayfair Chippy in North Audley Street, number 14. Walk 2 minutes south & you are in Grosvenor Square & 2 minutes North, you are on Oxford Street. Bond Street station is less than 5 minutes away. This is Mayfair Heartland. The Mayfair Chippy is next door to the old St Mary’s church, now Mayfair Mercato, on North Audley Street. There are plenty of good restaurant choices in the area.
As we were walking up to the restaurant, we saw what looked to be a crowd of people outside; on closer inspection, it turned out to be the queue for walk-ins to the Mayfair Chippy; fortunately, we had a reservation. I’m sure you will agree queues outside are a promising sign for any restaurant.
2 Restaurant
Once we made our way past the crowds queueing, we were shown to our table; the tables are compact & cosy, just like a classic chip shop of yesteryear. With a lovely chequered tile floor, I was relieved to find, however posh it still retained its identity as a traditional chip shop. On the walls, a fine selection of fish prints. Quite rightly no white tablecloths & silver service here.
Yes, there is not a lot of space between tables, but that adds to the charm; we struck up conversations with neighbouring tables (a couple from New Jersey & mother & daughter from Bergan in Norway) who were both looking for that classic fish & chip experience. At lunchtime, the clientele was a mix of locals and tourists, a great spot for a business lunch or catching up with friends.
Menu aside, one other big difference to your standard fish & chip restaurant was that the Mayfair Chippy has an extensive wine & drinks menu, headed up with a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck, Champagne, a large selection of wines, beers & a very impressive gin menu, this is no ordinary chippy.
Food & menu
A glance at the Mayfair Chippy menu, and you can see this is no ordinary chippy; starters include Doreen black pudding fritters, salt & pepper squid, and Heritage Beetroot salad.
For the mains, apart from classic fish & chips, they have a selection of grilled fish (catch of the day), Shepherds Pie, mussels, crab & oysters. Also on the menu is a classic Vegan fish & chips.
The one item that did make me smile on the extras was a “battered Wally”, which is a whole pickled gherkin cooked in batter; I would love to hear what the many overseas visitors to the restaurant would make of this traditional British side order.
4 Review
So, onto the review: Mrs Mayfair Foodie (Leigh) went for the battered Prawns with the classic cocktail sauce & I had the Kedgeree Scotch egg with curry mayo.
At this point, I should mention that the waiters are very happy for you to share any dish if fact, they suggest it & will bring over an extra plate for the review. We always share, but it’s good to know & I saw many diners sharing a dish.
The prawns were plump & juicy, and the batter was light, which is good news as sometimes battered prawns can be all batter and very little prawn. The classic cocktail sauce sat at the bottom of the dish & provided a great refreshing dip for the prawns. My scotch egg was cooked to perfection with a slightly soft yoke. The star of the show was the curried mayonnaise, which started spicy and finished with a burst of heat. It enhanced the scotch egg without overpowering it.
So for the main event, I just had to go for the classic fish & chips served in a wire basket, with mushy peas, tartar sauce & a choice of either chip shop curry sauce or HP gravy. The Northern influence shines through in this classic. For the fish, there is a choice of cod or haddock. Our waiter said that 70% of orders went for the cod, which was my fish of choice. Leigh took the grilled fish option of Lemon sole served with a side of buttered greens.
As I mentioned earlier, most people have their own opinion on what makes good fish & chips, for it has to be freshly cooked to order using the freshest fish, good thin batter, not greasy. Thick chips, not fries, all well seasoned & served piping hot. I can confirm the Mayfair Chippy classic hit all the right notes, thin batter with cornish cod that flaked when cut open; it looked & tasted so fresh. The batter was thin & all served hot; I went for the curry sauce, which was a lovely accompaniment.
Any fears that the classic would not live up to its billing were quickly dispelled; this is good fish & chips. I watched with interest as other “classics” were delivered to nearby tables; all were well-presented and looked great.
Moving on to the grilled fish (whole lemon sole), it was also well cooked & the buttered green vegetables worked well; again, the sole was very fresh & cooked to perfection. As the Lemon sole is a thin fish, it is easy to overcook.
After a much-needed break, we shared a cherry & apple crumble with custard. The crumble was not too sweet (we detected a little salt crust), and the cherry & apple were tart enough. The custard was perfect.
5 Conclusion
So, how do I sum up our experience at the Mayfair Chippy, the biggest compliment I can give is that on our walk back to Green Park station, we stopped at The Audley pub to review our lunch, and our conversation quickly turned to family & friends that would love to eat there. If you are happy to recommend a restaurant to your closest friends, it has to be good in every way. The Mayfair Foodie beats that test with flying colours.
My only advice would be to book a table in advance as the walk-in queues can be long.
Review lunchtime 4th May 2023
If you liked this article you might like Afternoon Sea at The Mayfair Chippy.
The Mayfair Chippy
14 North Audley Street, London, W1K 6WE
Instagram; @mayfairchippy
Mayfair Chippy Reservations
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If you would like a deeper insight into the Mayfair Chippy and managing a successful restaurant, check out our interview with Co-owner Jamie Jones, it’s a fascinating read.
