The History of Fish and Chips in London

Fish and chips is by far the most common cuisine in our own directory, and its roots in London go back further than most people expect.

Two Separate Dishes That Met in London

Fried fish, on its own, arrived in Britain through Jewish immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries, who brought a tradition of frying fish in batter, a dish that was already being sold on London streets well before chips joined it.

Chips, separately, have roots in both Belgian and French frying traditions, and by the mid-19th century, fried potatoes were being sold in Britain in their own right. The two dishes, fried fish and fried chipped potatoes, are generally understood to have first been served together in Britain sometime in the 1860s, with competing claims to the very first shop, one often placed in London's East End, another in the North of England, neither side of that dispute has ever been fully settled.

From Street Food to National Staple

By the early 20th century, fish and chip shops had spread across London and the rest of the country as a genuinely working-class staple, cheap, filling and fast. Shops multiplied fastest in industrial and dockside areas, exactly the kind of neighbourhoods where a filling, affordable hot meal mattered most.

The One Food the Government Wouldn't Ration

The dish held a notable, specific place during both World Wars: fish and chips was one of the few foods never rationed by the British government, seen as important enough for morale and nutrition to keep off the ration list entirely, a small, dependable normality at a time when very little else in the average diet was.

Why That History Still Matters Today

That history is part of why the dish still carries a particular kind of trust in Britain that other fast food doesn't quite have, and why London's fish and chips scene today, sitting alongside the newer seafood boil restaurants and sushi counters that have joined it, remains the single biggest category in our own directory of London seafood restaurants.

Want to try it today? See our roundup of London's best fish and chips, or browse every fish and chips restaurant we've listed across London, with ratings, hours and booking links in one place.