On a breezy Thursday lunchtime after a brisk walk along the beautiful Whitley Bay seafront I found myself passing the Fisherman’s Bay chippy.

First opening in 2019 and having been up for a whole host of awards since, just last week it was named in the UK’s top 20 takeaways at the National Fish and Chip Awards. Ever since it opened I’ve been meaning to go, but after a nice lunchtime walk and having written about its latest award nomination just last week I decided I might as well give it a go.

I would normally go to Trenchers at the Spanish City for fish and chips if I was down in Whitley Bay. The Whitby based chain run the stunning restaurant in the Spanish City’s restored dome. To be honest it makes for a completely over the top fish and chips experience but the food there is also spot on, so I had high expectations for Fisherman’s Bay, knowing it had made the list and Trenchers hadn’t.

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Fisherman’s Bay is located just up the road from the Spanish City, on the opposite side of the road to the recently renovated promenade, next to the Takdir Indian restaurant.

The Northern Echo: Fisherman's Bay in Whitley Bay, which is nominated as one of the top 20 takeaways in the UK.Fisherman's Bay in Whitley Bay, which is nominated as one of the top 20 takeaways in the UK. (Image: DANIEL HORDON)

On entering the building, I was shown to a table in the dining area at the rear of the shop and given a menu. The restaurant is beautifully done out in a traditional but modern style.

The Northern Echo: Inside the restaurant.Inside the restaurant. (Image: DANIEL HORDON)

You can’t test a new chippy without having your go to, so I settled on my order of a regular cod, chips (£14.20) and curry sauce (£1.90), with a Diet Coke (£2). Any 'extras' are charged at £1.90, that includes mushy peas, garden peas, gravy, and beans. It doesn’t take Carol Vorderman to work out that means the bill for a portion of fish and chips with one sauce and one drink came to £18.10 but I was happy to reserve judgement until after I’d eaten – after all, this is supposedly one of the 20 best chippies in the country!

It may be controversial, but curry sauce makes fish and chips for me, so to see whether this really was one of the region’s best I had to give it a fair comparison to other chippies I go to.

The Northern Echo: Regular cod and chips (£14.20) with curry sauce (£1.90) at Fisherman's Bay.Regular cod and chips (£14.20) with curry sauce (£1.90) at Fisherman's Bay. (Image: DANIEL HORDON)

There were a few tables in the restaurant but it didn’t take long for my food to arrive, maybe 10 minutes at the most. When the food arrived, I was greeted by a huge pot of curry sauce, a basket of twice-cooked chips and a piece of crisp battered cod.

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I must say I was slightly underwhelmed by the size of the cod. I know this is only advertised as ‘regular’ on the menu but I’d hate to see the size of the small option (£10.90). Maybe my go-to local chippy serves larger-than-normal pieces of fish, but this certainly felt on the small side.

Size aside the fish was tasty and the batter was thin and crisp, and it wasn’t too greasy – there’s nothing worse than coming away from a portion of fish and chips feeling like you’ve drank a pint of oil.

The chips were perfect and the curry sauce was nice, with a slight kick behind it but subtle enough that it didn’t overpower the meal.

The Northern Echo: My plate of fish and chips, with a not-too-large piece of fish.My plate of fish and chips, with a not-too-large piece of fish. (Image: DANIEL HORDON)

Normally you come away from a chippy feeling stuffed, but I wasn’t quite full coming away from the Fisherman’s Bay.

Before leaving it was time to pay my hefty bill of £18.10. Was it worth that much? Probably not.

The smaller piece of fish had left me a tad disappointed and although I appreciate you pay a premium to dine in, at nearly £20 per head it wasn't great value for money. At pretty much the exact same price over at the Spanish City you can dine in the incredible dome, often be serenaded by a live pianist, and get a larger piece of fish. Next time I'm after some fish and chips in Whitley Bay I'll probably head to Trenchers once more.

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