The best fish and chips in Sydney (part 1)

I know dear reader this is a definite departure from my usual travel tales, but it is significant and important work. Although it may well be months before the final post is published, I will endeavour to publish the reviews in pairs within a timely fashion.

Living in the inner city (Sydney) I have missed my occasional seafood take-away and certainly there is no chippery within reasonable distance to ensure a timely, non-soggy arrival on our plates.

Of course the question of the "best fish and chips in Sydney" has been answered many times over on the internet - but who to believe? So, I have set out to find my own answer. And yes, my results are subjective and reflect my own likes and dislikes. Even identifying the contenders has been contentious.

The parameters:

1. Must be in Sydney, well, in proximity to the CBD. I have no interest in catching public transport to the outer west.
2. Restaurants, as opposed to take-away establishments, were shunned. However, a take-away with limited seating was OK.
3. The ability to offer a glass of wine was a bonus. As was a view or a nearby place to enjoy the fare.
4. Aside from Fishbone and Co at Alexandria (our local), the other contenders were compiled from reading 'best of' lists on the internet. Each one was referenced by more than one 'best of' list.
5. Trip Advisor was not consulted. It's OK, my discerning reader, to do one's own research.

The search commenced on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, with a sojourn to Manly.

Fishmongers: Shop 4, 11-27 Wentworth Street, Manly.

After battling the crowds at Circular Quay to get OTB (over the bridge) to Manly I was pleased to note that Fishmongers is not on the Corso or the Steyne. That meant smaller crowds than I had anticipated. The queue to get onto the ferry saw us changing options and heading for the Fast Ferry, a pricier option that was, as the name suggests, fast, but the lack of crowd was what we were after.

I won't detail the menu, that can be found out through the hyperlink above and after all, this is about fish and chips. That said we shared a half family dinner. It contained fish, battered or grilled - battered is standard take-away, hand-cut chips, calamari, prawns, potato scallops and oysters. It is also licensed or byo. Bonus. Sort of. The wine is sold in those little plastic bottles you get on planes and no, they don't serve anything larger. You don't need to have an extensive wine list in an establishment such as this, but if you go to the trouble of getting a liquor licence I would have thought having a range of 3 or 4 decent Australian whites, by the bottle, would have been worth the effort. It would supplement the airline offerings.

The shop is situated in the Rialto arcade and there are tables and chairs outside as well as a few inside. It was quite hot the day we were there and there was precious little breeze getting to the area where we were seated. However, the beach was only a few minutes away so that is always an option if it is too uncomfortable away from the sea-breeze.

The food was great. The fish and calamari were cooked perfectly. The potato scallop, unusually for NSW, was solid potato and delightful. The on-trend hand-cut chips were, as expected, chunky. While I have no complaint about their taste or how they were cooked, I am old-school and prefer regular cut chips. As for the battered prawn, meh. We were warned that the prawn came with the head on, in case you couldn't see it, and most of it was shelled. The tempura batter was fine, but again, I prefer to eat prawns cooked otherwise.

Following lunch we went in search of a glass of wine before the ferry trip home. We selected Manly Wine because it was at the southern end of the Steyne away from the Corso. Hmmm, the reasons for the choice were sound, however, the staff were not intent on meeting our expectations. One person serving behind the bar - cocktails too, ensured a long queue for a drink. It's a good venue, but didn't add to the experience in any positive fashion.

Would we go back? Maybe, the food is seriously good, but the draw card of the sea-breeze, the beach and people-watching just a few metres away is always going to challenge good food. Sometimes mediocre wins.

Fishbone and Co: 88 McEvoy Street, Alexandria
We have been meaning to try this place for over a year and made it on Friday, January 11, 2019. It was recommended by another retailer nearby and he swears by their food. They have a few bonuses:

• they are licensed and they serve 750ml bottles of wine, they also have beer
• happy hour is a daily event
• there are daily specials

All good, but the location. Hmmm. McEvoy Street. Always congested, always loud and next to no parking. I guess that limits it to locals or those dedicated enough to find the quiet times when you can jag a car spot nearby. Me? Oh, I walked there, about 20 minutes.

The menu is quite extensive as can be viewed by the link above. I was keen to try the grilled octopus, but, this is a fish and chip challenge.

We dawdled down one humid January Sydney afternoon with thunderstorms threatening. There were a few patrons inside enjoying the produce. It is takeaway but there is ample seating of you wish to eat-in. It lacks a view and any real ambience, but they do have fans to keep the temperature down. On occasion, they have live performances in their limited space. Human Nature were there in August ... does nothing for me, but if that's what you're into ... in December, David Campbell featured - no, the other one.

This afternoon we opted for a dinner package of lightly battered fish, calamari and prawns with chips. We sat outside and watched the passing parade of traffic and people. Mid-January in the afternoon is still reasonably quiet for McEvoy Street.

The food was exactly as described. The fish was lightly battered and was cooked well. It was flaky without falling apart. The prawns were as good as I've had cooked in that style, but, for me, batter adds nothing to the taste of the prawn. At least they were peeled and had had their heads removed. The calamari was also well cooked. The chips were crinkle cut, obviously frozen from a packet - not that there is anything wrong with that but they were nothing special.

In essence there was nothing wrong with any of the food. But, this is a challenge to find the best in Sydney. Comparatively, the food here tasted slightly of the oil and tempura wins over regular batter, as light as this was. As a local takeaway it's fine and there is very little in the area to challenge the quality here, but is that enough? Probably not.