A fish and chip shop in Barmouth has been named among the best in the UK.

Having just released its best beaches list on Monday (July 15), The Times has now revealed the top 23 fish and chip shops in the UK.

Introducing the list, the news outlet said: "Our annual best beaches special is the result of a 5,583-mile drive around the UK.

"Hundreds of beaches are examined to find what we deem the best in the country. It’s hungry work, and on the coast the only fuel is fish and chips."

Best beaches in the UK

The Times continued: "One of our most-loved suppers isn’t even a British invention — battered fish (or pescado frito) originated in Spain, while chips (pommes frites) came from France or Belgium.

"It is thought that the two were first served together in east London in 1860; an exotic concoction that took the nation by storm.

"In these superior chippies, a fish supper often comes with various regional accompaniments: the black pudding fritter, the deep-fried oyster, the battered haggis, and the poor man’s caviar — aka deep-fried cod roe.

"There’s clearly more to a fish supper than cod and chips, and the following is our selection of the best places to tuck in."

The best fish and chip shops in the UK

The best fish and chip shops in the UK, according to The Times, are:

  1. John Long’s, Belfast, Co Antrim
  2. Redcloak Fish Bar, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
  3. Harbour Lights, Falmouth, Cornwall
  4. Finney’s, Benllech, Anglesey
  5. Colmans Seafood Temple, South Shields, Co Durham
  6. Little Wolf, Strangford, Co Down
  7. The Tunny Club, Scarborough, North Yorkshire
  8. Whitehead’s Fish & Chips, Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire
  9. Les and Rita’s Fish Bar, Rhyl, Denbighshire
  10. The Rocketeer, North Berwick, East Lothian
  11. French’s Fish Shop, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
  12. The Haven, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
  13. Bennett’s Fish & Chips, Weymouth, Dorset
  14. Morton’s, Ballycastle, Co Antrim
  15. Lighthouse Fisheries of Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire
  16. The Mermaid, Barmouth, Gwynedd
  17. East Coast, Musselburgh, East Lothian
  18. Steel’s Corner House Restaurant, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
  19. Fraser’s, Penzance, Cornwall
  20. Fishers of Hunstanton, Norfolk
  21. Maggie’s, Hastings, East Sussex
  22. The Magpie Café, Whitby, North Yorkshire
  23. Lewis’s Fish Restaurant, Seahouses, Northumberland

Barmouth fish and chip shop among the UK's best

The Mermaid - located on Jubilee Road, Barmouth, LL42 1LT - was one of three fish and chip shops in Wales named among the UK's best.

The Times said: "What beverage pairs best with fish and chips? Champagne? An unoaked chardonnay? A pint of bitter? All are good, but none beats a mug of tea.

"In most chippies that’s a teabag on a string in a polystyrene cup, but at the Mermaid (established 1964) it comes out of a metal pot, strong and slightly overstewed — the perfect accompaniment to a crunchy fillet of battered cod and crisp yet fluffy chips.

"The owners, Will and Nina Huntley, could gentrify their menu and halve their portions to appeal to the green-welly crowd, but there’s no place in Barmouth for an unoaked chardonnay."

Customers seem to agree with the high praise given to the Barmouth-based chippy with The Mermaid boasting a 4.5 out of 5 rating on Tripadvisor from 1,110 reviews.

One customer, describing the chippy as "the new fish & chips champion", said: "This place is as good as the reviews it gets. A queue outside is always a good sign especially as there are other fish & chips places in Barmouth.

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"Had cod,chips and peas. decent generous portions of chips and nice cod.all cooked wonderfully. Probably the best I've had in the last 30 years.

"This place is so good it shames places in Whitby North Yorks where ripping off customers by charging top dollar and dishing out child portions to adults appears to be norm.

"Well done mermaid. The new best f&c in the UK by my opinion."