Chippy's Fish & Chips
With a weighty familial and cultural legacy on my shoulders, I walked into the Annex institution Chippy's looking for some crispy goodness, with a side of absolution.
My Devonshire dad and I disagree about a lot of things, especially when it comes to our shared British heritage. I like Shakespeare, and Nick Hornby, my dad likes Steven Gerrard and David Beckham. I think that imperialism, wrong for a variety of reasons, was still the best thing to happen to British cuisine, while my dad genuinely enjoys mince pies and mushy peas. I was raised in Canada, so I say soccer: he's a diehard fan and despises any term besides football.
Despite these quarrels, there is one thing we absolutely agree on when it comes to Old Mother England: that fish and chips are one of her greatest gifts. Flaky, hearty fish, savoury potatoes and tangy vinegar: fish and chips are as good for the soul as they are bad for the heart. I can't think of anything else so wonderful that comes wrapped in newspaper.
Many of my childhood weekends were spent sourcing good fish and chip shops, my father cursing Canadians and their culinary complacency. "This one wouldn't make it a day in England!" or "Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks!" were his most common assessments. While my father raged, my mother would cower in shame and my sister and I would cope the only way we could, hitting the tartar sauce hard. Once in awhile we'd find a good spot, and our family's peace and dignity were preserved. Captain John's in Owen Sound, Townline Fish and Chips in Orangeville, and Penrose Fish and Chips on Mt. Pleasant stand out as favourites. More frequently, though, my sister and I would leave the restaurants feeling vaguely shamed, our very Canadian-ness an impermeable link to the failures of inferior fish.
At $5.49, for cod and chips, the lunch special appealed to both my palate and my budget. Less attractive was a $.75 charge for tartar sauce, but old habits die hard, so I ordered the sauce, and pitched in another $.75 for coleslaw.
It was not long before the disappointment and shadows of my youth settled in to greet me. My sorrow at soggy cod in bland batter, and coleslaw swimming in excess of oil was relieved only by the reassuringly tasty chips, and the familiar tang of tartar sauce. If fries were the measure of a fish and chip shop, then Chippy's would be doing alright. But we all know that a fish and chip shop is only as good as its fish, which means Chippy's is not very good at all.
Despite my totally lackluster lunch, it seems that Chippy's has a fairly large following in this city, and it's possible that I might be invited to dine there again. Before old demons rear their ugly heads, I'm preparing myself for how I'll react if that time comes. Will I adopt a stiff upper lip, close my eyes and do it for England? Not blooming likely! In the event that a friend invites me to eat Chippy's again, I will politely tell them, "No thank you," and go see a therapist instead.
Discussion
39 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
BOOO!!! HISSSSSSSSSSS!!! My dad would !@#$ a brick if he went to this place. Other than owning a deep-fryer, they get just about everything wrong but being downtown's only not-outta-the-way chip shop they manage to stay in business. Cut your hair!!!
(Please go to HARBORD if you must... they ain't perfect but they ain't this)
Chippy's is quite good when they're good. I think they're a little erratic, however - sometimes when they're busy they pull the stuff out of the fryer too quickly, or they're cooking more before the oil comes back up to temp, so you get underdone or soggy food. If they're not too busy, very tasty.
Chippys is not that great!!! sometimes the fries have a burned taste does that mean it is old??? the fish was good but I have had better fries (in brantford)
I have lived in TO for 20 years but originally from the UK. I have to say this place wouldn't last a second if it was in Britain. Chippy's is overpriced and craaaap!! I was very disappointed in their product. Not good and certainly not worth the price. I am surprised they are still open. Staff are nice - but fisn n' chips are blah.
Chippys is not that good. Fish was overcooked, overpriced.
Blech. The annex location serves up lots of attitude with a side of soggy fish.
Owner is a complete asshole, bad service.
Shit attitude form all staff anytime I went there (including the owner). REALLY? attitude at a fish n chip shop? FUCK YOU CHIPPY!
Fish sucks. Fries are not bad.
Way over priced for so little.
The windows were covered up with paper the other day. Hope you go out of business due to shit product.
FUCK YOU CHIPPIES!
Expensive fries that was burned beyond belief. Terrible.
Harbord is pretty good. Penrose is Excellent (uptown Toronto)
Chippy's is a joke and a waste of expensive downtown property.
I agree the Chippies is one of the worst F&C places I have tried. The time I went, they had no Halibut! The unpeeled fries came with dirt and the whole place looked dirty as well.
The best place I have tried is in Oakville called Tartan F & C. I'd love to have your opinion on this one as well.
the owner called me a "yoga bitch" and made fun of me while i was deciding what to order. his name is John (or Jon, i don't know) and he said i'd be "better off eating sushi-grade tuna with the rest of the annex posers" than wasting their time serving me there.
um.....
ya, not impressed with the service or attitude. went back on another day and was actually grossed out with how soggy the batter was, and how the fries tasted like they had been fried in months old oil.
never again.
Tried it once and never again, the batter was very bland, fries were very soggy. I agree with Anon the fries did taste like they had been fried in months old oil. The service was not very good and she rushed me when I was deciding what I wanted to order. The cook dropped my fish in the fryer and he went outside to smoke a cigarette. Not very impressed. Also never been to F&C that charged for tartar sauce.
I come from Saint John, New Brunswick. In conclusion, never, ever buy fish and chips in Toronto. Never. The shitties local chains out east serve fish and chips that eclipses anything in this city. So dry, so flavourless, so bad.
LOVE CHIPPYS!!! It is a regular monthly treat for my boyfriend and I. I recommend the salmon. The fish does not nee tarter just a slice of lemon! I hear sketchy things about the Chippys on Queen (?) I would recommend it!
I always see a line and have wanted to try it for awhile. Such a disappointment. Greasy fish and bad fries. The coleslaw wasn't bad but not worth the wait.
You should try British Style Fish and Chips. Chippy's is garbage. British Style is amazing. Try it first then you'll see. :)
I just paid $11.99 for a box of fries and a small dinky size piece of halibut!! what a rip off!! Epic fail....
For all those who posted a negative experience at either location of Chippy's, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies (with the exception of the "yoga-bitch" whose post is an absolute fabrication). There are moments when we do fall short of our clients expectations, but that does not mean that we will not take direct and immediate steps to rectify or reimburse our disgruntled patrons at the point of sale. To all the bloggers above (except the "yoga-bitch") please contact me directly through our web-site (chippys.ca) and I would appreciate the oppurtunity to offer you a complimentary order of fish and chips WITH sauce (even you Johnny).
Regards,
John Lee
President
Chippy's Fish & Chips Inc.
I just called Chippy's because they are in the orderit.ca guide and in the menu in the printed guide they have halibut but on the website they didn't so I called to make sure they did and he said YES.....but than somehow he told me that the halibut was only for the walk ins, I am sick in bed and really wanted some F and Cs.....ah well there is always Caz's
Hi Tiffany,
My manager will be contacting you in regards to this incident and will do his best to resolve in the best way possible. Thanks for posting.
John Lee
President
Chippy's Fish & Chips Inc.
Upon my last visit to Toronto, my daughter urged me to go to Chippy's Fish and Chips on Bloor. Seeing as how I reside on the east coast, I found it quite strange. I was skeptical that this little take out place in Toronto was going to offer anything better than what I have had at home.
To my surprise, it was delicious! I was there for lunch and had the Haddock lunch special and was pleasantly surprised at the price and quality of the food. The service was prompt, the restaurant was clean and simple, and I really liked how they had the 3 disposal units for garbage, organic and recycling.
All and all, a really great experience. I look forward to visiting Chippy's again on my travels to the big city, and will try not to ask my daughter to sneak some fries and garlic mayo home to me in her suitcase for the holidays.
Hi Tiffany,
his is Bryan the manager of Chippy's on Bloor St.
So sorry for the misunderstanding. We do offer Halibut for our walk-in and phone order customers. We would be more then happy to personally deliver a meal from Chippy's to your door at your request. Please feel free to get in touch with me at the store so we can set up a time for delivery or please email me at bryansteiss@yahoo.ca
Again, my sincerest apologies, and we look forward to serving you in the near future.
Best,
Bryan
i really enjoyed my salmon meal, it smelled really tastey walking in and the store was really clean! the garlic mayo dip was delicious i had to go back for more! and the curly haired fella that served us was very polite and cooked it to perfection, im not usualy a fish kinda guy but i coulod eat there everyday! all in all i would give it a 10/10 yes it is a high score but they had it coming.
What was with the fire there on January 22/2010? There was smoke coming out the front door and 4 firetrucks outside too!!
Freak occurance with one of our fryers. More smoke than anything else. Should be open in a few days. Thanks for the question.
John Lee
President
Chippy's Fish & Chips Inc.
Ironically right before the fire trucks arrived, me and Lady Ga Ga, ( she does fast food now) had the most BITCHIN' Fish and chips--------- we loved it! C MILO AND GA GA LOVES CHIPPY'S!
YO, YO LADY GA, GA LOVES CHIPPIES, IS CHIPPIES ALL RIGHT IN T.O.? I HOPE SO. SHRIMP KID------TELLIN' YA
I ordered takeout from the Queen St location and came home to discover that the fries were a sad oily burned brown mushy mess. I was incredibly pissed off that there was no tartar sauce. I didn't know it was extra. The guy behind the counter never offered any so I assumed that it was included. WTF? What kind of fish and chips shop charges for tartar sauce? It's like ordering fries and being charged for the ketchup (which wasn't included either). The fish was greasy and soggy and separated from the fish with a layer of really doughy and wet layer of half cooked batter.
Teambuy recently did a half off special for this place; I wouldn't eat from here again if it were free.
LOL! "..pleasantly surprised at the price and quality of the food.." Do you mean cheaper than the $18.99 you pay for F&C?? Do you order it straight from the Queen's chef in the UK? They are a rip off for the quality and service as abundantly clear from the other posters. Curious, all positives right after (someone claiming to be) the owner posts.. Hmmmm, sounds mighty FISHY to me! I hope Chippies learns a hard lesson for how they treat so many of their customers.. as in the loss of many past and potential customers. Never again.
I've lived in the Queen West area for 15 years now and have to say, Chippy's is the worst in the hood! Once paid $12 for fish'n'chips - looked like $10 for the chips and $2 for the fish!
No wonder the owner/management have to come on this board to try to clean up their reputation. I would too if I served overpriced greasy, soggy "food" using rude, obnoxious servers who really ARE rude (not that you'd see that if you are the owner, try a secret shopper dude to see what's really going on in the Queen St. location).
Sorry to be so negative but it is what it is and anything but the truth isn't worth typing.
To: Queen West Local and Peeved_with_the_attitude
Thanks for the feedback but I'm not sure where all this vitriol is coming from. If you had a bad experience with either the food or the service, we sincerely apologize. We have never claimed to be perfect or that our "reputation" is such that it needs cleaning up by me or any of our staff. Our philosophy is to make improvements at all times and to take responsibility for our actions (especially when they are negative) and the food that we serve. I would politely suggest that you contact me directly through our website (chippys.ca) so that we can ensure that your next visit is a good one or at the very least, offer you a refund for your past purchase. Look forward to hearing from both of you.
Regards,
John Lee
President
Chippy's Fish & Chips Inc.
Harbord Fish and chips...the best dont waste your time at that chippys Dump!
you're clearly an idiot as they have ketchup on the counter.
How is the place rated #1?????????????????
Look at all the negative comments!! The place sucks, shit fish shit fries, shit attitude from the owned John Lee.
Please someone tell me why this is best of Toronto Fish & Chips?
Sorry asshole, you lost me as a customer, just from you being rude to me. In person at your shop on Queen.
Not to mention your product sucks.
How is the place rated #1?????????????????
Look at all the negative comments!! The place sucks, shit fish shit fries, shit attitude from the owned John Lee.
Please someone tell me why this is best of Toronto Fish & Chips?
Wow, I usually remember those that I am rude to as they usually deserve it. But given my lapse of memory on this, please accept my offer to win back your support. Contact me through the website and I would be happy refund your previous purchase or at the very least, make amends by cooking for you and your whole family personally and free of charge. Of course, if you are one of the staff members that I recently fired, I will completely understand if no response is forthcoming. All the best and I look forward to hearing from you.
John Lee
President
Chippy's Fish & Chips Inc.
Look at the negative comments!!!!
Just goes to show....
And no, I am not a past employee. Just no longer a customer.
Read ALL the postings... you get the message and not just from me but from almost everyone. Anything positive is prob posted by you or from friends.
So angry and so bitter. An offer of contrition and free food for your whole family refused? I suspect deeper and darker issues at hand. Perhaps no amount of free food can assuage the demons. Just kidding...
In all seriouseness, contact me and let's try to build a bridge of mutual admiration and polite dialogue. After all, it's just fish and chips and not the end of the world.
Your Friend,
John Lee
Best fish'n'chips hands down is Country Fish'n'Chips in Port Credit. South Mississauga.
The batter is prefect, fish always moist. Been in business over 30 yrs in the same location.
*They use beef drippings mixed in their oil*
Tastes out of this world.
Why would you worry about grease when you're going out for fried fish.