Brits, it's come to my attention that you have "chip shops"....?

Question

Another question brought this up. Could you explain this concept? An entire shop centered around fries (or chips as you call them)? We have sub shops which always serve them, but not whole stores for them.

Answer 1

sausages, faggots, rissolees, burgers, gravy, curry, peas ,beans, sausage,burgers,onions,and even mars in batter, onion rings and all over c**p are sold in chip shops not just chips

Answer 2

Ahhh, memories, memories.     As  a kid   nothing    was a  bigger thrill  than   a  trip  to the  Fish'n  Chip shop   for    "Cod 'n  sixpennor'th"     That    meant  a  plank  of  battered,  deepfried Cod fish  and  six penny-worth  of   fries (chips).  I  seem to  remember  there being three  sizes of  fish.....    the  sixpenny  size (another  way of  saying  six  pennor'th),  the  ninepenny size,    and   the giant  size  for a  shilling   (12 pence)  another   way of  saying  "penny")           Let me  tell ya,   the sixpenny size  bit of fish  and  six pennor'th  of chips   got you    about  as  much  as   the  greediest kid  could handle.   It  was a   faceful.     I   wouldn't  dare to  even guess what   they charge   now, fifty years later  LOL.   Even  the Pounds,  Shillings  and Pence  currency  of that time, has passed into history  now.

             The  Fish 'n  Chip  Shops   of my   youth   were not   "stores"  by a  long  way.  They  were   pretty  small  little   places.    You  went in the door,   there  was a  loooong  counter  one side  where you s tood  and   gave your order and  waited  for it,    and  the other side of the counter,  the   workers.     frantically    frying   those  fish  slabs,  and  mountains of   chip   potatoes  in the huge  vats of  bubbling oil..     And on   the counter   a  stack of    yesterday's newspapers.  Absolutely  a  necessity.    Nothing   could possibly  taste   as good   if it    didn't  come  wrapped in newspaper  (with an inside liner of  greaseproof paper)     The newspaper   was a  great heat preserver  so  you   could    be sure  and     reach home - if that is where you  were going -  with your supper  still  piping  hot.   Also  on the countertop   were   dispensers of  salt  and vinegar, so you could   shake  and spritz  your fish 'n  chips   to your liking.

                  I  have no idea  what    those fish 'n  chips   would  even be  like  these  days.   But I guarantee  that  when I   eventually found my  way to live in the States,    to this   very day I have never  tasted   storebought  french  fries, or battered fish  that could  come  even close  to those old  style  fish 'n chips  of   yesteryear.    Of  course,    the  Food  Police   came into existence,  and  now  we  know all there is  to know  about how   downright   killer-awful   fried  food  is for us.   So,  determined to live to be  100,  I   rarely   eat food  from outside  any more,  and   almost no  fried  anything.     I   can  even  remember    my parents  giving me  my all-time   deeeelicious   snack  of "Bread  an' drippin"   -  a  thick  slab  of  fresh bread  generously  spread with the  fatty drippings  from  the  Sunday  Roast,  and  any other     cooked  meat  drippings that  were  added to it  during  the  week.

                 The  stuff  we used to  eat back then, it used to make  me  wonder how    I  could  still be  alive and breathing.    But then  I   remember  that   in England  that long  ago,  still  devastated  by  the  Big War,  we  were all  way behind  the States  when it  came to mountains of  cookies  and   fried  doughnuts,      and   ice  cream,  and  television that kept  people  glued    to the "gogglebox"   for hours    instead of being out  in the open  air    running  and playing  and being    physically   active.                But  I think  even  in the States    people   worked off  what they  ate  waaaay more than they do these  days.   Don't you  remember....?   back  then    everybody   walked   five miles    to  school,  barefoot in the snow,    uphill in both directions  LOLOL

Answer 3

There are plenty of chip shops in and around Derby. Many do not solely sell chips, the majority they also sell battered cod, sausages (with or without batter), pukka pies, mushy peas and curry sauce.

Authentic chip shops will give you the choice of having the chips "wrapped" up in paper or "open" in an open plastic tray. They are customarily eaten with a small wooden fork.

Answer 4

That's how we call fish&chip shops they only serve fish and chips there is no such thing as a chip shop.

Answer 5

Yeah, it's not just chips.  Faggots btw are some kind of meat food (can't elaborate more, since I'm a vegetarian and have never had them, but it's not what you might be thinking, and not cigarettes either as another person suggested.)  I can see why it might seem strange but it's really not.  They sell loads of different things, fish, sausages etc, mostly with chips, and the chips are different from the ones you get in other places too, not thin and crispy, normally big chunky things, and they taste a lot better. It's not easy to explain, but if you're ever over in England, especially if you're at the beach somewhere, try it, you might like it!

Answer 6

I think when he said "faggots" he meant cigarettes. That's what they call them in England.

Answer 7

A true English 'Chippy' or chip shop sells:-

Chips

Fish

Peas

Pies

Puddings

Gravy

and little else

Some also do faggots, chicken, fishcakes, beans, Barm cakes (Bread rolls, curry sauce, burgers and so on but with the influx of foreign food many are now foreign owned and sell pizza, kebabs, Indian and Chinese stuff and lots of other imports.

Chip shops were introduced during the First World War when potatoes and fish were plentiful and imported food hard to come by. The government wanted quick, tasty, nutritious and cheap meals available so that more people could work for the war effort rather than waste time preparing and cooking meals.

Answer 8

Sell other selection of greasy, friend food, apart from chips. Yum.