Any real differences? I know the British serve malt vinegar which is a huge plus for me. My favorite hot dog shop in Amherst serves malt vinegar for their fries. And I guess the newspaper wrap is a thing of the past. I was at Long John Silver the other day and I see they offer “fish” and cod. Same price. Perhaps the fish is pollack which the Filet-o-Fish is made from. What do the Brits use?
IMO the fish is largely the same. Of course, there are variations (usually the breading) from place to place but that happens in Great Britain too.
It’s the chips where you see the real differences. In London the chips tend to be what in the US would be called steak fries. Bigger fries. Personally, I like my fires smaller but that is a preference thing. Each are fine.
I will say the Brits seems to care more about a good chip (frie) than almost anywhere in the US.
Took me a long time to get used to fries without malt vinegar after I transferred back to the States.
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So you wouldn’t want the chippy to burn down?
I remember the defunct Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips had them like that.
I have yet to manage a trip to Britain and the surroundings ( -hangs head in shame-) but according to an Anglophile friend of mine, one of the many failures of American versions is a tendency to over heavy breading/batter, and a too strongly flavored breading or batter. I think they also said that any version involving cornmeal for texture and the like was also an abomination.
I’d trade either for a good tempura though!
Still, I fully endorse malt vinegar as a seasoning. It’s what I use on the rare occasions I make fish and chips at home, when the fish tenders are made from scratch (pacific cod or upscaling to halibut for me), though I cheat with American-style shoestring, curly, or sweet potato fries rather than the slab-like steak fries.
There are three locations remaining, all in the greater Cleveland area. Both Treachers and Long John offer hush puppies but that is also a plus.
Almost every place with fish and chips prominently on the menu in the US has malt vinegar available. I just saw this today for lunch, and we are not coastal.
The main difference is that sides like mushy peas or beans are more UK standard, US style usually just has tartar sauce along with the two main ingredients. I’ve seen peas and the like only rarely in US, usually in “British pub” style places.
Cod seems to be the “premium” option on both sides and if available it will be prominently advertised as such. Haddock and pollock are common “unnamed fish” options in I think both countries. US may have some white fish like halibut on the coast or walleye inland, usually also specifically named. Salmon and other non-standard things are sometimes an option but obviously very different meats. I’ve also had it where you can choose your fish, with usually a premium price for cod. “Cod” itself is a rather vague term, often Australian cods are not actual taxonomic cods but could be sold as such. See also California lingcod, which would probably command a premium price.
The McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish and possibly F&C in the Antipodes were hoki for awhile.
US chips (fries) are sometimes smaller than UK, though it’s quite common but not universal for them to cut them bigger for this specific meal in the same restaurant as they serve them with burgers.
I like fries/chips with salt and vinegar or ketchup, but I also enjoyed the ones I had with tartar sauce in Czechoslovakia.
Mushy peas with fish and chips, mmmmmmm! 
I would like to try the peas. What is the preferred brew in England? Seems like Guinness would be too strong for delicate fish. Maybe Coke or Pepsi could introduce a Guinness flavored soft drink. Oh wait, I had some once. It was called Malta Dukesa and was gag worthy.
Around here in the Pacific Northwest at least, halibut seems to be the premium variety. I’ll take it over cod if it’s an option.
I’ve had good and bad (very bad) fish and chips in both countries. The dish isn’t ver consistent in either the US or the UK. If you plopped a curry or pot pie in front of me, I could identify which country it came from. Fish and Chips? I’d just be guessing.
Every F&C place i have gone to has had REAL Malt vinegar- and usually tartar sauce (I am not a fan)
For decades, our nation’s chippies have, instead of vinegar, been using a mixture of water, ethanoic acid, colourings and flavourings that comes in a concentrated form and is then watered down and served to customers. Unlike vinegar, it isn’t brewed from alcohol, meaning that it’s halal, it’s possible to create gluten-free versions and it’s a lot cheaper. But this week, a mini-furore has been kicked off by a video from YouTuber Tom Scott entitled The Fake Vinegar in British Fish and Chip Shops.
In Epcot the UK pavilion has great F&C, maybe the best we have had- but not very different than here in SoCal.
I’d agree with this to a point, in that the distinction is generally correct, but I don’t mind the heavy and flavorful batter. I tend to think of US fish and chips as smaller pieces of fish with a heavy and puffy batter, almost tempura. The British versions have always been much larger pieces of fish, with a thinner batter that isn’t as puffy.
I’m sure you can find both versions in both countries, this is just my experience.
The biggest difference to me, is that at least when I was visiting Oxford a bunch, the best fish and chips came from the Chinese take away. That was the main reason people went to that take away, and it was open late.
A paper basket filled with chips, a giant filet on top, and the whole thing wrapped in butcher paper. Take it home and have with a lager from Tesco’s, and the whole meal was under £10. I suppose that’s a world we can never go back to.
The “Friday Night Fish Fry” is a holdover from Catholics during Lent, and a staple of the midwest.
Almost every bar (and certainly any supper club worth its complimentary relish tray) will serve baked or beer-battered cod (with perch, halibut or walleye as the “premium” options).
Always comes with fries or “choice of potato”: steak fries, sweet potato fries, baked potato, or hashbrowns (sometimes with cheese and fried onions).
Our local tavern also includes rye bread and your choice of soup, salad, or their creamy cole slaw.
We got in the habit of Fish Fry Takeout from the tavern on Fridays during covid, and they load up the styrofoam containers with plenty of homemade tartar sauce , sour cream and malt vinegar. There’s always enough that Saturday night is leftovers!
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And I think the Midwest breading is lighter (almost a tempura), so you get more fish and less breading compared to a lot of Fish ‘n’ Chips we’ve had in London.
Over a third of Canadians report a British background. So I’ll answer the question from a Canadian perspective. The seafood I’ve eaten in Maine and Boston and San Fran was not chippie fare.
British shops sometimes feature hake; only occasionally seen in Canada. UK Pieces tend to be large, might be heavily breaded in beer batter, are not dramatically different from the Canadian version. Most fish shops have malt vinegar, tartar sauce and lemon.
British shops tend to have thick cut fries, mushy peas, curry sauce (a distinctive sauce from Heinz powder that is tasty but not authentic South Asian; a tandoori fish spice is probably better). Often deep fried Mars bars or desserts seldom seen in Canada except at occasional fairs.
The big thing is Britain is a small coastal nation. Fish there seemed to often be made from fresh fish as opposed to frozen. You could make too much of this difference - lots of fish sold “fresh” in Canadian grocers was flash frozen at catch and later rethawed; the difference can be less than people think. And one white fish is similar to another. But I think chippies in Canada tend to use frozen fish.
Canada has lots of lakes, and the best option here is to find a place serving seasonal freshwater fish like yellow perch or pickerel; better than frozen ocean fish by a long salt.
A small tub of coleslaw seems to be a nearly universal accompaniment around here.
Man, where in Soviet Russia are you guys finding fish 'n chips served without malt vinegar? The whole meal is nothing but a malt vinegar transfer device.
And now I’m hungry for fish 'n chips. Maybe I’ll get hand grenade close tomorrow and grab some Long John Silver’s.
I’m American, but my mum was British—a WWII war bride—so I was introduced to proper fish and chips before the American restaurant industry decided “British-style” meant putting a Union Jack on the menu and charging $29.95.
I still remember the authentic newspaper-wrapped fish and chips we had during a three-month stay in England in the mid-1960s. Hot, greasy, vinegary, and transferring newsprint directly into our bloodstream. Glorious!
I liked Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips (before all the ones local to me closed down), and I’ve found a few British pubs in the States that make a decent version. But when I’m really craving good fish and chips, I make them myself. It’s surprisingly easy, provided you don’t mind turning your kitchen into a temporary deep-fryer and smelling like a seafood-scented air freshener.
My recipe is similar to this one, although I usually add a little extra baking powder for maximum poof.
I use cod from Trader Joe’s, douse it with malt vinegar, and serve it with homemade tartar sauce, steak fries, slaw, and hush puppies. I know hush puppies aren’t traditionally British. Neither is air conditioning, and I’m keeping that too.
Not if you have chips with curry sauce. You can leave the vinegar in that case.
Out of curiosity, non-Brits, anyone have experience of a proper chippy, i.e. not one for the tourists in London? I’m not even sure if you get ‘proper’ chips in the touristy London places (any Brits want to comment?)