This October, the site of a former tool hire business became home to The Crispy Cod: a new fish and chip shop in Chelmsford. At night, you won’t miss its lit-up frontage on the corner of Writtle Road and Waterhouse Lane, and there’s even a small car park at the back (best of luck, though, getting in and out – it’s a busy junction!)
We drove over, parked the car (luckily there was space!) and placed an order for four people. The service was quick and friendly, and it didn’t take long for our order to be bagged up ready to take back and enjoy.
The short wait gave us the chance to check out The Crispy Cod’s interior. There’s one table for four in there (it’s primarily a takeaway), and plenty of golden, crispy food on the hot plates to entice hungry customers. The signage under the counter demonstrates the importance of quality to The Crispy Cod team: they use 100% omega oil for frying (healthier than palm oil or beef dripping), they individually inspect each potato before cutting, their batter is made fresh daily, and their fish is all from ecologically-responsible and sustainable sources, via Billingsgate and Grimsby fish markets.
The medium haddock (£9) was a definite hit: a generous piece of fish, the batter crisp and cleanly fried, the fish inside moist and tender. The child and I, meanwhile, went for the battered halloumi (£7 for three slices): the cheese perfectly squeaky, the batter just as good as that of the fish: it’s our chosen order at every chippy that sells it!
The chips were fantastic, but a word of warning: the medium portion (£3.50) is anything but medium! Between three adults and a child we ordered three portions, which turned out to be far too much food: order to share unless you have a very big appetite!
The Crispy Cod definitely lived up to expectations. The premium sourcing and preparation certainly show through in the food, and the pricing is very reasonable. Crisp batter, sustainable fish, fresh hand-cut chips – what more could you want? It’ll be interesting to see how the parking situation pans out on really busy nights, though…