The Times hailed John Long’s on its list of 23 of the UK’s best fish and chip shops.
The Belfast restaurant – which has been serving the tea-time staple for over a hundred years – was praised by The Times for its “lightest of batters”.
Fish and chips at Long’s fish and chip shop, Belfast
The critics also noted the historic chippy is a favourite of some of Northern Ireland’s most notable figures including Eamonn Holmes, who previously revealed he would make it his last supper meal were he given just days to live.
Other celebrity fans of the city’s longest established fish and chip shop include actors Brendan Fraser and Sean Bean, as well as the band members from Take That.
The Times added: “That’s how revered this Northern Irish chippy is, despite not being on the seaside and a 20-minute walk from the harbourfront.
“If Holmes is fit and well, look out for other celebrity patrons instead, including Sean Bean and Dara Ó Briain.”
The newspaper also praised the use of locally sourced ingredients at John Long’s, adding: “Its popularity is all down to the fresh fish — landed at Kilkeel — and the lightest of batters, the recipe for which hasn’t changed in 104 years.”
“Then there are the traditional pasties (battered minced pork with onion and potato), an old Belfast staple, because people like it the way it is, and you don’t change the wheel.”
Belfast Telegraph restaurant reviewer Joris Minne recently declared the chippy as “exceptional and unmatched”.
He added: “[The] chips are outstanding: crispy, golden, full of flavour and, when eaten with mushy peas, the perfect partner for the brittle, battered haddock or cod.”
John Copeland of Long’s fish and chip shop in Athol Street, Belfast
John Longs wasn’t the only NI chippy praised by the Times, with Little Wolf in Strangford and Morton’s in Ballycastle also getting a mention.
Little Wolf was praised for its crispy batter, flaky fish and fat chips.
The paper encouraged readers to travel to Strangford in order to try the fish and chips offered in Little Wolf, adding: “It’s actually worth missing the Strangford-to-Portaferry water shuttle to get your hands on one of Little Wolf’s fish suppers.
“Anyway, there’ll be another ferry along in 30 minutes, giving you time to take your hot parcel of haddock down to the harbour edge and watch the next boat coming in along Strangford Lough.”
The Times also recommended trying Little Wolf’s pizza: ”Children and fussy eaters will appreciate the alternative menu of wood-fired pizzas for which Little Wolf is as renowned as its fish and chips.”
Morton’s in Ballycastle was praised for the excellent customer service: “A chippy owned by a fisherman sounds like an excellent concept, and it has worked a treat for the little shed by the Marconi memorial on Ballycastle’s harbour.
“John and Kevin Morton inherited the fishing business established by his grandfather more than a century ago, bringing North Atlantic catches into the harbour and selling it on.
“But when proliferating supermarkets threatened to destroy the business, he diversified, opening a quayside fishmonger and a chippy.”
The Times encouraged readers to stop in at Morton’s while enjoying some of NI’s best sites: “A chippy that rivals the Giant’s Causeway, the Bushmills distillery and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge as an Antrim coast wonder. It’s takeaway-only, but wander around the back for picnic tables on the harbour arm.”
News Catch Up: Wednesday 17th July 2024