In the last five years, queueing for fish and chips outside one Northumberland chippy has become as much a tradition for some as eating Good Friday fish and chips themselves.
The Harbour View in Seaton Sluice saw queues snaking down the road towards the Melton Constable pub last year and while this year's may have not reached the same length, people were still waiting in their cars and some had even braved the cold when it opened at half-past eleven this morning. Musician Stephen Wilson serenaded those out on a windy afternoon with his acoustic guitar covers, with Believe by Cher and when you say nothing at all by Ronan Keating both belted out during my visit.
Chatting to owner Waseem Mir as I waited for my order, he told me that the only people who hadn't had to wait were those who lived in the retirement home behind the fish and chip shop, with their orders brought to them at 11:30am. It's a busy day for Waseem and his team, who have closed their restaurant partly to cope with the demand from the takeaway, and partly to store the boxes which they'll be doling out the fish and chips in.
Read more: Chronicle Live readers pick their favourite North East fish and chip shop with one clear winner
Harbour View t-shirts were also given out to the first customers of the day, while he had more to hand out later on to "show customers their appreciation". Waseem said: "We appreciate people standing in the queue and we want to make sure we appreciate everyone, especially as it can take about an hour to serve them.
"Normally, people queue down the street but instead, they're queueing on the field. Some people have told us they'll come later to avoid the rush, but there's not really a time that there isn't a rush today - either way people are going to have to wait."
I may not have left with a t-shirt, but I did get a small fish and chips (£7.90) which I took to Rocky Island, the headland that looks out over the sweeping curve of sand between Seaton Sluice and Blyth. Part of the appeal of the Harbour View for me is having so many benches nearby in the harbour where the Seaton Burn trickles out into the North Sea and on the aforementioned headland, which has views all the way to the Cheviots on a clear day.
Though my dish was a small fish and chips, I could probably have shared it. The fish was fresh and came apart with ease, succulent, tender and juicy and coated in a light but crisp batter. I may have got lucky with the chips as it tasted as if they'd come straight out of the fryer, hot, nice and crisp on the outside and dripping with salt and vinegar.
Considering I don't usually order cod and chips (give me scampi or prawns any day), I was impressed. I'm not sure I'd wait an hour for it, but that goes for fish and chips pretty much anywhere in the North East!
The Harbour View has just been voted by Chronicle readers as the runner-up in a poll of the North East's best fish and chip shops with 615, losing out to Pantrini's, further down the coast in Whitley Bay. For more information on the Harbour View, including its menu and opening hours, visit its website.
Where is your favourite place for Good Friday fish and chips? Let us know!
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