I tried the chippy ECHO readers voted the best in…

I tried the chippy ECHO readers voted the best in Merseyside

Pisces Traditional Take Away in Wirral was recently voted the best chippy in Merseyside by ECHO readers.

So if that is not a glowing endorsement, I don't know what is. And since I had never been to the takeaway on Milner Road in Heswall, Wirral, I thought I would give it a try.

The owner of Pisces, Cos Michael, told the ECHO his fish and chip business was started by his grandad in the 1960s. So I had high hopes for the little shop tucked away down the end of a residential street.

With the beautiful sunny weather, fish and chips is a wonderful treat tea, and Pisces was welcoming and very quick with our order. It is presented beautifully in individual boxes, and the gravy and peas in their own cartons, so if you want to mix then, it would be your choice.

But the thing that struck me straight away was it was far more expensive than my usual chippy tea. A cod and chips cost £10.80, so if you have a family, this can really rack up. And you add on mushy peas and gravy separately for £1.20 a carton.

I think in future, I would be tempted to share a portion, although the size might mean you are left hungry. A kid's meal comes in at £6.50, my toddler opted for the chicken bites, but had some of our fish anyway. It comes with a lollipop and a capri-sun drink.

I felt that was more reasonable and the portion size is quite big, more than my three-year-old could manage, but perhaps not enough for a child over 13. It smelt delicious. and it was piping hot, so it gave us time to park up by the coast, which is just a five minute drive from Pisces.

This was idyllic for a midweek dinner and felt like a real treat, helped by the fact the food was amazing. The fish was wonderfully flakey and well seasoned with a crispy, golden batter. The chips were good old fashioned chips. Thick and fluffy and not too greasy as sometimes they can stick together, but Pisces know what they are doing.

The gravy was rich and delicious, but I felt my mushy peas needed a bit of salt if you were to taste them on their own, but coupled with the gravy, fish and chips, they were lovely.

I demolished the entire portion, only leaving a few chips as did my husband and teenage son. And while our smallest struggled to finish his, it was clear he enjoyed it.

I can see why people love this chippy and I would definitely go back, but it would have to be a treat due to the cost for a family - but isn't that was a chippy tea is? And there are definitely ways around keeping the cost of your meal down with what you order.