For many, fish and chips by the sea are an essential part of a day out on the North East coast.
While a fish and chip tea more often than not tastes great wherever you get it, a dose of sea air on the side always makes it that extra bit special. So much so that the Guardian has compiled a list of the best seaside chippies, dubbing them one of Britain's 'national treasures'.
And two North East fish and chip shops have made it into the newspaper's top 20 - one in Northumberland and another in South Tyneside.
Read more: The top ten North East chippies by the sea according to Google reviews
Located in the Mermaid Car Park at Blyth Links behind the colourful beach huts, the first to make the list is Coastline. Right by the beach, you can eat while you walk on the path through the dunes to Seaton Sluice, or stop and take in the views of St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay to the south and the town's port to the north from one of the benches lining the beach.
The article's comments were bite-sized, and of Coastline, the Guardian simply wrote: "A sign tells you what spud varieties are being fried, alongside properly northern portions of mushy peas, gravy and curry sauce." For a more detailed recount of a meal at Coastline, it was reviewed by ChronicleLive in June 2019.
But even with such a short recommendation, the staff were delighted with manager Debbie Walker saying: "It's an amazing achievement for us. We're just overwhelmed and extremely proud, everybody works so hard and to be recognised for something like that - wow!
"And especially this short after the pandemic because everybody has worked so hard throughout that. We were short staffed as we never reduced our business hours, it was a massive team effort between our loyal staff, customers and management."
"This summer is going really well, we have our regulars that come in every week and some travel quite far, they're not just on our doorstep - it keeps us going nicely. Our motto is we're large enough to cope and small enough to care!"
The second North East chippy to get a mention was Colmans on Ocean Road in South Shields, which very recently hosted former US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton for a classic fish and chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. It's not the first high praise it's had this year, as sister restaurant Colmans Seafood Temple, which is just a five minute walk away, took Gold for the Taste of North East England at the North East Tourism Awards in March.
Of Colmans in South Shields, the Guardian wrote: "Part of Sandhaven history since the 1920s. Scampi is doused with a secret-recipe batter, served with homemade tartare sauce!"
Richard Ord, Owner of Colmans, said: "It's absolutely incredible - not for me, but for the team and to recognise all of their hard work. It's a big boost for them just to show how hard they work and I'm proud of everyone."
Traditional fish and chip shops have been hit hard by the cost of living, with rising prices of fish, potatoes and cooking oil pushing up the overall price of the nation's favourite chippy tea. On that subject, Richard continued: "It's been okay - it's challenging but it's just how you overcome it.
"Luckily, we haven't seen any more price rises (since the end of May). They haven't gone tdown but they've kind of levelled out, so we know where we stand now and it's just about tackling it and making sure we keep it accessible to our customers but still giving them the best quality that they're used to at Colman's."
To read the full article on the Guardian, click here.
What is your favourite seaside fish and chip shop in the North East? Let us know!
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