London Chippy – Closed

Virtually all of the vendors inside Irvine’s Trade Food Hall are narrowly focused on specific types of food – Thai noodles, Japanese rice balls, and Turkish kababs, to name a few – but London Chippy was one of the most focused, promising and delivering authentic British-style deep-fried fish and chips. A standard order ($16) included two pieces of fried cod atop a bed of steak-cut french fries with tartar sauce on the side and malt vinegar at the ordering counter. Curry sauce ($4), extra tartar ($0.65), and mushy peas ($7) were available as extras, with cole slaw ($5), onion rings ($6), garlic fries ($9), salads ($5-$18), and chicken tender sliders ($12 for 3) as sides or alternatives.

While there were a few ways to customize the main attraction, including adding deep-fried shrimp (+$3) or chicken (+$5) to the plate of fish and french fries, or turning either the fish or shrimp into a poboy-style sandwich ($17-18), the classic dish was fairly large and filling. Golden, crispy batter surrounds the tender, lightly flaky white fish, arriving so hot that it was advisable to give it a few minutes to settle – or dip sliced pieces into one of the sauces to cool it down. While the fish wasn’t particularly salty, the batter was both tasty and absorbent enough to enjoy with or without modification, though every bite we took of the fish was oily. An included lemon wedge could be used to lightly punch up the sourness without resorting to vinegar.