It seems barely a week goes by without us hearing about a new list of award-winning chippies.
Everyone has a favourite, but earlier this year there were four across Greater Manchester that made it onto the most recent Fry Magazine’s 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways list.
We shouted about the success of them all - Pennington Plaice in Leigh, Wigan; Sykes Fish and Chips, in Pendlebury, Swinton, Salford; The Fish at Goose Green in Wigan; and Town Street Fryer in Marple Bridge, Stockport.
And while customers heaped praise on all four, many readers responded with suggestions of places they claimed were 'even better'.
One of them was Kirkhall Lane Fish & Chips, also in Leigh, which readers hailed as 'the best around'.
"Kirkhall Lane is a lot better," said one. "You can't beat Kirkhall Lane," said another. "The fish is always so fresh and the staff are so friendly."
Keen to try the place for ourselves we headed along on a weekday night to collect a family chippy tea.
Without a customer in sight, there were just a few items in the glass display, including a solitary piece of fish, the end of a fish and some pies.
But when I made my order for two fish and chips, thankfully mine were freshly cooked along with a fresh batch of chips.
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With two hungry children at home hoping for battered sausages, their prayers were answered. Not only did they have them on the menu, but they were apparently the nicest ones they've ever had. After a cheeky bite of one, I had to agree. Golden crispy batter neatly encasing every bit of the perfect chippy sausage, for £1.80 I'd have got an extra one if I'd known how good they were.
The fish wasn't quite as impressive. It tasted nice enough, but was a little too thin, with more batter than fish, and the curry sauce was a lot thicker than we like.
I'd initially asked for English curry, which we generally prefer, but when the server mistakenly poured the wrong one and asked if I wanted to swap, I went with the easiest option to keep what was there.
The kids were more than happy with theirs, especially with the gravy poured over their chips and sausages, and most of it got eaten.
With a bill of £23.30 for the four of us - £6.80 for large fish with regular chips - it's cheaper than other chippies we've tried recently and you'd struggle to find many cheaper ones in the current climate.
Whether it's better than the award-winners we're not so sure. The chips themselves were standard rather than standout. You might just have to keep those recommendations coming.
You can find the full list of Fry Magazine's top chippies here.
Let us know your favourite chippy or takeaway in the comments here.
