What The Cod's Scallops actually is

This is a chip shop at heart, not a seafood restaurant with a chippy theme. The Wollaton branch was named Best Newcomer in the 2013 National Fish and Chip awards, and one of the group's sites went on to win the national Fish and Chip Shop of the Year title in 2020. Both facts matter because they explain the pricing: you are paying for frying and sourcing a notch above the neighbourhood average rather than for tablecloths. Expect queues at peak times and no table bookings at Wollaton, where a handful of tables sit inside what is still, functionally, a local chippy.

Wollaton also serves alcohol, with bottled beer and wine alongside the fryers, so a sit-down tea can include a proper drink rather than a can from the fridge. If you want a pint with your haddock elsewhere in the city, the old pubs are a separate trip; Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham is the one to know for a historic room and a decent pint before or after.

The Wollaton branch: Bramcote Lane

The Wollaton shop sits at 170 Bramcote Lane, on the western side of the city towards Bramcote, in a residential stretch rather than a visitor district. The room is relaxed and informal with a cheerful seaside feel, and it fills up: even on a hot August afternoon there were people queuing both for seats and for takeaways. That tells you what to plan for. Arrive off-peak, or accept a wait and treat it as part of the outing.

What sets this branch apart is the counter. There is a wet fish counter, fish is delivered daily, and the menu runs well past cod and haddock into hake, gurnard, herring, bream and skate, with crab, lobster, oysters and whelks alongside. Everything is fried in beef dripping, which gives the batter the fuller, old-fashioned flavour you associate with the seaside rather than clean vegetable oil. If you are the sort of person who orders the same thing every time, this is the branch that might change your mind.

Non-fish eaters are not an afterthought here: there is a steak and ale pie and a black pudding fritter, and you can swap chips for potato salad. There is a pudding menu too, if you have left room. For a group where one person does not eat fish, that flexibility is worth the trip across town on its own.

The West Bridgford branch: Wilford Lane Retail Park

The West Bridgford shop opened in April 2022 at Unit 2A Wilford Lane Retail Park, postcode NG2 7BS, and it is the group's sixth site. The address is slightly misleading: it sits closer to Wilford and Compton Acres than to West Bridgford town centre, so do not walk into Bridgford expecting to find it on the high street. The upside is parking on the retail park and a purpose-built space, though the dining room is smaller and less roomy than Wollaton's.

Transport is genuinely easy here. The 1, 3 and 4 buses stop just outside by the ROKO gym, and the Wilford Lane Tram stop is a two to three minute walk, maybe five if you have to wait for the crossing lights. For anyone staying in the city centre without a car, this is the branch to choose.

How to get to each one

For Wilford Lane, the tram is the simplest option: get off at Wilford Lane and walk the few minutes to the retail park, or take a 1, 3 or 4 bus and get off by the gym. Drivers can park on the retail estate, which makes a takeaway run straightforward. Bear in mind the tram stop sits across a crossing, so allow a little slack if you are timing a collection.

Wollaton is a car-first trip. Bramcote Lane is west of the city centre and best reached by bus or by driving, and there is no tram line serving it. If you are building a day around the western side of Nottingham, pair the chippy with whatever else takes you out that way rather than making a special journey from the centre and back.

Eat in or takeaway?

The trade-off is portion size against atmosphere and price. A reviewer who ate in and took away from the same branch found the takeaway box generously filled, with the fish spanning the width of the box, while the dine-in plate felt lighter on chips. Eating in is more of an occasion and lets you order the smaller cod, which is not offered on the takeaway menu, but the takeaway version works out a little cheaper. If chips are the point of the trip, the box wins.

Eat in at Wollaton and you get the full menu rather than the fried counter: Cornish sole or monkfish with potato salad and samphire, shellfish, and a beer to go with it. That is a different meal from a wrapped haddock supper, and worth knowing before you decide the chippy is a ten-minute stop.

What to order

Start with cod or haddock and mushy peas, because they are the benchmark and the kitchen is consistent on them. The batter comes out golden and crisp with the fish still sweet and juicy, and the peas are creamy rather than gritty. Haddock is the slightly firmer, more savoury option; cod is the softer, sweeter one. Plaice is the third of the old favourites if you want something thinner and quicker-cooking.

For a lighter appetite, eat in and ask for the smaller cod rather than forcing down a large one; a mini cod and chips off the children's list is another route and is not enormous. On the shellfish side, cockles, mussels and whelks are served simply with a little mayonnaise, which makes a decent starter while you wait. Ask what has come in that day before committing to the exotic end of the menu, because availability shifts.

What it costs and why to treat figures loosely

Price reporting on this place ages quickly. One reviewer paid £13.60 for a large cod, chips and mushy peas and £12.60 for haddock with medium chips and mushy peas in 2022, with the smallest chip portion at £3. A 2013 reviewer paid £7.50 for fish and chips and £2 for a shellfish nibble. Those numbers show the direction of travel rather than what you will pay today, so check the menu at the counter or the group's own website before you commit.

The honest summary is that this is treat money, not weekly chippy money. The quality justifies the premium for most people, but if you are feeding a family on a budget, ordering the smaller fish and sharing a portion of chips keeps the bill sane without giving up the batter.

Practical points before you go

Wollaton does not take bookings, so a sit-down meal means turning up and waiting at busy times. Wollaton is the one confirmed as licensed, with bottled beer and wine, so a beer with your fish is possible rather than a soft drink by default. If you are pushing a pushchair or need space, Wollaton's room is the more comfortable of the two.

Opening hours are the one thing worth confirming directly before you travel, since branch timetables vary and shift with the season. Check the group's own website or the branch's social pages on the day rather than relying on third-party listings. That is the single check that saves a wasted journey.

Nearby if you are in the area anyway

If you are making a day of it on the western side, the city's pub heritage is the natural pairing, and the Canal House on Canal Street is a useful stop with a canal-side room and a decent beer list.

Closer to the centre, the Salutation Inn Nottingham is a cave-and-timber pub that pairs well with an evening visit if you are eating earlier. Neither is a substitute for the chippy; they are what you do before or after it.

Where to check hours and the current menu

Menus change with the catch and what the kitchen can get, so the shellfish and less common fish listed here may not be on the board on your visit. The reliable move is to look at the group's own website and the branch's social feeds for the current menu and times, then decide between Wollaton and West Bridgford on that basis. If the wet fish counter matters to you, ring ahead and ask what is in.

Wollaton or West Bridgford?

Choose Wollaton for the bigger room, the wet fish counter, the wider seafood menu and a sit-down meal with a beer, and accept that you cannot book and may queue. Choose West Bridgford if you are coming by tram or bus, want a takeaway box on the way home, or need a faster sit-down on the southern side of the city. Either way, order the haddock or cod first and work outwards from there.