Fish and Chips Inverness: Which Chippies Are Worth the Queue

What a fish supper in Inverness actually looks like

A supper means fish plus chips; a single means the fish on its own. Haddock is the usual order north of the border, fried to order so the batter stays crisp on the walk back to your hotel. If the shop is quiet, the fryer does the work in minutes; if there is a queue, that is the price of fresh batter.

The sides divide opinion more than the fish. Mushy peas and curry sauce are the standard additions, scraps are the crunchy bits of batter shaken over the top on request, and salt and vinegar go on at the counter rather than at home. Ask for what you want before the fish goes in the box, because it is harder to add afterwards.

Takeaway chippies: McLeods on Grant Street

McLeod's is the takeaway chippy to know about, at 29 Grant Street, Inverness IV3 8BN. Its published opening pattern shows a 16:00 start, Sunday trading from 16:00 to 21:00 and Monday closed, so an early-week fish supper means checking another day or venue first. Check the current times on the day, since a chip shop's hours can shift with the season.

Phone orders are the practical move here: the shop publishes 01463 232498 as its contact number, which lets you time the walk rather than stand about. Ordering ahead matters most in the evening window just after opening, when a small shop fills quickly.

Expect a brisk, functional counter rather than a dining room. That is the trade-off for a takeaway: you get the fish at its freshest and eat it wherever you like, but you carry it yourself and the riverbank is your table. For a cheaper, faster meal across the city, see this guide to cheap eats Inverness.

Sit-in fish and seafood on the River Ness

If you want fish as a proper dinner, with a table, a starter and a drink, the riverside restaurants are the obvious choice. The Riverhouse Restaurant and Rocpool both serve seasonal seafood dishes in elegant rooms overlooking the water, which is a different proposition from a wrapped supper. Budget accordingly: this is a restaurant main, not chip-shop pricing.

Book ahead for the sit-in option, especially at weekends, and ask for a river-facing table when you do. The kitchen's fish may change with the day's catch, so read the menu on arrival rather than planning the exact dish weeks in advance. For a fuller spread of rooms and price levels, work through the best restaurants in Inverness before deciding.

Further along the water, the Glen Mhor hotel's Waterside restaurant shares a site with the Uile Bheist distillery and brewery, so you can pair a fish main with a local pint. The wider picture of what the city cooks and pours sits in What to Eat in Inverness.

Pub fish and chips for a sit-down supper

A pub kitchen sits between the chippy and the restaurant: more comfortable than a bench, cheaper than a riverside dining room. The Snow Goose is the city pub the local destination guide flags for its pub meals, which makes it a sensible option if you want a plate, a seat and a relaxed evening rather than fine dining.

Pub hours and kitchen times vary more than restaurant ones, so ring before making a trip across town. If the pub is full, the centre's other kitchens are within walking distance, and the wider guide to Inverness food covers what else is worth ordering.

Chip-shop ordering decoded

Read the board before joining the queue so you are not the person holding up the fryer. A supper is fish and chips; a single is fish alone; a fishcake or a battered sausage is a cheaper way to eat if you are not hungry enough for haddock. Salt and vinegar are asked for, not assumed.

Curry sauce suits chips rather than fish, scraps add crunch and cost nothing if the shop offers them, and mushy peas turn a supper into something closer to a meal. For a drink, locally brewed beer such as Dog Falls Brewery is brewed in the area and served in some local pubs and restaurants, though the chip shop counter is not the place to look for it.

Prices and portion expectations

Chip-shop prices shift with fish prices, so treat any figure you read online as a guide only. The reliable move is to look at the menu board or the shop's own ordering page before you commit, and to compare the supper against the single if you are feeding two people. A sit-in restaurant main will always cost several times a takeaway supper, so decide which meal you are actually buying.

Portions in the Highlands tend to be generous, and a supper is usually enough for one hungry adult. If you are a lighter eater, a single with a side of chips is the cheaper route, and sharing a supper plus a side works for two. Ask at the counter about sizes rather than guessing from photographs.

Queues, timing and the Friday-night problem

Friday evening is the pinch point at most British chippies, and Inverness is no exception: the after-work rush and the weekend arrivals land in the same hour. Eat early, ring ahead or accept a wait outside, and check that the shop is open at all on a Monday (McLeod's is not). Keeping a backup within walking distance of the centre is the simplest insurance.

Midweek lunchtimes are the quietest window for a takeaway, while weekend evenings are the busiest for sit-in fish dinners along the River Ness. If your trip is short, take the wrapped supper on the busy night and book the riverside seafood dinner for a calmer evening. Either way, check current times before you travel.

Which fish supper should you book?

Choose McLeods if you want a proper takeaway fish supper in the centre, ring 01463 232498 first and remember the published Monday closure. Choose the Riverhouse or Rocpool if the fish is the centrepiece of an evening out and you are happy to book and pay restaurant prices. The Snow Goose covers the middle ground when you want a seat without the formality.

Whichever you pick, order haddock, ask for scraps and get the salt and vinegar on at the counter. Then build the rest of the trip around it with Best Restaurants in Inverness, which covers the rooms and price levels this page leaves out.