Fish and Chips in Nottingham: Where to Sit In or Take Away

Why Nottingham Is a Proper Chippy Town

Nottingham eats fish and chips as a default tea rather than a treat, which is why the useful split is not 'best' but 'what for'. A sit-in fish restaurant suits a birthday, a slow Saturday lunch or feeding children at a table with proper cutlery; a takeaway chippy suits a Friday night in, a quick lunch between errands, or a group order for the household. Get that decision right and the rest is detail.

Fish and chips from Nottingham are rated highly enough that a Nottinghamshire shop featured in national recognition: local coverage in April 2025 reported a Notts chippy making the National Federation of Fish Friers' list of the top 40 in the UK for 2025. Treat that as a signal that the local standard is high rather than a shortcut to picking one shop, because the list changes year to year.

If fish is only part of what you want from a Nottingham trip, it helps to know the wider local food scene before you commit an evening to it. What to Eat in Nottingham sets out the dishes the city is actually known for.

Sit-In Fish Restaurants: The Cods Scallops

The Cods Scallops is the best-known name for a sit-down fish meal in Nottingham, and a review of it rates the fish well above chain pub fish and chips on both quality and quantity. It is the one to head for when you want a plate rather than a paper wrapper: a table, a proper main, and the chance to eat chips at their best rather than after a car ride.

The trade-off is cost and time. Expect to pay more per head than at a takeaway, and be prepared for a wait at peak tea time on a Friday or Saturday, when families and couples tend to arrive at the same hour. Going early, or at lunch instead, is the simplest way to dodge the crush.

If part of the group wants fish and the rest want burgers or chicken, Angelos in Nuthall has both under one counter; if the meal is the point of the outing, sit in at The Cods Scallops instead.

Takeaway Chippies: Angelos Fish Bar in Nuthall

Angelos Fish Bar sits at 49 Larkfield Road in Nuthall, Nottingham NG16 1ET, in Nuthall itself rather than in Nottingham city centre. That makes it a short trip out rather than a city-centre stop, and it is the sensible choice if you are coming from that side of Nottingham or ordering in for the evening.

It is a full takeaway menu rather than a pure chippy: fish, chips, pies, sausages, burgers, kebabs, wraps and fried chicken all share the counter. That breadth is genuinely useful when a household cannot agree, but it also means the fish is one option among many rather than the single speciality of the shop.

Collection is quoted at roughly 10 to 20 minutes and delivery at roughly 20 to 30 minutes, which is the kind of gap that decides the question for you on a wet evening. Delivery costs you time but saves the trip; collection keeps the batter in better shape.

What to Order: Cod or Haddock, Medium or Large

Cod is the milder, whiter fish and the safer choice if you are feeding children or someone who does not want a strong flavour. Haddock is firmer and slightly more savoury, and it holds up better under a big scoop of curry sauce. Either way, ask for the fish to be fried fresh if the shop is quiet.

The size question matters more than the fish question. At Angelos a medium fish with chips and sauce is listed at £13.70 and a large at £15.00, so the larger portion costs only slightly more but is a lot of food; if you are adding sides, the medium is usually the smarter buy. A single piece of cod without chips starts at £8.00, and a large haddock with chips is £13.00, which is worth knowing if you want to build your own combination rather than take a set meal. Checking the menu at the counter is the reliable approach, since prices on any takeaway menu can move.

Sides and Extras That Make a Chippy Tea

Mushy peas are the classic partner, and at Angelos a pot of peas sauce is £1.50, as are curry sauce, gravy and beans. Curry sauce is the one that divides people: it swamps delicate cod but flatters haddock and chips, so order it on the side rather than poured over. Batter scraps are the free-ish treat that separates a proper chippy tea from a fish supper; ask at the counter whether they will add a bag, since not every shop does. On the menu, a battered sausage with chips and sauce is £7.00, as is a saveloy with chips and sauce, while a plain or battered sausage on its own starts at £2.40; a fish cake with chips and sauce is £7.00 when you want something smaller than a full fillet.

A pie and chips with sauce is £8.50 and a plain sausage with chips and sauce is £7.00, both of which undercut the fish mains and suit anyone in the group who does not actually want fish. Chips alone start at £4.00, so a chip butty or a chips-and-cheese upgrade is a cheap way to round out the order.

Budget Guide: What a Fish Supper Actually Costs

At Angelos, a fish cake with chips and sauce is the cheapest complete fish meal on the menu, and a large fish and chips tops the single portions. A medium fish and chips with sauce sits in the middle, so a couple eating two mediums is a noticeably different bill from one large to share plus extra chips. If you are watching the total, the burger and chicken deals are the value end: a cheeseburger or chicken burger with chips and a drink, and a chicken fillet burger with chips and a drink. These are not the reason to visit a chippy, but they make a family order workable when one person does not eat fish.

For cheaper eating across the city beyond the chippy counter, cheap eats Nottingham is the place to start.

Feeding a Family: Buckets and Big Orders

Angelos sells family buckets designed for sharing: six pieces of chicken with four hot wings, two chips and a bottle drink; eight pieces with six hot wings, two chips, onion rings and a drink; and a mixed bucket with two burgers, three pieces of chicken, six hot wings, two chips and a drink. For four people that is a straightforward way to feed everyone without ordering six separate meals.

The catch is that a bucket is chicken-led, not fish-led. If fish and chips is the point of the meal, buy two medium fish suppers and a couple of extra chips instead; the bucket is for a crowd that wants variety and does not mind chips doing the heavy lifting.

Practicalities: Hours, Delivery and Sunday

Angelos opens for collection from 11:00 to 21:30 Monday to Saturday, with delivery from 12:30, and it is closed on Sundays. That Sunday closure catches people out, so plan a Saturday tea or check the shop's own site before setting off; opening hours are the detail most likely to change.

For a sit-in meal, the equivalent check is the kitchen's last orders rather than the door time. Ringing ahead to ask when the kitchen stops taking orders is quicker than turning up and finding the fryers off, particularly on a Sunday or a bank holiday.

City Centre or Suburbs: When the Trip Is Worth It

If you are staying in the city centre without a car, the sit-in fish restaurant is the easier call and the trip out to Nuthall is not worth it for a solo tea. If you are in the northern or western suburbs of Nottingham, or driving, Angelos at Larkfield Road is the sensible stop and the collection window makes it easy to time.

Travelling for a chippy tea is only worth it if the trip is part of the evening, not an afterthought. A takeaway eaten twenty minutes after collection is worse than a slightly less celebrated shop round the corner, so pick by where you are sleeping rather than by reputation.

If your Nottingham eating is leaning towards seafood generally rather than the fryer, seafood Nottingham covers the wider ground. For the full spread of city tables, the best restaurants guide is the better starting point than a single chippy.

Which Chippy Tea to Book

Sit in at The Cods Scallops if the meal is the occasion and you want a table and a plate. Order takeaway from Angelos Fish Bar in Nuthall if you are on that side of Nottingham, feeding a household, or want the bucket-and-sides route for four.

Whichever you pick, order a medium rather than a large if you are having sides, put curry sauce on the side, and collect rather than deliver if you care about crispy batter. Check the venue's own menu and hours before you go, because both move.