I’ve recently moved, and it turns out I’ve moved a three minute walk away from the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten.
On our flat hunt we passed Brockley’s Rock, which had written under the shop’s name a claim to selling ‘The Best Chips in South London’, and so often do you hear/read/see these hyperboles that you end up rolling your eyes. But, the shop was full at 3pm on a Saturday, which I wouldn’t wager is the standard fish and chip shop’s usual peak period, so I suggested that we have Brockley’s Rock the night we move into our new place.
Two weeks later, after five hours of a stressful move where nearly everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong, we walked the tedious three minutes down to Brockley’s Rock and over ordered magnificently. Having not eaten since breakfast, I had no qualms about ordering a large chips to go with my cod, homemade mushy peas on the side as well as homemade tartare sauce and also curry sauce. That was just for me. Coming in at nearly £11 for all of that, it’s more than I’m used to paying for dinner from the local chippy but I can honestly say it was totally worth it. Even down to the homemade tartare sauce that I added to the order as I didn’t have any of the shop bought variety to hand, I would do everything nearly exactly the same next time.
Only nearly everything the same, because next time I would have a sofa or table to eat off of rather than engaging in the traditional ‘eat your first meal in new home on the floor’ manner, and I also now know that when Brockley’s Rock advertise large chips, then mean ‘enough chips to feed a small family’. At £2.80, the large was only 90p more than the small portion, so I thought I may as well, but I hate wasting food and this can absolutely feed two people. They really are though, and I mean this genuinely, among the best chips I have ever tasted, including the ones from that chippy at Arsenal and the ones from the Chinese lady at Camden lock I bought when I was 13. And it turns out they have actually won ‘South East London’s Best Chips’ awards for their chips. Two years running. They are fluffy and crispy all at once and I have no doubt this will be my lazy/hangover/drunk food of choice for years to come.
Brockley’s Rock is certainly a little fancier than your usual chippy, offering all kinds of battered fish (cod, rock, plaice, haddock, mackerel, skate, scampi, calamari, white bait) as well as fish cakes (including the Thai variety) and grilled fish too – seabass, salmon, tiger prawns…and this is before you’ve even glanced across the menu to the meat section (which, I have noted with keen interest, features pies). There’s even a small vegetarian section featuring cheese favourite, halloumi, along with a wealth of sides. On top of this huge menu, they run Gluten-Free Tuesday evenings and they support local on Mondays, teaming up with the Brockley Brewery to create a batter made with their pale ale that night.
I’ve already got three mates coming around separately to get Brockley’s famous fish and chips for dinner under the pretence of seeing my flat. I love my new place.
317 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2QZ
+44 20 8694 1441