Captains Fish and Chips — Restaurant in Great Britain

Let me set the scene: Brighton seafront, salty wind in your hair, seagulls eyeing your lunch like winged gangsters, and then — like an oasis for the fried-food faithful — Captain’s appears.

Now, I’ve eaten fish and chips all over this godforsaken island, from sticky pubs in Glasgow to questionable seaside kiosks where the cod may have died of old age. But Captain’s? Captain’s is different. Captain’s is divine. Captain’s is what fried food aspires to be when it grows up.

The cod? A crispy, golden miracle. None of that soggy, oil-soaked despair that sticks to your tongue like regret. No, this batter was light — ethereal, even. Like it was fried by angels. Angels who know how to use a deep fryer and don’t skimp on seasoning. The fish inside? Flaky as hell, still whispering secrets of the sea, and I swear it had been swimming yesterday.

Then the chips. Jesus. Hand-cut. Fried within an inch of their life on the outside, and tender, warm mush on the inside — like a roast potato and a cloud had a beautiful, starchy baby. And get this: unlimited chips with every cod purchase. I asked twice to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. They just smiled and kept refilling. Legends.

Now, the curry sauce. Look, I’d dip a shoe in this stuff. Hell, I might have. It was spicy, savoury, subtly sweet — like the warm hug of a British takeaway night but with actual culinary finesse. I was dunking chips, onion rings, my fingers — by the end I looked like a raccoon in a bin, and I didn’t care one bit. I licked the pot. I’d do it again.

Onion rings? Absolute sorcery. No scalding, lava-like onion strings slapping your chin and humiliating you in public. No. These were tight, flavour-packed circles of joy. You bite, you chew, you weep slightly because this is what onion rings were meant to be.

And just when I thought I’d reached the mountaintop of fried food enlightenment — in walks the barman Tristan. First of all, let’s be honest: he’s easy on the eyes, like a mixologist fell out of a boy band. Second, his WooWoo and Piña Colada were so perfectly mixed I had to resist proposing. Sweet, strong, and dangerously drinkable. I was sipping Malibu-infused heaven while gazing out at the sea like some blissed-out, chip-stuffed aristocrat.

If Captain’s ever opens a second location, I’m moving in. Until then, I’ll keep making pilgrimages to Brighton, like a proper fried-food disciple.

Do yourself a favour: go. Eat. Dip. Drink. Sin. Repeat.

Captain’s isn’t just a fish and chip shop. It’s a lifestyle.

10/10 would eat my weight...

Superior Fish and Chips with a side of genuine hospitality

I traveled from Colorado, USA to the London for work and I had the opportunity to bring along my father with me. He was born in the UK and as we were planning various things to do, he had reminisced about going down to the coast as a child to play in the arcades and eating the best fish and chips. As he was telling me about his childhood, I knew immediately I wanted to relive it with him.

We were able to catch a quick train to Brighton from London and on the trip down I started to do my research on finding a great place to eat our lunch and landed on Captain’s. A great place right on the water by the pier. After my dad and I played in the arcade on the pier and bought Brighton Rock candy to enjoy on the trip back to London we headed over to Captain’s.

As we walked in, we were happily greeted and brought to our table. We both ordered the Fish and Chip’s and I got an extra side of fried scampi. To drink, my dad got a coke and I went for the Brixton Brewery West Coast IPA. Our drinks came right away, and I have to say the Brixton IPA was great! This is coming from a guy living in Colorado beer country. After some chatting between my dad and I our cooked to order meal came out. The batter used at Captain’s is from a 35-year-old secret recipe and only the highest quality fish and locally sourced potatoes are used. I knew I was in for something good. As we took our first bites it was evident we found the right place. The fish was perfectly fried. The outside was crisp, not crunchy and the fish was tender, moist and delicious on the inside. The chips were cut the exact right length, fried golden brown with excellent crisp on the outside and the precise balance of fluffy on the inside. I was super happy about ordered the scampi too as that was a nice extra treat. We even got an extra basket of chips on the house to top us off!

The wait staff and Pam were superb! All took the time to speak with us and really made this a great experience for me and my dad reliving his youth. I can understand why it was so memorable for him and now thanks to Captain’s and their crew it has become an everlasting memory for me too! I will be back with my children soon and highly recommend this great...

Whenever in Brighton, we always pop here for cod bites and chips and usually love it. Today something was going very wrong indeed! Poor training, new or tired and fed up staff I am unsure, but it wasn’t a nice experience. The inside dining area was empty, so we decided to sit inside to avoid the seagulls. We were immediately asked to move seats from a double table to a single table. I enquired about table service (as per advertised on the door) and the response was “no way, we do not offer table service, that would be impossible.” We queued outside at the kiosk where the operation seemed pretty chaotic. Rather than taking an order number, they were using names. When the food was ready, they would scream the customers name out in such an impatient and aggressive tone. It was uncomfortable. When one particular customer was screamed at, they seemed a little confused and wondered why the food wasn’t being brought to the table. Upon the customer gesturing he thought the food would be brought to him, the man working in the kiosk aggressively pointed his finger and him and then pointed his finger at the desk and shouted “NO. YOU COME HERE NOW” I was so shocked. When customers orders were handed over, sometimes the food would be served on trays if there were multiple meals to be taken to the table. The customers were asked to bring the trays back immediately before eating the food. Was very poor all round. The portion sizes were good (I couldn’t finish it) the food was tasty, but was super greasy, it had not been drained sufficiently once out of the fryer. The prices seemed steeper than I remembered. We paid £36 for two cod bites and chips and two soft drinks. The location is great and if you sit outside the view is fantastic, but still, I don’t think that warrants the extortionate price. No napkins or cutlery available (just a wooden fork) which didn’t help with the excess grease! The toilets were unpleasant too. After witnessing such poor service today, we have decided we probably won’t return when next...