What we thought of fish and chips at Beamish Museum

Visitors have been heaping praise on the fish and chips at Beamish Museum for as long as I can remember, including influencers from as far afield as the United States, who have branded the offerings at the County Durham attraction as ‘better than Whitby’.

And, despite heading to the museum on various school trips and days out in my lifetime, I have never actually tasted the coal-fired battered goods on offer there.

Set in the museum’s 1910s village, which has a Methodist chapel, school and rows of miners’ cottages, the chippy is a little walk from the main entrance and past the pit. It is as equally unassuming as it is impressive – as with the rest of the site, a piece of history placed neatly in today.

Davy’s Fried Fish at Beamish Museum. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Davy’s is open from 11.30am until 3.30pm and arrived just before midday after a nostalgic trip down the mine with one of the museum’s superb guides.

These meals are popular, they have become ‘viral’ and this means you should be prepared to queue. I waited at least 20 minutes before being served and a further 10 minutes after placing my order owing to the staff needing another batch of chips – because of how many customers they had already seen through the doors. In fact, there is a warning on the walls suggesting it could take up to an hour to be served at peak times.

Prices at Davy’s Fried Fish at Beamish Museum. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The vibe is in keeping with the rest of the village that has been replicated there, posters are typically lowkey and in a serif font appropriate for printing methods of the age.

Your meal is served in a newspaper as staff roll a cone from an old reproduction of the ‘Chester-le-Street Chronicle’.

The fryers there are glorious machines – standing around four feet tall and billowing an orange glow from the coal hatch.

Davy’s Fried Fish at Beamish Museum. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Options include a full fish and chips (£14.20) or a dab and chips, which is a half fish (£9.10). I opted for the dab as it was not yet 12pm, and I wanted to feel a bit restrained – I also opted for it as it was not yet payday and my wallet wanted to feel a bit restrained too. The prices could seem a bit prohibitive to some, especially factoring in the admission fee to the museum itself.

Davy’s Fried Fish at Beamish Museum. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Being handed the crackly paper containing even crispier battered fish, I washed the contents with a slashing of vinegar and dusted them with salt before heading out of the door to the beautiful North Durham countryside which Beamish is carved into.

The first thing that you notice is the slightly sweet, smoky tang from the coal followed by the unmistakable meatiness from the beef dripping. It is rare to find a chip that is as crisp as it is fluffy and these potatoes balance the paradox almost too well.

I tried Beamish Museum’s famous fish and chips for the first time. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The fish also toed the line between flaky freshness and crackled buttery batter which clustered in the point of the cone.

On a hot Spring day with near 20C weather, this was the perfect way to spend a lunchtime – surrounded by local history eating a dish that has captivated the world.

Prices:

• Fish and chips – £14.20
• Dab and chips – £9.10
• Chips – £3.90
• Dab – £5.20
• Fish – £10.30

Davy’s Fried Fish at Beamish Museum
Opening times: 11.30am – 3.30pm every day

Ratings (out of ten):

• Food quality – 9
• Surroundings – 8
• Value for money – 6
• Service – 7