Be it your traditional beer-battered flake or something with a little more finesse, fish’n’chips is a summer staple. To help narrow down the search, we asked some of WA’s top chefs where they go to get their fill. From the old-school corner local to a bustling small bar, here are their picks.

Melissa Zanatta, Cosy Del’s

Following stints at Sydney spots [Nel], [Nomad] and [Catalina], and Manhattan establishment Dante, Melissa Zanatta moved from Sydney to Perth to take up the head chef role at Cosy Del’s earlier this year. While she’s not a Perth native, the east coast transplant is already a regular at a few local spots.

Her go-to fish’n’chipper is All Aboard Seafoods. “It’s one we ended up finding on a little drive and we’ve been there multiple times now and it’s always so good,” Zanatta told Broadsheet. She orders the fisherman’s basket with fish, calamari, prawns and chips.

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Blaze Young, Edward & Idas,Nieuw Ruin & Foxtrot Unicorn

When this chef-to-watch craves fish and chips, she keeps things local and heads to Piscari in Fremantle. Her cooking often twists and tweaks classics so naturally it follows that Young knows a thing or two about fish’n’chip ordering hacks.

“The fisherman’s basket is $20 and enough for two, but I always order a fish cake too,” says Young. “They’re super crisp, panko-crumbed and packed full of potato and dill.”

Young also reckons Piscari is a contender for best dim sim in Perth (“big call but I’m making it”) – but most important of all, the kitchen sweats the details.

“Piscari has an open kitchen so you can watch them work while you wait,” she says. “I knew I was onto a winner when I saw them rest our freshly fried goods on wire racks to make sure they were super crispy before they were wrapped up and handed over.”

Melissa Palinkas, Young George and Ethos Deli

After a tip-off from her dad, chef Palinkas has been frequenting Mount Pleasant Fish & Chips. The takeaway joint doesn’t look like much from the street, but that’s what she loves about it: “It’s not trying to be anything else.”

“It’s in a residential part of the suburb in a small block of shops. There’s no sand and no fancy view,” she says. If you need that, you can get it a few blocks away on the Swan River foreshore, but Palinkas comes for the “awesome” food.

“It offers the usual old-school ’80s fare of dim sims, scalloped potatoes, crab sticks, battered pineapple and battered sausage, but I always eat the battered squid and chips,” she says. “They do great barramundi and whiting, but I also love the old-school flake and chips.”

The highlight for Palinkas is those chips, which are “always crunchy” and “really good quality” thanks to frequent oil changes.

Rohan Park, Nikola Estate & Oakover Grounds

When it comes to seafood, fresh is best in the eyes of Rohan Park, chef of this promising newcomer. And when struck by the urge to eat fish, Park is happy to hit the road.

“As someone that lives on the edge of the Swan Valley, when I eat fish and chips, I prefer that I do the travelling rather the seafood I’m going to eat,” says Park. “I meet the sea halfway and go to Kailis Bros Leederville. I may be biased as they’re my seafood suppliers, but their fish and chips – market fish battered and fried, and served with house tartare and lemon – are up there with the best, and the jumbo Skull Island king prawns with chilli garlic butter and fried shallots are terrific.”

Some additional advice from Park: look out for the lobster rolls that pop up as a special from time to time. Also make time to check out the seafood display.

Julian Bergerhoff, Shelter Brewing Co

Though he and his family live in Busselton, Shelter Brewing Co’s head chef regularly drives the 25 minutes to Dunsborough in pursuit of his favourite fish’n’chips. Clancy’s Fish Pub on Caves Road is what Berg calls “the full package”. (The original was established in Fremantle.)

“[It’s] great, honest fish’n’chips, and good value, which is great for the family,” he says. “I like the atmosphere. They nearly always have live music, which is great, [and] we love the big grassy area where the kids can run around.”

The Clancy’s menu is a people-pleaser, with classics such as salt and pepper squid and chilli mussels at its core. “It’s nothing fancy, but it hits the spot. [It’s great] for an easy feed, or a quick stop after the beach, or a cold pint of beer – Shelter is on tap at Clancy’s too.”

Amy Hamilton, Liberte

Residing in Albany, Amy Hamilton has an abundance of fresh Southern Ocean seafood at her fingertips. Not surprisingly, that makes it difficult for the Liberte owner and head chef to narrow down her one favourite south-west serve of fish’n’chips. Instead, she has two.

In town, it’s the retro-looking Albany Fish & Chips that gets her vote. “[They] have always had a really consistent crunchy, flavourful batter. It’s still superbly crunchy once you get home and unwrap it ... if you make it that far.”

The rave-worthy serve is jazzed up with a generous amount of house-made sweet’n’sour pickled onions from a jar on the counter.

Hamilton’s other must-visit is in a tiny holiday town a little further west.

Peaceful Bay Fish & Chips has garnered a little cult following in the south-west due to the epic local seafood they catch,” she says. Working closely with Southern Star Fisheries, the busy fish’n’chips outlet always has the freshest sustainable, line-caught fish crisping away in the deep fryer. Some days it’s nannygai, others breaksea cod.

“No one visits Peaceful Bay without a stop in at this place,” Hamilton says.

Tony Howell, ex-Cape Lodge

The Cape Lodge head chef is a regular at The Colourpatch in Augusta. After a day out on the boat, he always stops in at the recently revamped restaurant and bar for some of the local catch.

“The Augusta whiting is locally caught and fresh,” he says. “I serve it at Cape Lodge when I can get it – a little differently mind you – but it’s a great eating fish.”

Adjacent to the Blackwood River inlet, the local favourite serves lightly battered fish and hand-cut chips with a side salad and water views. “We grab a takeaway fish’n’chips and sit across the road on the grass to watch the dolphins play. The dolphins there make it extra special.”

Jack Botha, ex-Wines of While

Former co-head chef at Wines of While Jack Botha has since moved to Sydney to cook at Fred’s. But when we asked him where he got his fish fix in Perth he said provenance is pretty important.

“Hands down, it’s North Street Store,” says Botha. “It just hits the nail on the head. The fish and chips are delicious and very accessible in terms of pricepoint, and it’s there for the community. Everything’s made in-house and everything’s on point, plus it’s close to the beach.”

According to Botha, the potatoes are Karri Country potatoes from Manjimup and the fish will either be bycatch or something that’s been line- or pole-caught. He suspects the batter’s puff and crunch is the result of beer and yeast, and says the “proper chunky” tartare is another highlight. While a standard serve features fish, chips, lemon and tartare sauce, Botha always springs for pickles on the side.

Chase Weber, Margot’s Bar, Papi Katsu & Shui Subiaco

Weber, the culinary director of hospitality group Sesh Mafia, stands firmly behind the produce at Kailis Bros. Not only does the Leederville institution supply the seafood for all his kitchens, it’s also his top spot for a quality serving of local fish’n’chips.

With access to any and all kinds of seafood from the adjoining fish market, Kailis pushes its menu outside the bounds of your traditional shop. There’s whole fried Busselton whitebait to snack on, melt-in-your-mouth fish wings, and the option to tailor your serve of fish’n’chips beyond just battered or grilled.

“You can choose from the amazing selection [of fish] that arrives daily ... and the chefs will cook it for you,” says Weber. “Whenever I walk in, I catch up with the crew about what’s come in that day before I get to ordering anything.

“It’s a family-run business that has been around for over 90 years in Western Australia so, normally, I just go with their recommendation.”

This article was originally published on December 15, 2020, and updated on December 16, 2024.