Is Phillip's Fish and Chips really the best in Swindon?

Not only did the Cricklade Road chippy win the Swindon Advertiser’s best fish and chips competition in 2021, but it is also the top-rated fish and chip takeaway on the travel comparison website Trip Advisor.

The shop’s glowing reviews even led to the social media channel Food Review Club, which is on a mission to find the best places to eat in the UK, paying the town’s humble eatery a visit to see for themselves, giving it an 8.5 rating out of 10. 

Despite this, some members of the public have questioned Phillip’s credentials as the best in town, so I decided to settle things once and for all by checking out how good – or bad – Phillip’s Fish and Chips actually was for myself.

Reporter Daniel Wood next to an article he'd written about someone reviewing Phillip's Fish and Chips on the wall of Phillip's Fish and Chips while preparing to write another article reviewing Phillip's Fish and Chips himsel (Image: Newsquest)

First-of-all, when you walk into the shop it’s exactly how you’d expect a good proper English fish and chips to look. There’s a chalkboard for public notices, the menu is written on a blackboard and it has clippings of local news coverage on the wall.

Also, as soon as you walk in, you are greeted with a smile and asked if you want fish, which is then made fresh-to-order and is pretty much ready for you by the time you parted with your money. 

I went for classic cod and chips, while my wife who I’d dragged along with me, ordered a fish cake and a battered sausage. I ordered large chips, and she ordered small chips, and we also got a curry sauce to share – all for the affordable sum of £15

I was immediately struck by the size of it all, the fish and chips are put together in the same bag and the weight of mine almost caught me off-guard. The two of us could have absolutely got away with just the regular portion of chips alone.

A bag from Phillip's Fish and Chips pack full of food (Image: Newsquest)

The cod was large, extremely meaty, creamy, and clearly high quality. Sometimes you end up with more batter than fish, but the almost-breadcrumb-like batter on this helped add a crispiness to it, but crucially didn’t overpower and overwhelm the fish.

The chips were perfectly light and fluffy – just as chip shop chips should be, especially with the lashings of salt and vinegar we asked for as well as the extremely tasty fruity curry sauce.

My wife said that the fish cake and battered sausage were ‘very nice’ but refused to elaborate further on that when asked, although it is worth adding that this is usually a good sign from her when it comes to food.

So all-in-all I have to say I was very impressed.

Reporter Daniel Wood with a massive plate of fish and chips from Phillip's Fish and Chips (Image: Newsquest)

Now, I’m not going to rate it out of 10 for fear of incurring the wrath of Phillip’s loyal customers. Nor am I going to reinforce the claim that it’s the best fish and chip shop in Swindon, as I’ve not tried all of them.

What I will confidently say is that you will not be disappointed by Phillip’s Fish and Chips. The portion sizes were excellent, everything tasted lovely and the whole meal was enjoyable and – particularly important in the current financial climate – good value for money.

But on top of that, it all comes with service with a smile from a local small business owner who has been feeding the people of Swindon good fish and chips for decades, and it doesn’t get better than that.