Fish and chips have long been hailed as the nation's favourite dinner. But nothing beats tucking into the dish at the seaside.
And luckily for us, the West Country homes plenty of chips shops by the sea, but one has just been crowned the best. According to reviewers on TripAdvisor, Mermaid Seafood Restaurant in St Ives, Cornwall, serves the best fish and chips in the West Country and it was ranked in the top ten across the whole of the UK.
Boasting a 815 five-star reviews, people had high praise for the spot. One person wrote: "Really friendly and efficient staff and the food was delicious. I had crab cakes followed by the fish platter.
READ MORE: Bristol's best fish and chips shops according to our reader poll
"All the fish was cooked to perfection. Three others in the party also loved their meals, and my brother said his fillet steak was also cooked perfectly."
Another person said: "This restaurant is a little gem. From the bottles hanging from the ceiling to the absolutely fab staff I would never tire of eating here. The food was just absolutely delicious, cooked perfectly and really delicious."
A third penned: "The best meal of our five-day trip to St Ives ! A lovely restaurant, excellent friendly service and exquisite food. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening meal. Thank you to all the staff , it was perfect."
Fish and chip shops are struggling to stay afloat across the country, with industry experts predicting a third could end up closing during the cost of living crisis.
The average price of the beloved takeaway has been hiked to £9 in the last year as ingredients become more expensive, according to official stats. And while chip shop owners are desperate to keep their prices down so they aren't scaring off customers, some say they have no choice.
Amadeu Catanho who has owned Crispy Cod Fish Bar in Lockleaze, since 2005, is worried about having to close.
The 54-year-old said: "You never know what will happen to the prices. The oil has doubled, the gas and electric has more than doubled and fish and everything else is following them.
“I am worried. We are just wondering if we are going to be here in the future years. The way things are at the moment is very scary. People are not coming here as much as they used to. They can’t afford to.
“We are charging £9.90 for regular cod and chips. Three years ago it was £6. We try to keep it low for our customers but it is very hard to keep our margins up.”
And Nick Lomvardos, 56, owner of Bishopston Fish Bar since 2010, said: “It is crippling us.
“Every single week we are struggling with something new. If it’s not the gas and electric, it’s the oil. If it’s not the oil, it’s the fish. If it’s not the fish, it’s the packaging. If it’s not the packaging, it’s the potatoes – they’ve gone from £6 a sack to £22 a sack.
“There is no profit at all. This time last year fish and chips was £6, now it’s £10. Hundreds of shops have closed. Every single day all around the country you see places up for sale and it is really sad.
“I don’t want to close it down. I call it my baby. I started it from nothing. I refuse to give up and will carry on until I fall ill or if it comes to the point where I’m losing a lot of money every month.”
