It used to be cheap treat for all the family but the price of fish and chips is expected to increase due to spiralling costs.
Everything from oil and fish to peas and packaging has drastically gone up, while one chip shop owner said his energy bill is set to quadruple, leaving him with no choice but to pass on the rising cost to customers.
John Molnar, owner of the Cod's Scallops, said: "Everything has gone up between 10 and 15 per cent and those increases can't be sustained by the business - or if they are you're going to end up operating at no profit.
"Five years ago cod was a fiver and we're at £7.50 currently. We're going to have to go from £8 to £8.50."
Mr Molnar, who owns chip shops in Carrington, Wollaton, Long Eaton and Market Harborough and will shortly be opening a fifth at the new Wilford Lane retail park, West Bridgford, said he's paying nearly 25 per cent more for a box of cod.
"Bearing in mind the amount of volume we buy for potentially five shops is big so we are on a slightly better price but everything is going up rapidly.
"The American market will pay a lot more than we did historically for Norwegian cod which is what we buy and there's no loyalty so they sell it to the highest price. The market is demanding a bigger price.
"What used to happen, it went up a couple of quid a box. Scampi would go up 10p a bag and it it's going up 50p a bag. Even peas, curry and gravy have gone up.
"Those jumps can't be sustained any more. Ultimately everyone is going to have to put their prices up. It's scary times."
Batter has gone up by ten per cent, wine served in the restaurants has shot up by nine per cent and packaging is 11 per cent more expensive.
"It's getting to the point where the packaging is costing more than the actual chips going in the box," said Mr Molnar.
It's not just the cost of supplies that has soared.
"My gas bill last year was something like £8,000 and E. ON are estimating this year it will be £24,000. On April 1 the minimum wage is going up ten per cent and VAT is going back up to 20 per cent."
Mr Molnar's comments come as the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) urged the government to reconsider its plan to put VAT on food and soft drinks back up from 12.5% in April amid fears that escalating costs could push a third of chippies out of business.
"I think small chippies might look to buy a cheaper alternative, like a cheaper fish that's not such good quality or buying a cheaper potato to try and keep the price down.
"If you're wanting a good quality fish and chips you've got to be prepared to pay north of a tenner for it and I still think that's cheap.
"I think fish and chips has always been that cheap go to food and it's always been a cheap takeaway to feed a family," said Mr Molnar.
"It seems all the other takeaways have gone up but fish and chips has withstood all the increases. It's going to have to come in line.
"It's a great tradition and people have got to support and pay what it's worth. People will happily pay £20 for a pizza that's got ham and cheese on it and not blink whereas you you see fish and chips at £11 and people think it's eye-wateringly expensive which it's not."
Michael Meliou, owner of Carrington's Fish and Chips in Nottingham, said fish prices had sky rocketed in the last few months.
"I'd normally pay £70 to £80 a box but now it's gone over the £100 mark. Some days I will pay £110, it's never a set price. It depends on the market on the day but I won't pay anything less than £100 for a box of fish at the moment, cod or haddock.
"Both have substantially gone up. Haddock has always been fairly cheap to get but it's gone up and is now a similarly priced to cod."
The cost of oil has also gone up from £13 a box to £18.
"Whether it's Brexit or the cost of living going up I can't pinpoint it myself. I know the fish markets have suffered because of Brexit. I would image the price hike for fish is because of that," said Mr Meliou.
"I'm going to have to raise my prices, which I already did a few months ago, in another month or two.
"We do a mini fish and chips for £4.70 which will easily go over five pounds in the future. Our chip prices for the city centre are quite reasonable at £1.80, £2.20, £3.20. Rather than doing a five or ten pence rise on the price we'll probably have to put it up 20p or 30p."
The energy bill for the chippy in Carrington Street is expected to go up by 37 per cent.
"Generally a lot of our customers are quite understanding and love our food. Some people say we're already cheap and they understand when we put the prices up.
"Other people will obviously say that's too expensive but you have to think about where you're getting your supply from and whether it's good quality and I know what we do is always of a high standard so we always pay a little bit more."
To read all the biggest and best stories first sign up to read our newsletters here.
