Chips are one of the best things in life.
Whether they’re single-cooked, double-cooked or even triple-cooked, it doesn’t get much better than a golden deep fried potato.
Read more: The 50 best restaurants in Cardiff in 2022
And then there’s the toppings to contend with. From simply scattered with salt and vinegar to more luxurious toppings such as truffle and parmesan, chips are so versatile.
We’ve rounded up some of the best in Cardiff to satisfy your carb cravings. Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Four Elms
The Four Elms is one of Cardiff’s best pubs with a good selection of craft beers and a brilliant beer garden.
They also happen to make some of the tastiest chips in the city - handmade and double-cooked, they’re everything you want from a chip. At £2.50 a bowl, they’re the ideal beer snack.
Where? 1 Elm St, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3QR
2. Thomas by Tom Simmons
Do these really count as chips? I’m not really sure but they’re called “Tom’s chips” on the menu and they’re seriously crunchy and delicious.
Fine slices of confit potato are cut into chip sized pieces and deep fried to a perma-tan shade of brown. I’d expect nothing less luxurious from the chef behind one of Cardiff’s best restaurants.
Where? Thomas by Tom Simmons, 3 & 5 Pontcanna St, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9HQ
3. Spit and Sawdust
This hidden Cardiff skatepark , located off Newport Road serves excellent burgers and hot dogs made with local produce.
It’s a bit of a bargain too as a classic burger or hot dog and chips costs just £6. Their chips are always a highlight. Double-cooked and super crisp with fluffy inners, they’re scattered with flakes of sea salt. A bowl will set you back a mere £2.
Where? Unit B, Rhymney River Bridge Rd, Cardiff CF23 9AF
4. Dorothy’s
Located on Caroline Street, Dorothy’s is one of Cardiff’s most iconic late night takeaways. Established in 1953, it’s been serving late night snacks to drunken revellers for almost 70 years.
It’s their signature dish of chicken curry off the bone and chips for which they’re most well known, and for good reason. Plentiful tender chicken bathed in a delicately spiced and meaty curry sauce is heaped onto a mound of chip shop style chips.
Where? Dorothy's Fish Bar, 39-40 Caroline Street, Cardiff CF10 1FF
5. Ansh
Ansh’s burgers are some of the best in the city with their squishy potato buns and juicy smashed Welsh beef patties.
But if you’re looking for indulgent loaded fries then look no further than their Sunday lunch fries which are available only one day a week. Golden triple-cooked chips are topped with shreds of Welsh beef in gravy, cauliflower cheese, pea puree and Yorkshire pudding pieces.
Where? 589 Cowbridge Rd East, Cardiff CF5 1BE
6. Tukka Tuk
One of Cardiff’s top chefs, Anand George, raised the bar for Cardiff Market’s food offering when he opened his Tukka Tuk stall late last year.
As well as serving big-flavoured build your own curry bowls, his signature dish is Keralan fried chicken and Bombay fries. Chips scattered with spiced coconut are accompanied by chicken pieces coated in a super-crisp and light spiced batter and a massive dollop of tangy Thousand Island sauce.
Where? Cardiff Market, 5-7 St Mary Street, Cardiff CF10 1AU
7. Chronic Fried Chicken
Chronic makes excellent buttermilk fried chicken burgers with creative flavour combinations including “nduja buffalo” and “kiev”. They’re currently without a home in Cardiff but are set to announce a new venue soon.
But their chips are well worth checking out as well. They’re crinkle cut and v-shaped for maximum sauce dipping capability.
Where? New venue to be announced soon
8. Fowl and Fury
Based in Sticky Fingers street food market, Fowl and Fury make the hottest chicken tenders in Cardiff. They’re a painful yet delicious experience.
I’ve always got a soft spot for crinkle cut chips and their Fury fries combine a big pile of them topped with cheese sauce, ranch slaw, Nashville hot chicken and sweet pickles.
Where? Sticky Fingers, 199 Richmond Road, Cardiff CF24 3UX
9. Asador 44
Asador 44 is one of Cardiff’s best restaurants with its menu of top quality sharing steaks and fish cooked over charcoal.
So, their chips are obviously going to be great. Served skin-on and cooked in olive oil, they’re simple yet very delicious.
Where? 14-15 Quay Street, Cardiff CF10 1EA
10. KBS
City Road’s KBS belongs in Cardiff’s kebab premier league. But if you want to try something different to a kebab served on freshly cooked naan bread then their kapsalon kebab is well worth a look.
Originating from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, Kapsalon combines french fries and kebab meat which is then topped with mounds of cheese and heated in the oven until it melts. That’s one week’s worth of calories sorted.
Where? 242 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3JJ
11. The Heathcock
The Michelin-listed Heathcock in Llandaff is one of the city’s best pubs and serves a menu of seasonal, big-flavoured food.
Their confit potatoes are made from thin and soft slices of potato which are cooked to a crunchy shade of golden brown. Are they chips? Well, they’re made from potato, rectangular shaped and deep fried so that’s good enough for me.
Where? 8-60 Bridge Street, Cardiff CF5 2EN
12. Nomad Kitchen
This pan-Asian street food vendor, which regularly pops up around Cardiff, serves spice-packed dumplings and bowls of noodle soup.
Their pad Thai fries are dusted with fragrant Thai seasoning, tangy pad Thai sauce, fresh coriander and spring onions and the crunch of peanuts.
Where? Around Cardiff
13. RomEat
A tiny little shop, located in Roath, RomEat serves excellent Roman style pizza by the slice with creative toppings including butternut squash, pancetta and fiery ‘nduja.
Their truffle and parmesan fries are a delicious side dish. Served skin-on, they’re topped with a flurry of savoury cheese and a drizzle of funky truffle oil.
Where? 123 Albany Road, Cardiff CF24 3NS
14. Penylan Fish Bar
Everyone thinks their local fish and chip shop is the best and my nearest is Penylan Fish Bar. Their fish is always nicely flaky and their chips just about manage to have a hint of crispness.
Where? 6 Colchester Avenue, Cardiff CF23 9AW
15. Honest Burger
It may be a chain but Honest Burger’s chips are well worth a mention. Served alongside their deliciously juicy selection of burgers, which are served pink as standard, Honest’s golden chips are dusted in addictively fragrant rosemary salt.
Where? 10 Church Street, Cardiff CF10 1BG
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