An award-winning Welsh chippy that did the “best chips in the universe” is to re-open for one day only this week - four months after it was forced to close. Hooked@31 in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, had proven to be one of the most popular fish and chip shops in the whole of Wales during its eight years of trading on West Street in the town centre.
However, it closed as usual for a Christmas break in 2022 and didn’t re-open in January due to difficulties in getting staff, along with owners Gethin and Charlotte Rands having other jobs, as well as a family. To get the latest What's On newsletters from WalesOnline, click here.
In 2020, Hooked@31 was named in the top ten chip shops in the whole of the UK, having been pitted against 10,500 other chippies. A year later it was one of only seven Welsh chip shops named in the 2021 edition of the National Federation of Fish Fryers’ Guide to Quality Fish and Chip shops. You can read our review of Hooked@31 here.
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It was common to see long queues form outside the chip shop as its reputation grew and grew, with people travelling from all over Pembrokeshire and further afield to see what all the fuss was about. It therefore came as a big shock and a blow to the local area when it announced its closure in January. However, to much excitement, the Rands family have announced on social media that Hooked@31 is coming back for one day this week, on what promises to be a very good Friday for chip lovers.
It will re-open as a ‘pop up’ - at its previous location - with opening hours of 12pm until 7pm. While the chippy will then close again, it is hoped it will have more ‘pop up’ days throughout the year, especially during the summer months, given the business’s close proximity to the sea. As well as chips, Hooked@31 also does fresh homemade ice cream, while customers who still have one of the chippy’s ‘thermo takeaway bags’ will have 10% off their order if they take it along with them.
News of the re-opening has definitely got people excited to try Hooked’s famous chips once more. Kathryn Mandry said: “Amazing! Definitely coming down to buy for our entire family. You are the best!”. Angilee Grice reacted to the news by saying: “Best fish and chips in the universe”, while Ian West said: “Brilliant. When we moved down here we were telling our daughter how good you were, but you’d made the tough decision to close when she visited. She’s down again next weekend and we can treat her to what I can only describe as the best fish and chips I’ve ever had.”
Friederike Schmidt summed up the popularity of the chippy by joking: “Amazing - but do you realise that the queue will be down to Lower Town?”, and Delwyn Davies said: “Please stay open - best fish and chips ever”. Kathleen Myatt summed up the general feeling when she wrote: “I had to read it three times before it sunk in. Excellent news even for one day.”
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