Not too far from London and home to Essex County Cricket Club is Chelmsford. Not far from the cricket ground is Moulsham Street along which is Robinson’s. You’ll not find better
Ask if you can have a pint of winkles
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Fish n chips aren’t the sort of thing that has a wide variety of things to wrong or right, ergo ‘best’ is a good or bad within a limited range and you won’t find a huge variation therefore you’re wasting your time trying to identify good or bad. Our local one is good most of the time and occasionally they have a bad night, either the potatoes aren’t up to it or the fat’s gone off. Or they can’t be bothered maybe.
Take a punt on whichever one you’re nearest to and cross your fingers. That’s worked for us across the UK. Sometimes good, sometimes indifferent, rarely inedible.
Interesting that when asked to recommend good London chippies you get recommendations as far apart as Scotland and the seaside. As ever when you ask a “what’s best…?” on the internet all you get is a list made up of everybody’s preference. Much like choice of ethernet cables I expect.
Enjoy 
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I beg to differ, the quality of fish now that we’ve eaten most of the good stuff is a hugely variable, and chips vary from soggy slugs to bland McDonalds style things, through to nice crunchy skinned things that you can actually tell were made from potatoes.
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Some like the chips extra crispy, almost like a roasted potato. Others like them cooked but a bit soggy and floppy. Most best chippies do a sort of in between, with some extra crispy bits with some floppy bits.
With fish. The fresher and larger the better without costing a small fortune.
Best fish and chips I had was when I was a lad was when we regularly had holidays in Bournemouth - wish I could remember the chippies name but I can’t.
My grandmother lived in Llanelli, and the big treat was fish and chips from ‘Parcel’s’ - great fish and chips and rissoles - it was a chip shop in the front room of their house I believe, and I think run by brother and sister - great food but it took ages as they talked gossip to each and every customer before cooking the order.
I must say that fish always tastes better when you get it from a coastal town with local fishing.
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Fish & Chips are only good if the chips are good.
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Not bad for Southern f & c, but can’t compare with Harry Ramsdens! Seriously, I used Robinson’s for 30 years - great shop.
I’ve never had a poor Harry Ramsdens, and have found Jamie Oliver’s fish and chips to be consistently excellent.
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Haggis and/or White Pudding Suppers!!
If you ever find yourself heading towards Scarborough, then do not drive past Thompsons Fish and Chips just outside York, on the A64.
The best for miles around, but, just as important, consistently good, and their non fish and chips menu is pretty tasty too. 
Oh come on Dave your Kemado can do it all, surely😉
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Think it might struggle with beef dripping batter. 
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God that brings back memories! Nice to know it’s still around…
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Posh, eh? What’s wrong with lard? Much more flavoursome!
Oi Oi Savaloy !
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My favourite meal for sure but for me the mushy peas are a crucial element of the dish too and since moving down South Harry Ramsdens seems to be the only chippy who can get the peas right. What most Southern chippes do is tip some tinned mushy peas into a polystyrene cup and microwave them - disgusting. Proper mushy peas must be prepared from dried marrowfat peas and soaked overnight before being boiled with bicarbonate, a little salt, maybe even a touch of sugar and bingo paradise on a plate.
The only acceptable compromise I have found in the South is to buy the frozen mushy peas from Lockwoods or Morrisons. These are the real deal and absolutely gorgeous - better even than when I make them from scratch at home. The benefit of this is that you just tip the peas into some water and boil for 25 mins. Put them on and then nip down the local chippy, by the time you get back they will be ready - bliss.
I’ve also found tartare sauce very variable. The crap they serve in jars in a supermarket is nothing like the piquant stuff I make in minutes at home from capers, gherkin, chopped onion, mayo and sometimes a dash of lemon.
I find that the quality of fish and chips on offer varies widely and recommendations are important.
Jonathan
I have just enjoyed my fish and chip supper… in my part of the world there are many good fish and chip shops, though the tourists tend to queue up at fish and chip shops at the sea side … it is not necessarily better than a fish and chip shop several miles inland … but there is clearly something appealing about enjoying your fish and chip meal whilst being attacked by sea gulls by the number of people who do it…
The key thing with fish is it being relatively fresh and stored on ice as opposed to freezing which kills the taste…
Most fish around these parts is landed in Grimsby and Lowestoft… and I suspect that would also be true for London.
I also think a nice bowl of mushy peas and a pickled onion helps it along as well
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In Suffolk, can’t say if I have seen smoked battered fish in a fish and chip shop, but plenty of small smokehouses where local fish, shell fish, meat and poultry are smoked…
Here is one rather good, and pleasingly smelly one not far from me
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Apart from where is the best fish & chip shop(s), what about the fish.
I’ve never tried smoked, much as I like smoked fish it somehow doesn’t seem to go with batter in my mind.
My first choice is haddock, then haddock, I’ll take cod anytime there is no choice. Pollock, coley & hake can be good. ‘Rock Salmon’ (dogfish) used to be available when I wur a lad but that seems to have gone out of favour, as have skate & ray, although I still see ray around Ireland.
While haddock is the fish for me in UK, the finest fish (& chips) I’ve ever had was in a dockside restaurant in South Africa, the fish was kingklip & that is just something else in the fish eating department no matter how its cooked. Perfectly light & crisp batter, kingklip fillet, double fried chips to die for & minted peas, yummy.
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The chip shop at the end of the high street in Aldeburgh, Suffolk are the best I’ve tasted in recent times followed by the Magpie in Whitby.
The best ever were Gooch’s fish shop in Bacton, Norfolk but that was over fifty years ago and they left long ago.
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Followed by a jug of Adnams at the pub across the road … heaven 
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