Fish and chips in Warsaw

It is now held as conventional wisdom that Britain's national dish is chicken tikka masala. Whatever happened to fish and chips? A seafaring nation (once) surrounded by nutritious cod, and land admirably suited to the growing of potatoes... Decent fish and chips are becoming ever harder to come by in England (though there still are some excellent places around). But in Warsaw? Late last year, a traditional British fish & chip shop opened on ul. Koszykowa 30 (just off Pl. Konstytucji), but it was only today that Martin Oxley and I gave the place a first visit.

WOW! Unbelievable. The atmosphere is so authentic, you'd think you'd just been teleported a thousand miles to the west!

Above: waiting for cod and chips with mushy peas twice with salt and lots of vinegar. For anyone homesick for Glasgow, deep-fried Mars bars are also on the menu. Sausage and chips also available. And vast amounts of British brands, comfort food largely unavailable anywhere else in Poland (Kuchnie Świata in Złote Tarasy does HP Sauce, Worcester Sauce and Branston Pickle, Fentiman's soft drinks and a few others, but this selection is amazingly wide).

Look at this parade of iconic British brands! Yorkie bars! Marmite! Twiglets! Cadbury's Dairy Milk! Fuller's London Pride! HP Sauce! Branston Pickle! Kettle Chips! Jammy Dodgers! Ribena! Fray Bentos Pies! Jacobs Cream Crackers! PG Tips! Tiptree marmalade! Rowntree Fruit Pastilles! I have NEVER, EVER, in my ENTIRE LIFE, seen such a magnificent line-up of British comestibles in one place, outside of the UK. Brilliant.

This place being a takeaway, we rushed back to Martin's car and devoured the fish & chips in the office. Nathan, another Brit from the next-door office came to join us and attest to the food's total authenticity. Looking at the huge variety of comfort food brands on offer, he observed that much of the above is a contributing factor to the visible weight difference between Brits and Poles.

Still, for the occasional treat (and what a treat!), Fish & Chips on Koszykowa is a superb place for those hankering for an authentic taste of Britain.

Fish & Chips, ul. Koszykowa 30, telephone orders +48 692 240 804; email: info@fishandchips.pl; website www.fishandchips.pl

Polandian's beaten me here by four months - link to Scatts's review here.