The Battered Cod

Shockingly, I’d been a Sale resident for nearly eight months and had yet to have a local ‘chippy tea’, so one lazy Saturday wandered into town and decided to try The Battered Cod for my typical order of fish, chips and curry sauce (kept separately, never poured over the chips until ready for eating). Yes, I have chippy-​rules.
Though admittedly it doesn’t have a cool interior like Fish Bait in West Didsbury (
), they resemble the ever-​so-​British chippy of slightly worn counter tops and plastic chairs. There’s plenty of seating in there if you wanted to eat in.
My order came to £6, which seemed reasonable given the size of the fish and the portion of chips. And the verdict was, well, A-​OK — the fish’s batter was light and crispy, the fish itself was tender (if fish can be ‘tender’…) and the chips were really good, especially the ones smothered in curry sauce. Om nom nom.

Oh dear. I hate it when I go somewhere a few times and it never hits the mark. But sadly, I’ve been to this local chippy on a few occasions now and each time, it hasn’t been great.
I have ended up here all 3 times after dragging my son from pillar to post running errands in town centre. He Unilocal when he’s hungry and he doesn’t like anything from Gregg’s or any of the coffee shops, and he loves chips, so we’ve gone here as a result.
Let’s set the record straight on my expectations. I recognise that a local chippy is not serving up Michelin star dishes. And that’s fine. I love a good, dirty meal every now and again, ESPECIALLY if I’m nursing a bit of a sore head from the night before. The fattier, the better. But there is a huge difference in fatty and greasy.
Although there is an extensive menu, twice we’ve ended up ordering the fish and chips because items listed were not available for whatever reason. Things like burgers or sausages. The portions are quite large, which is great. But the grease… the grease… the grease. Absolutely swimming in it. Yes, I know fish & chips are inherently greasy, but this was to the extreme. And the batter was a tasteless, seasonless suit of armour surrounding a rather scrawny piece of fish. The chips, however, were fantastic. Super crunchy, fluffy potato goodness.
We ended up ordering take away because 1) it’s about .50p cheaper per dish on to go orders (?) and 2) the tables were not cleared from earlier diners. And when we put the bag o’ food in my car, within a few seconds there was a very distinct smell of funk. We drove home with all the windows rolled down. Pew.
On the positive side, the fellow taking our order behind the counter was extremely pleasant and very apologetic for our 20 minute wait to get our food. And the chips were outstanding. It makes sense now why so many people were coming in just to get an order of chips *face palm*
If they let the grease drain from the food a bit longer, and use a better quality cod they would have a winner on their hands. I wish them well and if I want great chips I’ll stop in again.

Surely everyone loves fish and chips? No? Well maybe not everyone, but with a name like the battered cod, and in a prime location to pick up on passing trade as people amble through Sale town centre, the Battered Cod must surely do well… The smell as you pass a chippy is enough to draw in all but those with the ultimate power of will, and this is completely the case with the Battered Cod. It opens early in the morning and serves fried breakfasts, coffees and tea-​cakes to those shopping in town, and at some point in the day, the fryers come on and more traditional ‘chippy fayre’ is on offer.
I commend the quality of this whole-​heartedly; a portion of fish, chips, mushy-​peas and gravy from here is as good as anywhere in the Manchester area, and whilst no more ‘fresh from the sea’ than anywhere else this far from the coast, the food is high quality, high-​value, filling, and refreshingly british. Just don’t have it for every meal!