When Simone Hodgkinson immigrated to Canada from England 15 years ago, she missed what we would call French fries. Of course, this Manchester girl would never call them that! “I was vegetarian then so I missed chips big-time,” she says. “And I couldn’t believe that we lived here and there were so many Brits and there were no chippies here. It didn’t make sense to me that I couldn’t get real fish and chips.”
When her husband, Gary was laid off in the spring of 2009, he got three months’ severance. His wife persuaded him to use his severance money to fill that culinary gap. The couple bought an old burger joint in the Shoppes of Bridlewood mall, renovated it and opened The British Chippy in October of that year.
This authentic British fish-and-chip restaurant features two locations: one in Bridlewood, the other in Okotoks. The menu offers a cod or haddock fish-and-chips entree featuring crisp, lightly battered wild-caught fish. The dish is served with organic, hand-cut chips cooked in non-GMO vegetable oil. The British Chippy is also licensed, which means you can enjoy your meal with a cold can of Boddingtons.
Open Wednesday through Sunday, this hidden-gem fish-and-chip restaurant, also boasts some deliciously hearty British meat pies. Serving two varieties, its steak and chicken pies are locally made using non-GMO vegetable oil with no added artificial colours or flavours. Order the pie as a meal, and receive a side of decadent hand-cut crispy fries.
As the name suggests, this is a UK-style fish and chips shop. And The Chippy in the city’s deepest Southwest takes its battered cod and haddock seriously, serving meals with organic fries and Brit-approved mushy peas. Also try its top-shelf meat pies and battered sausage, and dine at the shop’s sister location location just south of Calgary in the town of Okotoks.