LIKE many Australian customs, fish and chips came from England, but quickly adapted to fit local attitudes and conditions.

Now, as sun-kissed days drift into long, balmy evenings, it’s hard to believe that a paper parcel of salty, fried goodness hasn’t always been part of our summers.

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And while the old-school chipper can still be found on every high street, those that are dishing up Melbourne’s best are usually serving fish that’s fresh, not frozen, and local.

Oh, and they name their flake (usually gummy), along with their oil. For fish and chips is a serious business.

Because when the chips are golden, the batter crunchy and the fish moist and steaming hot, there are few foods better matched to a warm summer’s night. Dan Stock travelled around town to find Melbourne’s 10 best fish and chips.

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CERBERUS BEACH HOUSE

It’s Melbourne’s most iconic spot to sit and feast on fish and chips and draws the crowds for very good reason.

While the view from the beach is as good as it gets, the Cerberus offering from the kiosk is equally so — its fresh battered fish still some of the best around. Cooked in 100 per cent cottonseed oil that’s filtered daily, the light, tempura-like batter is surprisingly excellent, the dory fillet within wonderfully flaky and sweet. Chips are fine, and you’re charged for sauces, but it’s a small price to pay for a quintessential summer experience. Place your order, kick off your shoes and hit the sand while waiting for dinner that matches the view.

ON THE SIDE A chip butty ($4.50) is carb loading done well, or add a sweet potato cake for a take on the classic.

SOMETHING ELSE If you don’t fancy fish there’s good burgers from the grill — the Cerberus adds bacon and beetroot, cheese and egg to beef to make for a bun that’s good fun in the sun.

Boat Shed 212, Half Moon Bay, Black Rock. Ph: 9598 4230. Open: Tues.-Fri. 10.30am-sunset; Sat-Sun 9am-sunset.

cerberusbeachhouse.com.au

News_Image_File: New Mordialloc restaurant of Tommy Ruff. Picture- Nicole ClearyTOMMY RUFF

In 1994 John Stamoulis followed in the footsteps of his father and opened his first fish and chip shop and has since gone on to establish Clarendons, Hamptons Fish and Chippers, the Red Mullet Fishcaf and now Tommy Ruff, first in Elsternwick last year, and now in Mordialloc, which opened in September.

And all that experience shows, with Tommy Ruff delivering a consistently excellent complete package.

Whether it’s the faux newspaper the traditional Aussie Angler pack is served on ($9.90) — good chips, beaut batter on perfectly cooked fish — through the range of grilled fish served with rice and salad, or the charming sea-shanty vibe of the restaurant, it’s a top quality offering that’s excellent value.

ON THE SIDE Calamari comes covered in Japanese panko breadcrumbs for a tasty take on traditional rings, and Tommy’s fish tacos topped with salsa and slaw are hard to go past.

SOMETHING ELSE if you don’t fancy fish you can always go Greek, with a gryos platter of lamb served with pita, tzatziki, a Greek salad and chips ($15).

574A Main St, Mordialloc. Ph: 9580 2525. Open Tues.-Sun, 11.30pm-9pm. (Also 1-3 Carre St, Elsternwick).

tommyruff.com.au

Best potato cake

KIWI FISH AND CHIPS

Hidden underneath the Tribecca apartment building in East Melbourne in an unassuming small store you’ll find the best potato cakes in town. Hand cut discs of local desiree potatoes hidden under a fabulously delicate tempura batter, these beauties put all others to shame. Skip the chips (stock standard, expensive) and instead grab some potato cakes ($1 each) to go with your fish (Aussie gummy, or snapper, or King George whiting) that’s equally delicately battered and expertly cooked. Served on plates and wooden boards, this is a class act that is well worth waiting for (which you will when it’s busy).

ON THE SIDE Keeping to the theme, wash down those good potato cakes with a can of L & P, a Steinlager or Tui beer, while homesick New Zealanders can pick up Kiwi crisps and other snacks for home.

SOMETHING ELSE Fancy some meat? The Scotch fillet focaccia ($11.90) is a hearty alternative to feasting on fish.

Shop 9B Tribecca 412-44 Victoria Pde, East Melbourne. Ph: 9417 5494. Open: Mon-Fri. 11am-9pm; Sat-Sun noon-9pm).

kiwifish.com.au

Best fish

AUSTRALIAN SEAFOOD FISH & CHIPPERY

It’s about as unlikely a spot for a fish and chip shop as you’ll find, but on a Friday night if you look for the crowds milling in an industrial estate in Coburg North you’ll come across some of the best fish and chips around.

For the past five years Australian Seafood Group has been supplying caterers and restaurants with their fresh fish; for the past two years they’ve been cooking it up, too. There’s a huge variety of daily changing fish on offer that’s grilled or battered and fried in clean canola oil.

Flat head fillets ($6.50) come perfectly cooked, the flesh firm and flaky, the batter light and crunchy and served with admirable chips. Or choose a fillet from the display — perhaps salmon, or grenadier, or whatever else looks good — which will be grilled to order and can be served with rice.

ON THE SIDE South Melbourne dimmies ($2.50) save a trip across town, some coleslaw or a Greek salad adds a touch of colour.

SOMETHING ELSE Try a fishlaki for a fab take on an old fave and keep an eye out for the garlic butter crab which often turns up as a special.

11 Hossack St, Coburg North. Ph: 9354 1947. Open Mon-Sat 8am-8.30pm.

News_Image_File: Australian Seafood Fish and Chippery’s flake and chips in takeaway box. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Best chips

FISH TANK

With a window display so pretty and bountiful, Neptune himself would weep for joy. Here on dry land, it’s Brighton that’s blessed with a fish store serving fresh fillets for home alongside fancier fare — marinated prawns and scallops and even a lobster mornay to grab and go. All that fresh fish is cooked to order, whether gummy ($7.50) or flathead ($10.50) or in the daily catch pack ($10), where a generous fillet (perhaps blue grenadier, maybe barramundi) comes in blistered batter, fried to a crunch. The fish is good and is served with the best chips around — beer battered beauties made from Tassie potatoes that are worth crossing town for.

ON THE SIDE Housemade dimmies and spring rolls elevate the Friday night stapes, while there’s beer and wine to wash it all down.

SOMETHING ELSE Skewers speared with garlic prawns and served with chips and salad is a popular alternative, while the hot and cold platter — oysters and smoked salmon and prawns and calamari, is perfect for a summer’s night.

20 Church St, Brighton. Ph: 9592 0697. Open: Daily 9am-9pm (10am Sunday)

fishtankbrighton.com.au

HOOKED

It’s fish that’s as good for your conscience as it is for your belly. Since 2006 Hooked has been the go-to spot for good fish and better chips in Windsor, where the house fish (blue grenadier) is certified sustainable and those chips are hand cut and cooked in cottonseed oil. It’s more expensive than most ($12.95) and can take time to hit the table, but what Hooked delivers is worth both the time and money. Light tempura, deeply tanned and with admirable crunch, covers the spears of succulent fish; the generous serve of chunky chips great to dunk into the little jam jar of tartare (which is an extra 95 cents).

ON THE SIDE The superfood salad — a quinoa, broccoli, spinach, nuts and yoghurt number — goes a long way to lessening the usual deep-fried guilt.

SOMETHING ELSE As part of the new summer menu, the lobster rolls are already walking out the door.

179 Chapel St, Windsor. Ph: 9529 1075. Open: Daily from 11.30am (also 384 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, and 669 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn).

News_Image_File: Hooked’s House fish and chips with tartare sauce and lemon. Picture: Nicole Cleary

TANK

They use only local (Aussie or New Zealand) fresh fish and the fans are flocking to Lygon St for Tank’s refined take on the classic. Tank for one ($14.50) is an elegant plate; two pieces of today’s catch (this day rock ling) come lightly battered, the flesh inside firm, flaky and flavoursome. Thin chips are dusted with herb salt and accompany a tomato, trevise and spinach salad, as well as a great caper and parsley-heavy tartare. Service is fast and the fit out funky and after four years in Carlton a new outpost will open in December in the new Emporium food court.

ON THE SIDE Take your fish grilled, have it served on brown rice and with a salad on the side, and you have a decidedly healthy way to go for some good Omega 3s.

SOMETHING ELSE Spiced calamari served on a punchy rocket salad is a favourite come summer.

149 Lygon St, Carlton. Ph: 9040 2124. Open daily from 11am.

HOT FISH

For more than 40 years, Conways has been the western suburbs’ go-to place for flappingly fresh fish, where whole fish sit on ice ready to be taken home.

A year ago they opened Hot Fish next door, a modern fish and chipper that complements the retail offering. And that means the fish here is good. Excellent, in fact.

Classic fish and chips ($9) ticks the golden crunchy boxes with ease. The flake, though a slightly smaller portion than others around town, was nicely cooked — firm and flavourful.

Chips err to the softer side, which some won’t like, but do have their fans.

ON THE SIDE It might cost 50 cents, but it’s half a dollar well spent for a sharp, tangy tartare sauce to smear on the fish and dunk those chips in.

SOMETHING ELSE A great selection of daily changing grilled fish — salmon, tuna, even octopus — is available to whack on the grill and then served with rice or salad. Healthy and tasty gets the tick.

17 Wingfield St, Footscray. Ph: 9689 3400. Open Mon-Sat, 8am-8pm

conwayfish.com.au

THE FISH MARKET

Having worked in the family seafood business for years, it’s fair to say Chris Patinyot knows good fish, and he promises just that at The Fish Market, his first solo venture where it’s all fresh and all local. The Fish Market for 1 ($13.50) is a classy rendition of the classic; a generous portion of local gummy comes wrapped in a light crisp blanket of golden batter that’s well drained before serving, while local spuds from Hallam are used to make great chips. A small Greek salad completes the picture.

ON THE SIDE Sweet potato chips make for a change from the usual spud, or try the hand-cut potato cakes, prepared in house.

SOMETHING ELSE Check out the specials board, where you might find sesame crusted salmon served with wasabi and lime mayo, or Cajun spiced tuna with a tomato salsa. And to finish? There are old-school pineapple fritters, or even a deep-fried Mars bars for a proper blow out.

272 Bridge Rd, Richmond. Ph: 9428 8574. Open: Tues.-Sun, 11am-9pm

thefishmarket.net.au

News_Image_File: \Fish on High owner Alfred Drummond was taught to be a chipper by his mum.

FISH ON HIGH

The same spot has been serving up fish and chips to Thornbury for more than 70 years, but for the past six Alfred Drummond and clan have been manning the grill and been keeping the top end of High St well versed in the staples. It’s a proper old-school chipper, where the menu is as simple as the fit out and the food as honest as the prices are fair. Thick cut chips have good crunch, and a minimum serve will set you back $3.50. Barramundi ($7) and flounder ($6) join flake and whiting ($6) as the fish offering, and come nicely battered and well cooked.

ON THE SIDE Step back in time and add a Chicko roll ($2.50) or sausage in batter ($2.50) to your order.

SOMETHING ELSE It’s not a proper chipper without a good burger offering and they serve up a fairly hefty super burger ($9) that includes pineapple and beetroot as well as bacon, egg, cheese and onion.

844 High St, Thornbury. Ph: 9484 2668. Open: Mon-Sat 11.30am-8pm (Friday 9pm).