History

Boston's Irish-pub fish and chips tradition descends from the city's 19th-century Irish immigrant wave and the proximity of the Georges Bank haddock fishery. The Boston version is haddock-specific (not cod, as in much of the UK); haddock has been the New England fish of choice since the colonial era, when it was salt-cured and exported. The Atlantic Fish Co, Legal Sea Foods, and the Union Oyster House (1826, oldest restaurant in continuous operation in America) all serve canonical versions. The defining Boston touch: ALWAYS haddock, ALWAYS thick steak-cut chips (not fries or wedges), served with malt vinegar.

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Common allergens: Fish, Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 4 fresh haddock fillets, 180 to 220g each, skinned (cod or pollock work as substitutes)
  • For the batter: 200g plain flour; 50g cornflour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 large egg; 330ml very cold lager (Sam Adams is the Boston-appropriate choice); ice cubes
  • For the chips: 1.2kg large floury potatoes (Yukon Gold or Maris Piper); 2L neutral oil for frying; sea salt
  • For the mushy peas: 400g frozen peas; 30g butter; 100ml double cream; pinch sugar; salt and white pepper
  • For the tartare: 200g good mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped gherkins
  • 1 tbsp capers chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • To serve: malt vinegar, lemon wedges

Method

  1. Cut potatoes into 1.5cm-thick chips. Rinse in cold water; pat very dry.
  2. Heat oil to 130C. Blanch chips for 8 minutes (do not colour). Drain. Cool 20 minutes (or chill overnight).
  3. Meanwhile, make mushy peas: cook peas in salted water 3 minutes. Drain; blitz briefly with butter, cream, sugar, salt, pepper. Keep warm.
  4. Make tartare: stir all ingredients together. Chill.
  5. Whisk batter: combine dry ingredients. Beat egg into lager; pour into dry ingredients. Whisk just to combine (lumps are fine; overworking kills the bubbles). Drop in 2 ice cubes.
  6. Heat the oil to 180C. Fry chips a second time, 3 minutes, until deep golden. Drain on a rack; salt immediately.
  7. Dip each haddock fillet in extra flour, then in batter, letting excess drip.
  8. Lower into the hot oil (175C). Fry 5 minutes per fillet, turning once, until deeply golden and the batter is shattering crisp. The fish is done at 60C internal.
  9. Drain briefly on a rack.
  10. Plate fish on chips. Spoon mushy peas in a quenelle on the side. Serve with tartare, lemon and malt vinegar at the table.

Tip from the editors. Batter must be ICE-COLD when it hits hot oil; the cold-hot shock creates the airy crust. Use cold beer straight from the fridge.

Where to eat boston haddock fish and chips

Boston haddock fish and chips in Boston

Union Oyster House ★ 4.2

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States.

OrderA dozen Wellfleets at the U-shaped bar and a cup of clam chowder.

TipSkip the dining-room tables and sit at the historic raw bar. The bar is the original 1826 plank.

Directions Book

Legal Sea Foods Long Wharf ★ 4.0

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, near the New England Aquarium in Boston, has anchored the chain's flagship since 1968. Kitchen leans seafood.

OrderA cup of clam chowder, the recipe served at five presidential inaugurations.

TipLunch with a harbor-side window is the best seat. The raw bar runs daily until 22:00.

Directions Book

Neptune Oyster ★ 4.9

$$$ SeafoodNorth End

Neptune Oyster on Salem Street runs the city's defining raw bar in Boston's North End since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, hot-buttered lobster roll.

OrderHot-buttered lobster roll on a butter-toasted split-top bun.

TipPut your name on the iPad at 16:30. The wait at 18:30 runs 90 minutes; weekday lunch is the easy seat.

Directions Book

Row 34 ★ 4.6

$$$ SeafoodSeaport Fort Point

Row 34 on Congress Street has run the Fort Point oyster room in Boston since 2013. Named for row 34 in Duxbury Bay, 20 East Coast oyster varieties daily.

OrderA mixed dozen of East Coast oysters and the crispy oysters with sriracha aioli.

TipThe bar runs the same menu without the reservation lead time. Tuesday nights walk in easily.

Directions Book

James Hook & Co ★ 4.4

$ Street foodSeaport Fort Point

James Hook & Co on Atlantic Avenue has sold lobster rolls from the harbour wharf in Boston since 1925. Open mon-fri 10:00-19:00, sat-sun 10:00-18:00.

TryLobster roll on a butter-toasted bun

Tip$28 mayo-bound roll, $32 hot-butter roll. The seating outside the window overlooks the harbour; bring lunch on a sunny day.

Directions

Saltie Girl ★ 4.4

$$ $22-$48BrunchSeafood brunchBack Bay

Kathy Sidell's Saltie Girl on Dartmouth Street runs a seafood brunch in Boston's Back Bay since 2016. Order the lobster benedict with hollandaise on the side.

OrderLobster benedict with hollandaise on the side.

TipBrunch books two weeks out on Resy. Saturday at 11:00 is the walk-in seat at the bar.

Directions Book

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