Davy's Fish & Chips in County Durham

Simply put the best fish & chips I’ve had in my almost 60 years. Perhaps it’s down to the unique coal fired fryers of the dripping it’s cooked in but 10/10 .

Heard that the fish and chips were good so had to try them while I was visiting Beamish, as people have commented the queue can be long, so best to plan to eat early or late, they are worth waiting for though, they are freshly cooked, hot and crispy. Not cheap, but worth it, they are cooked in beef dripping, which gives that extra flavour and crispness, but it does mean that if you don’t eat meat, only fish then you may not want to eat them, the new fish shop in the 50’s area can cook chips in veg oil but not the fish. They come in what looks like newspaper and drinking pop out of a glass bottle took me back to my childhood , although back then I only paid 8p for a portion of chips. Worth the wait and the price, definitely try while you are visiting

Wow wow wow. 10/10 no complaints about the quality or amount of fish and chips and at a reasonable price of £11.75. Downsides are not enough staff. This can lead to queing 1 to 1 1/2 hours so plan a late lunch 1.30 onwards we only waited 20 minutes. And no other food choices which for families with kids may be a problem. Well worth a visit

Very busy at lunch time you may have to wait, space to sit inside or take out. Fish & chips cooked the old fashioned way in dripping, excellent!

I've been to Beamish before but this was the first time at Davy's. The fish and chips were delicious and traditionally made. They reminded me an awful lot of fish and chips I had growing up, done in newspaper like my mum used to. The staff were friendly and courteous and because we visited on a weekday lunch time there wasn't a queue. Would go again any day.

The fish and chips tasted really nice and well worth the money spent along with a nice cup of tea. Large portions, we shared 2 portions between 3 of us. Deducted a star as they could do with more salt/vinegar on tables (vinegar had run out completely in eating area) and wooden forks could be a bit bigger (ok for chips but harder to eat fish with). We did queue for over an hour but that’s not their fault that it was so busy.

fish/dab and chips tasted great served in period correct non toxic newsprint for that original feel, tables inside and out to sit at clean toilets, prices reasonable and dont forget some of the cost is going towards the upkeep of the site so i considerit fair, well worth a visit if your on site for the day.

A real step back in time for fish and chips cooked properly in a good beef dripping. Bit of a queue...but well worth the wait. The ranges are coal fired and the team of assistants worked well together to keep the temperature right. Generous portion and crisp to perfection.

Massive portions, fish and chips cooked to perfection and great tasting too. Queues non existent in November 😏 would recommend without hesitation!

Best Chips I've ever tasted. Worth the wait and money. Would definitely buy again. Lovely paper they wrapped in too. Cooked the best way.

There is an be awfully long wait for food at this famous fish and chip shop. In fact I waited an hour and hour. The bill board warms the queuing patrons of this at the entrance before you enter the building. Knowing my luck, I waited another 10 minutes whilst my family received their 5 portions. I was beyond hungry yet the smell teased me of the deliciousness that awaited me. The fish and chips were very delicious. But my only minor criticism is that the portion size of chips could and should be a smidge more generous. I hear there is another fish and chips shops in the 1950s section of Beamish. I have yet tried their food there. I wonder if the queuing is just as long?!

Had Fish and chips here waited over an hour to get served, to find soggy raw batter on the fish, the chips were OK. Would never have lasted as a chippy 65 years ago if they served up this. Can't remember when I was here this year so had to put a date in. Could have done with lessons from Tot Turnbull at the SunRay Birtley (RIP) to find out how to do fish and chips

We arrived to find a long queue but as I had heard good reviews decided to wait (it took over an hour to get served). The one thing I would say is that about 35 minutes one of the fish fryers came out and told us that the shop closed promptly at 3.30 pm and there was no guarantee we would be served. We thought it would have been better to choose the last people in the queue they would serve and place a closed sign after that person. That said we were served 10 minutes before closure and i the fish and chips were amazing. Being cooked in beef dripping makes them exceptionally tasty. I will come back for another portion soon.

Delicious Fish & Chips. Massive portions. Thoroughly enjoyed them. Well worth the wait. Look forward to going back. With my yearly Beamish ticket.

We waited an hour and a half and I don’t think it was worth it.The chips were hard and dry but the flavour was good and the fish batter was hard but also tasted nice.

The queue was long,from start to getting served took one hour five minutes,but well worth the wait . We cannot recommend the food any more than we have done in previous posts. Consistantly delicious.

Back at Beamish museum, back to Daveys,as we've started in past reviews,the fish and chips here are worth the visit to Beamish museum on their own.We recommend that you try,you will not be disappointed.

Really Disappointing. Waited 90 mins in the queue for very greasy and not very tasty fish & chips. Was also not aware that they were cooked in beef dripping which was not advertised anywhere. Definitely would not go again or recommend. Wish I had gone to the tea rooms instead.

lovely fish and chips golden batter fluffy chips cooked the old fashioned way generous portions everything cooked fresh

Very tasty chips, you have to wait for them but they are nice. The portion size is quite big too. Nice treat to end the day

Such a pity lots of potential - food was okay but the service was excruciatingly slow there has to be a better way - waited for 30 minutes - not that many people in the queue - my goodness so inefficient and nowhere to sit...

Fish and chips,cooked in beef dripping using beer batter,what's not to like. Longish queues ,but definitely worth the wait.

Excellent beer batter , cooked in a coal fired range . The fish were large as was the portion of chips . You can get half a portion called a fancy. We shared two between three . Picnic tables available outside

A bit of a queue but worth it. Dab and chips cooked in beef dripping and beer batter. Lovely to eat outside.

The portions at £5.50 were well worth it,the benchs were full of folk eating these freshly cooked fish and chips. Everyone was enjoying them,served by a lovely lady.

definetly going back to beamish museum again to see whats been added love the people who were all in costume even to the bin man who empties the bins

nice clean fish and chip shop but very expenisve so please people be warned it is expensive and tastes no different,

While we visited Beamish decided to give the fish and chips a try.Tasted delicious, despite not many people being there that day it was still very busy in there for lunch

Absolutely outstanding, best fish n chips we've ever had. Beautiful shop, and the way they were dressed was spectacular

Ate here during a recent visit to Beamish and the fish and chips are very good, as previously mentioned queues are long at busy periods and seating indoors is limited but the authenticity of shop adds to overall Beamish experience. Recommended!

I would come here instead of the cafe. It was a long wait but it was worth it because it was superb. Yummy chips.

Great grub, proper potatoes and cooked in lard. What more can I say, yummy! Just a shame there isn’t a bigger seating area.

Quite a bit of a wait but really enjoyed and staff really helpful. Tasty and good value for money. Did think it would be better if they stayed open whilst Beamish open, a few people left disappointed when frying finished.

The fish and chips here are excellent - well worth the wait. The seating is basic but it just means people won't hang about for ages, so there were lots of seats despite the long queue.

A visit to Beamish museum is not complete without trying Davies fish and chips. Cooked in beef dripping this meal is delicious,it is well worth the extremely long wait. You will not be disappointed.

This fish and chip shop is the best I have tasted,the chips are fried in beef dripping,be prepared to wait in a long queue at weekend,but worth the wait. Ava

Unfortunately we never got served despite queuing and arriving well before “closing” time. We arrived soon after 4pm (the chippy closes at 4:30pm and the museum at 5pm), and whilst in the queue we were informed that they "did not know" if we would get served as the chips apparently take some time to heat up and they have to allow the machine time to cool down etc. After around 15 mins of confusion we gave up after the staff informed us they didn’t know if we would get served until they had served all the customers in front of us. During this process several other people joined the queue as the door was wide open. It was the most bizarre experience and we left hungry and bemused.

Fish and chips cooked in beef dripping on a cole fired range and served in newspaper. You know you shouldn't but it tastes so good.

Soooo tasty, this is an old fashioned, wood burning range chip shop using beef dripping, The fish and chips was priced at £7.95 and was absolutely delicious....The fish was a generous size aswell with a large portion of chips. They had printed off sheets of a newspaper (on paper) and made it into a cone.Because this is in Beamish museum,the staff are dressed in costume for the era........ I can totally recommend.

This is the tase of my childhood, fish and chips cooked on a solid fuel range and cooked in beef dripping! OK not all that PC or health but utterly delicious. If you are visiting Beamish Museum Davy's Fish and Chips id a must!

I can safely say there are only places that I can say WOW to Fish & Chips too it's this one & one close by to where I live & they're on a par with each other !

Hands down the best fish supper you will ever have. Simple. I believe the fish is fried in beef dripping which is an absolute game changer. Would definitely recommend.

Want to know why there's a queue up to two hours long for this place?

1 hour wait in the queue with not enough tables for anyone to sit. The fish and chips were very nice but in my opinion, not worth the wait. More tables are definitely needed on busy days of which I am sure there are many

Beef dripping and a coal-fired fryer certainly make all the difference to the humble fish supper. A good-sized fish, the crispiest batter and well-cooked chips make this the best fish and chips ever. Certainly stokes up the energy levels to continue exploring Beamish. The only downside was a 35-minute wait at peak lunchtime service but well worth it. Indoor and outdoor seating, but we sat on the grass, in the sunshine, and thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. Heartily recommended.

Very popular for fish and chips judging by the queue. Very good fayre and not exorbitant in pricing either. Eat indoors or there are tables outside.

What can you say fish and chips cooked in beef dripping on a coal fired burner they are a taste sensation the batter is like nothing else you will get anywhere

I was so looking forward to trying these Fish n Chips cooked in beef dripping like they used to be. The Fish albeit a bit small and the chips were very good but they don't sell any side orders like mushy peas, curry sauce or even good old tomato sauce which made the meal a bit dry. It was a baking hot day and the cold drinks they served were luke warm. I appreciated they are trying to create an old fashioned theme but looking at something old is a bit different from actually eating something from yesteryear. Please supply what a lot of people have grown to love. Tom/curry sauce and mushy peas and a fridge to keep cold drinks cold. Also, on our first attempt to eat here the queue was a mile long so we went back a few hours later where the queue was much shorter but we still waited about half an hour to get served.

Great LARGE portion for very affordable price. They open at 11am, so go early as they are very busy. Inside or outside seating available

Fantastic fish & chips and portions are more than adequate the best tasting fish & chips in the area by far!!

we visited beamish again and had the dab and chips and once again we were not disappointed this is the best fish and chips we have ever tasted and priced at 5,50 each well worth the money we struggled to finish as was so much they also do a fish and chips for 7.99 which would do for two people , we will be back again.

Oh my gosh the fish and chips was amazing Lovely staff in it The chips on it own would be enough cos u get plenty of them Fish was so lovely

These fish and chips were fabulous. We joined the long queue and they were well worth the wait. It was great watching them being cooked and putting buckets of coal into the range. We got dab and chips which is a small fish but was plenty big enough. Can't wait to go back again.

A long wait to get these Fish an Chips, but boy did it take me back to being a child in the 60’s. I remember getting them off a village Chippy van with coal fired ranges and cooked in beef fat.

The place to go to at Beamish for lunch, Davy’s fry in proper beef dripping for that old-fashioned taste (veggie alternative is available). Big portions of fish and chips served in paper and eaten with your fingers. What’s not to like? Highly recommended.

A Old fish and chip shop, they sell such delicious chips never tasted any ones like it. There is benches to sit on outside on a lovely afternoon

I told my husband that he would never taste chips as good as he would in Durham. However I was rather disappointed. Although the food was a good hot temperature and the fish was really nice. The chips tasted quite fatty, more so than down sout, and not how I remembered them. :(

We were told these were the best fish and chips in England. Not being an expert in English fish and chips, I am in no position to dispute that, but they were good.

The fish and chips are fantastic here. They're cooked the traditional way, fried in beef dripping and it makes all the difference. Superb.

Our second visit to Davy’s and it confirmed our thoughts and impressions of the first. A 20 minute queue and not the cheapest but very tasty

The queue was huge (around 1 hour) and off putting but I waited and waited and the smell of smoke thick in the air from the coal fired friers added to the enjoyment of the beef dripping chips.

After a tiring walk around the museum it was refreshing to sit a have a 'poke' of chips in 'newspaper'. Great taste too.

After a long journey to Beamish my first place to see was lunch at the fish shop as it was 100 years ago!

Cooked in the old fashioned way with a coal fire seems to make them taste better.

What we had was good but very limited choice also the wait was far to long needs better organisation

You have to see the place to appreciate the authenticity they’ve tried to keep. They use coal-fired fryers and the décor is from past years. I can only say good things about the place. The negative however is the long queue, when the museum is really busy, that you have to put up with. The fish and chips were nice enough; but they seem to be less uniform in their portions of fish than what you may expect from your local modern fish shop. So - you could get a huge lump of cod or you could get a slightly thinner one; just the luck of the queue. I suppose they could argue that in the past – they did not standardise the cod-sizes much!

Wonderful old fashioned fish and chips cooked fresh in beef dripping, just the way it should be. A taste of the past , wonderful.

Just the best fish and chips ever, very unhealthy, but once in a blue moon can't do much harm can it?

Best fish and chips ive ever had my family and i loved them. The queue wasnt that big but i think in the summer it would be abig wait to get in.

Well it would have been rude not too, Chips cooked in Beef Dripping ,tasted yum.If you go to Beamish this is a must.

Davy’s fish and chips are so so amazing. It sells the best chips I have ever eaten in my whole life.

Visited Beamish and couldn’t miss visiting Davy’s for a sit down “Fish &Chips; Meal” and wasn’t let down. Service was outstanding and Staff very friendly and the amount you got was worth every penny and not over expensive. Highly recommend if visiting Beamish Museum

This is a lovely spot to eat lunch - real chips and fish cooked on a coal chip range. At this time of year there were no queues, and we appreciated being able to sit in the adjacent dining area, as it would have been very cold outside! The cuppa was pretty good too, even if it comes in a paper cup.

Perfect. Short queue. Perfection in Tea very nice too. A brilliant place to visit for a day A real step back to the past and very tasty too. A visit to the Sun Inn completes the magic.

Queue was ridiculous however, it was worth the 40 minute wait. The staff were all amazing and the fish was the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve sampled a lot of fish. Could probably do with more seating as it was so busy. Loads of people had to sit outside, which wasn’t great at it was freezing. We were lucky and managed to sit inside.

I guarantee you will have a long wait, however it will certainly be worth it. Fish and chips cooked the old fashioned way, in fat fired by a coal and wooden fire in an old fashioned fryer which originally stood in a shop in the North East. You can get half a fish (called a Dab) or a whole fish. Apart from the long wait, the only negative is that there is limited seating indoors and not enough salt and vinegar on the tables. I certainly recommend it however, by far they are the best fish and chips I have ever tasted, served in good old fashioned newspaper.

The queue was long but it was worth it. All part of the experience.......loved the taste and the authentic method. Grandsons agreed it was a delicious meal.

Absolutely excellent fish and chips,what a pleasure it was to watch your fish and chips being made in coal fired fryers and cooked in beef dripping as in days gone by be prepared to queue as this is very popular

Excellent old fashioned fish and chips cooked the traditional way. Sometimes there is a long que but it is worth the wait. There’s also a big barn on the side so you can relax and eat them next to a fire great!

Don't expect anything other than just fish and chips. It's they way it was in Edwardian times, they didn't have saveloy dips, or tomato sauce. They are however wonderfully tasty fish and chips.

Very tasty fish & chips cooked the old fashioned way . Large portions and great value for money Loved eating fish & chips out of 'newspaper '

Visited Davys Fish and Chip shop today, what can I say my mouth is still salivating at this tasty treat. The best Fish & Chips we have ever eaten! this being a big thing as we come from the largest white fishing port in Europe. Fantastic!

You got to try these fish and chips if you’re at Beamish! Fried in original 1920/30’s friers that are still used daily. Fried in beef dripping and tasted just as you remember they used to! Brilliant and not too expensive.

The best fish and chips ever, cooked in dripping, crispy batter and served in a newspaper cone. Nostalgia at it finest.

Great chips and at £2 a cone, very reasonable, amazing watching the food cook on coal fired fryers and you can taste the difference!

We arrived here just after 3pm and found that they cater for Coeliacs- brilliant! We ordered gluten-free chips as we’d already had lunch earlier in the day. They cooked the chips in a seperate frier to make sure there is no cross-contamination. They were absolutely delicious, £2.00 for a bag of chips. There’s plenty of room to eat inside or outside. They were open 11.30-3.30 today so we were lucky to come across them just in time. Highly recommended!

One of the tastiest fish & chips that I have ever had, clearly frying them in beef dripping is the best way to cook them. I received a large piece of cod, coated in the crispiest of batters. In fact, I would have been satisfied with a dab (half a piece). We arrived at 11:45am which was good timing as there had clearly been a queue waiting when it opened at 11:30am and it had gone down a little. The fish & chips here are every bit as good as those at the Black Country Museum. What aren't there more places that fry their fish in beef dripping???

We always come here whenever we visit Beamish. Be prepared to queue for a long time as the food is prepared in the traditional Edwardian way which takes much longer. They only serve fish and chips and it’s cooked in beef dripping. The food is just amazing, even one of my daughters who isn’t a fan of fish and chips, loves it!

We were in Beamish, coming out of the little school when suddenly we got a delicious aroma of chips! We sniffed this place out and were very glad we did.

Fabulous fish and chips and I am sure this is due to the way they are cooked to that of days gone by - heated by coal, chips cooked in beef dripping, and fish coated in a beer batter. They were delicious. Knocked one point off as last time we visited the queue meant a 1.5 hour wait so gave up and got something to eat elsewhere on the site. But this time we got there about 10 mins before the chippie was due to open and only had to wait a few mins to be served. But have to point out that this time it was not a weekend or a school holiday.

The taste and quality of the fish and chips is unbelievable, cooked in beef dripping these chips are outstanding and the beautiful white fish was covered in a wonderful beer batter .Divine

Excellent fish and chips, a must visit when at beamish. This place gets busy! Go as soon as it opens or later in the afternoon to avoid the ques. I visited in a very busy Saturday went to fish and chip shop at 11.45am and didn't have to wait more than 5 mins!

Had to queue for about 15 minutes but definitely worth it. Delicious fish and chips at a reasonable price. Plenty of indoor and outdoor space to sit and eat.

Had a fabulous visit to Beamish Museum. I'd heard about this place and I was looking forward to having some chips. I knew I wouldn't be able to have any fish but chips are mostly fine and I will always double check. Unfortunately, they fry the chips in the same oil as the fish so they are cross contaminated.

we visited Davy's Fish & Chip shop, Dab (half a fish) costs £4.95, A full size fish and chips costs £6.95. They only sell fish or chips, chips are £1.95 a cone, all cooked with coal fired ranges in beef dripping! Yummy! There is quite a queue, but well worth the wait, up to an hour long if possible, If you're hungry the portions are quite large. They serve fizzy drinks in glass bottles which looked Great. Would come again.

The smell coming from here was amazing!! And lead us to the most fantastic fish and chips so impressed with everything being authentic to the era! The beef dripping made everything taste so much nicer and the batter on the fish just divine.

The day we visited was a Friday and quite quiet but the queue was 35 minutes long which was enough. I wouldn't like to wait much longer, and only one fryer was in operation.

Fish & chips at a museum what was I thinking? but it was the best fish & chips I had for a very long time. The queue was very long and slow, it was certainly worth it. They had 3 fat fryers on the go and all fired by coal, the staff were very professional checking the temperatures of the beef dripping every few minutes to ensure a brilliant product. The fresh fish was tender and sweet. The batter and chips were very crisp it was all wrapped up in newspaper the old traditional way. The last time I had fish & chips this good was a few years ago at Seashells restaurant in London.