Fields Fish & Chips in County Durham

As for flavour, WOW it was bloody lovely and brought back memories of how fish nd chips used to be. Dont expect light crispy batter or firm crispy chips because its not going to happen. This is due to the beef dripping which doesnt cook as high temp as oil. I do feel it is rather heavy on the grease so therefore chips are limp and batter is soggy but get plenty salt n vinegar on jobs a good one. You go there for the original taste of the past. Staff are great as are the prices so whats not to like. Probably best taste outside of Beamish museum with same coal fired set up

Went for the first time today. In our 60s and only live 3 miles away. Can't believe we have never been. Fish and chips cooked to perfection, will definitely be back!

Been wanting to try here for a while, finally went today & we will definitely go again. Best weve had in a long time. Thankyou

I'm a traditional person and like my chips fried in dripping. Such chippies are rare now. I walk around 8 miles for my spam fritter and chips from Fields and I've never been disappointed. Their chips are perfect. The staff are wonderful and will give a guided tour of their coal fired range. That's what they did for me. I have been coming to fields for almost 5 years now and I can say without equivocation or hesitation that I've never had better chips etc than I have at fields. Simply the best. Simply perfect in every way. Thank you

Fish and chips at its best... fantastic taste and great service as always. Thanks 😊 I have never tasted fish and chips like them.. Best ones I've had in a long time.

Seen this Fish and chip shop on Micheal Portillo s Great British Railway Journeys and seen that the food was cooked the old fashioned way fried in dripping heated by the last remaining coal fired Frank Ford Range .Had to visit the shop and taste the food & we were not disappointed . Angela Field & staff are very nice and polite & kindly let me take pictures of the shop and the Frank Ford Range and the food is prepared freshly. Food tasted great will make this our local Chippy kind regards Bob & Sheila

We were in the area and were recommended to this coal fired range fish and chip shop and so had to try. Yes, they were a little greasy, but loved the trip down memory land, when all fish and chip shops were cooked on a coal fired range!

Been here on several occasions and allways enjoyed the fish and chips. Visited good friday, waited an hour nearly for 3 haddock to be cooked, wish I'd never bothered absolutely swimming in grease and soggy batter, not nice. Also for 3 haddock and chips 1 cod and chips carton curry and 3 cans pop charged £43. Think a bit extortionate even for good friday

First time ever and you could taste the beautiful oil cooked chips but sadly they were not left to drip for a while and were so greasy it’s unreal. Would I go back, probs not but service was fantastic just have to add so a star saved for this, gutted at how greasy they were

Couldnt believe it when found this place fish and chips cooked on a coal fired range, so takes me back to my childhood.

Enjoyed fish and chips from Fields last Saturday and they were as delicious as always. Since a friend recommended Fields we wouldn’t go anywhere else for fish n chips. We travel through regularly and we have never had a sub standard meal from them yet. The fish is always white and tasty the batter crispy. The chips are always delicious.Even though they are traditionally cooked in dripping , they are not at all greasy and the taste and cooking smells are just as I remember from childhood. Frying in oil does not give the same taste.

I had such high hopes for this chippy and I'm genuinely devastated about how bad it was. I loved the story and history of the place and have had F&Ch from a coal fired range before and they've been great, not here. Everything was so greasy. The chips were covered in grease and weren't at all crispy, very sloppy. The fish batter was completely soggy and wet, not a single bit was crispy. Very small too and I'm not a big eater. Some parts of my fish were hard too, not sure if it wasn't fresh or overcooked. It's such a shame because there's very good reviews and I was eager to try it. I've been to really good chippys like Coleman's in South Shields and Bell's in Durham and thought this would be better. I don't know whether it's recently gone downhill or always been like this, but it needs to be better.

Only coal fired fryer in the area and beef dripping cooked chips. Chips are cooked well unlike most other chip shops who offer pale firm chips. These chips are a lovely deep brown and sweeeeet. The best fish and chips by far.

We saw Field's on TV and like the fact that it is the only coal fired fish fryers left. What a treat it was, to have proper fish and chips, wrapped in newspaper, like the good old days. That alone, makes them taste much better. None of your cardboard boxes or polystyrene cartons. We had a nice sized portion of Cod and chips and what superb chips they were. They had a beautiful sun tan, unlike many of the flash in the pan affairs at most places. Fish wise, I would personally have prefered Haddock but the Cod was perfectly fine and at £5.50 for fish and chips, very reasonably priced, for a really tasty meal.Have I had better? Well yes but those places have long gone now. Can you get better now? Once again yes but you will, in most cases, have to travel a long way and pay two to three times as much for the pleasure. Therefore, if you want excellent fish and chips, done in the old fashioned and by far the best way, Field's is the place for you. We will certainly be back again.

After years of intent, I finally took my wife to Fields this week; this chip shop is famous for being coal-fired, but that's not their best feature. What I've always loved about Fields is the way they cook their chips - properly, not half-cooked like the insipid offerings so many outlets sell. Not double-fried in the Belgian way, simply left in the fryer long enough to give them a lovely golden-brown colour. Talking to the lady who served us, I learned that they take extra care in choosing their potatoes - it clearly pays off big-style.They have a couple of tables in the takeaway; we were allowed to sit in, and given proper metal cutlery - that's real customer service. My wife declared them the best chips she'd ever eaten; the cod was perfectly good too, and boneless. None of it was greasy.A visit to Fields is always emotional for me, because their chips take me back to my childhood, when chippies used to know how to fry them properly. It's probably a good thing that we live 45 minutes away, or we'd be in there too often! However, now that my wife knows how good the place is, I suspect that we'll be finding an excuse to return to Esh Winning before too long.

Best fish shop chips anywhere. Succulent chunky cod with a delicious thin and crispy very tasty batter. If anyone knows of potentially better I will try but will take some convincing.

Fancied trying this place for a while but for one reason or another have never got round to it until today. Fantastic fish and chips and well worth a visit. They are cooked to order so be ready to be asked or, even better, order as you arrive. If you want mushy peas etc. make sure to order these at the same time! They also offer other things besides fish and chips such as various fritters etc. but to be honest I wasn't paying much attention. So, if like me you like you fish and chips, take my advice and get yourself to Fields.

Drove out if our way after being told how this place cooked their fish n chips ‘the old fashioned way’. We ordered them, took them home and was really looking forward to them. We were highly disappointed as they were so greasy and had a strange taste to them. It may be some people’s idea of a tasty tea but it certainly wasn’t ours!

I believe the Field’s family have been dealing in and frying fish for 3 generations now and you don’t do anything for that long without getting good at it. The ancient coal fired fryers and frying with beef dripping added to the years of experience probably explain the popularity of this chip shop and the stunning flavour of their product. Highly recommend!!

This place uses the last original coal powered fryer in England and the flavour of the fish and chips reflects this. Beef dripping imparts a special flavour and the skin is taken off the fish. They are open evenings and lunchtime Friday and Saturday. Cod and chips costs £4.60 which is a bargain for a decent portion.

we have been coming here for about a year now. the food here is consistently good. real fish and chips. absolutely delicious.

I've lived in the northeast for almost 17 years and thought I had a good grasp on the local accents and dialects...then I found Fields! What a great, authentic fish shop! I come when I visit friends that live in Esh Winning and never been disappointed! Coal fired fryer...how cool!!!

I come to Durham once a year and always make a pilgrimage here. Whilst I can't say these are the healthiest you will ever taste this is I believe the only original coal fired fish fryer in England. Beamish Museum wanted to buy it but these guys would not sell so Beamish had to commission a new one. So if you love fish and chips you must give this place a go for the taste experience. A cod and chips is £4.60 and the portions are generous. I always ask for the 'middle' of the fish as I find the quality better. Today it was excellent.

Had a family meal of fish, chips, and sausage. Freshly cooked whilst I waited and staff were very pleasant and friendly. Beautiful tasting, not greasy and the curry sauce was delicious! Many thanks

I live in the village and also know the owners and the staff . Nowhere or nothing comes close to these fish and chips

Couldn't have been more helpful, phoned them to check if they did a vegan batter for my diet and they do, just order when you go in. The fish and batter were lovely the first battered fish I have had in months. We then lined our classic cars up outside for a photo shoot. All members of staff were very helpful and nothing was to much trouble. Well worth a visit.

After looking for a quality fish and chip shop, whilst staying in the area, we were delighted to read the reviews here and rang to check if they were open. They were, although at 7.55pm I was warned they were closing at 9, so I should hurry! Undeterred, we set off the 10 or so miles and arrived at 8.20pm. The fish was freshly cooked to order and our food was outer wrapped in newspaper- a lovely touch to back up the authenticity and a nod to "the good old days". Unfortunately, the chips were soggy and very, very greasy, but the fish and batter were both tasty. I'm glad that the portions weren't overly generous, as I would have been cross at the waste. I got the impression that the staff wanted to close up, rather than be proud of their fayre and that our experience would have been much more pleasant, had we visited at opening. We wouldn't rush back, which is a shame as we wanted to enjoy ye olde worlde staple food. As a note, I would like to point out that we have had dripping-cooked fish and chips at The Black Country Museum and LOVED them, so it isn't the method of cooking that disappointed.

This place is a throwback to the good old days

Lovely fish and chip shop, which is unique with its coal fired range. Staff are always friendly. They cook the fish fresh, so it's always lovely, but I think this time they had pre-cooked a load of chips and they were not very nice. But no worries, I will be back again next time!

Been here a few times and it's really really nice I've tried loads of fish shops that claim to 'be the best' but this really is the food is cooked in beef dripping on coal powered fryers like it has been in the same shop for 100 year. If ya want proper fish and chips this is the best around (probs in the country)

Beautiful Fish & Chips from my local chippy the Fields family who run it just celibrated 100 years in business (2015) so that will tell you its all good. Like i said amazing quility. The coal range is like nothing i have seen anywhere else. If your visiting Durham its well worth the trip to this Fish & Chip Shop the staff are always friendly :)