The Fishing Boat in South Gloucestershire

(Just edited my review for typing errors). Wow! What an absolutely outstanding takeaway. My friend and I visited tonight. Very large battered haddock for me and a standard cod for him (very generous size too). We had chips, mushy peas to go with it, and our third friend had chips with gravy. Every element of this meal was fantastic. The batter was crisp, bubbly and perfectly cooked, the fish were both beautifully steamed within their casing of batter. The chips were tasty and fresh. The gravy was very thick and tasty (our friend is from Lancashire - Wigan - so she appreciated this!) and the peas perfect. The premises are impeccably clean, the staff very nice indeed. I phoned after we'd eaten to thank them and the man on the phone was very nice, and so humble too. We recommend this excellent place 100% and will now be our new favourite place to go for English-style takeaway foods. Fantastic! Additionally, I've been back a further four times since I originally wrote this review, and the food has been excellent every time.

A really good chippy. Great food, pretty cheap! Definitely the superior takeaway in the area.

We had Haddock and chips to take away. Absolutely delicious! What more to say? Welcoming and quick service too. Enormous portion, enjoyed every bite!

Normally a good chippy place but no cheese and poor salad in my cheeseburger this time. Hope it's only by exception.

Was very disappointed as chips were 100% reheated sadly will not be returning

I had a fantastic portion of fish and chips last night with mushy peas. The fish (normal size, not large) was excellent, the chips were crispy and fresh and the mushy peas were perfect. Price was good, service is great, parking straight outside the door, I will be returning very soon! Thank you so much!

I have ordered and eaten Cod & Chips here several times now and the food has always been delicious! The Cod has always been a decent size, fluffy white and crispy. Cooked exactly how I like it. And you always have a generous portion of chips that are golden brown and nice and hot. I would also like to mention how good the service is. They’re always polite and go beyond what they should in order for great customer service. I have a spinal cord injury and struggle to walk. I phone through, make my order and the staff kindly walk over to my vehicle with my order. Great food, good price’s and great service. I always look forward to having Cod & Chips when I feel like it. And I always order from here. 5 STARS! ⭐️😁

This place is overrated. They offer frozen, fried oily food. The day we went there was even a child from someone in the satff eating food not from there, I did not want to imagine what they think about the food they serve. The food is low quality not even properly dried from the excess of oil and the place has not good extraction and smells of oil all around. Not going back there, never. Answer for the owner: Reviews do not allow answers, so I answer you here. First take into account reviews are subjective opinions and experiences, try to understand them like that. I went when going to a trip so I cannot discuss it personally with you. I went around 10 days ago, I can assure you that our dishes were left with a lot of oil from your fried food, not just a few drops. If you claim that cod and scampi are fresh, I come from a place where fresh fish is daily eaten and it is far from that texture and taste of yours, from my point of view. The thing about the child is more about, what would you think if you enter a food shop and see people eating food from another place that is not the one you just enetered? It didn't give me a good impression. The meaning of reviews is for other people to see experiences and make the people from the places realize what they are doing right or wrong. I hope this makes it clearer for you.

Best fish and chip shop in Bristol. Love that everything is cooked fresh to order

I liked the fish and chips, however it should be served with a sauce.

Ordered large chips and they were clearly refried and hard. We were the only customers in there so they were not busy so therefore chips were not fresh. Waste of money!!!!

Great food, cooked fresh. Always good service. Had Chips, fish bites and quarter chicken for hubby..

A bit of a wait but all cooked fresh so worth the wait can't fault it

Always great food from here, the only thing I would recommend is maybe cheese and onion pasty, but not essential. Chips always delicious nice crunch not greasy and fish is beautiful perfectly cooked. Staff always friendly and helpfulpul.

Oap meal fish and chips £7, good value.

Really well cooked, not greasy at all. Reasonable prices. I think I will make it my regular.

The fish and chips were some Of the best ones I’ve had. I live locally and heard about this place and wanted to give it a go. The only reason I gave it 4 stars are due to the extortionate prices.

Best chip shop we've found in area

Had fish & chips yesterday, the best one so far.

Awful customer service, they got the order wrong and when requested a refund hung up the phone and once ringing back, told her fellow worker that she didn’t want to deal with us so hung up the phone whilst we could hear on the phone. Had to go back to the shop to get refund and there was no apology for the awful customer service instead the worker who answered the phone hid behind the counter as soon as we arrived.

We have visited many, many, many chip shops in the country. I have no hesitation in saying this shop is by far the best. We visit family in Bristol regularily and every time a visit to this chip shop is first on the list for a takeaway. Emmersons green is so lucky.

Friendly staff, nice shop fittings, just went for chips as a snack. Unfortunately somewhat disappointed with them as lots are Green / black and overcooked / recooked?. Didn't eat them all, don't want stomach ache 😞.. for £2.80 a small portion, I prefer better quality. Sorry to say, won't be back.

Only had sausage and chios Price was reasonable and the food very nice

be careful eating fish here ive had fish and chips last night and ive been up all night being sick and bringing up fish. wont be have food there again.

Nice chips and frindly people,good atmosphere

I live around the corner in Cave Grove and use on a regular basis, usually Fridays. Generally the Fish is good but the chips can be a bit hit or miss. On Easter Monday we had visitors who wanted a Fish and Chip Lunch so I went and got Fish, Sausages, Pies and the worrysome chips. The result...They said the chips were very good and the main bit, Fish etc was the best they had ever tasted and will be coming back. Well done the Fishing Boat.

Best fish and chips I've had in ages.

Lovely decor good hot food good quality fish

The best fish and chips i have ever had

Really delicious,always fresh fish and very crispy chips. The best fish and chips in Bristol with very friendly staff.

Got to be one of the world's best fish and chips shops. Absolutely beautiful fish and chips and I've eaten plenty in my time.

The Fishing Boat is our go to Fish and Chip shop in the area

I went to this fish n chip shop back in August this year. Fish n chips were lovely then. Today after a 120 mile journey to visit my family in Emersons Green, we all looked forward to fish n chips for lunch, again from The fishing boat. Well, when we got back and opened our order, we were so disappointed. The chips were really burnt and tasted horrible. The fish was ok, but the chips were a disgrace for the price. Feel very let down and disappointed. My daughter phoned to complain, but was forced to hang up as said he didn't understand her. Very rude attitude. Sorry, but we will not be back to The Fishing Boat.

The food was well lush i would reconmend this place to everyone

I have got to say im fed up of this place gone her over 5 times ordered same fish and chips and every time the fish got bones init allmost coked to death and this is everytime i have ad fish and chips people dont eat from here the chips r not cooked allways hard and lumpy i wood never eat from this place agen i will tell any1 who eats from here not to inless u want to coke on fish bones

Really, really good. I’ve been here a few times and the fish and chips are delicious. Lovely chips cooked to perfection and the cod was fabulous, freshly cooked while we waited, not dry or reheated. Super-friendly service too. Recommended.

Great service. Great food. friendly staff. Cash on collection for telephone orders though

Perfect fish, perfect chips, great portion size.

OK Fish and chips. But on a lunchtime they do not appear to have anything cooked, so I had a 20 minute wait for sausage and chips

One of the worst chip shops I have ever been too! I fancied some fish and chips so I went to the fishing boat to see what it was like. I had to wait for 25 minutes for a battered sausage and chips that was it! I thought it was going to be really nice and worth the wait WELL IT WAS NOT! It came cold. My food was horrible the sausage was all dry so we’re the chips. I am definitely not coming here again! wouldn’t recommended.

The food was perfect! We all loved it and have been multiple times already. I would highly recommend it.

Best fish and chips in Bristol! We have searched far and wide to find a decent chippy in Bristol, we stumbled upon this place and we’re delighted. All tasted so fresh and delicious, highly recommend!

Advertised that they did gluten free fish and chips. They don’t. Absolutely appalled. What’s the point of advertising it if you don’t? Then you get disappointed and cross customers like myself and my family. Gluten free diets aren’t some marketing trope to get you more customers - some people, like myself, eat gluten free for medical reasons (i.e. coeliac disease, gluten/wheat intolerant)

Absolutely awesome fish & chip shop, massive portions, tasty and very affordable. Highly recommended x

Best fish n chips in Bristol! Huge portions and very fresh

Best fish & chip I had for years.

Very nice fish and chips and pleasant staff

Cycled by today and popped in for some lunch. The batter on the sausage was crispy and the chips were cooked to perfection. I ordered small chips but it was a generous portion. The place was very clean and the owner was very polite. If I lived nearer I would be a regular customer.

Amazing quality of food and great portion sizes

Very good quality of fish, nice chips. Bad point - they have breaks from 2pm which is fair, but I was there 1.45pm and been informed that they are closing for break Not nice, not professional.

This place is a little gem! The staff are so friendly, welcoming and accomodating. The fish and chips are great - flaky fish, non greasy crispy batter and yummy chips. Definately our new go to fish and chip shop. Well done 😎

Great service. The fish and batter was one of the best I have had. Good portion size.

Unbelievably friendly service and really good fish and chips!

what a great place you huge fish and chips , the staff are so friendly and the food is so good value

Excellent food all cooked to order. Batter on fish was delicious

Great hot food and good prices really enjoyed it would use it more when back in Bristol

Best fish and chips for literally miles around. Superb!!

Food was amazing and staff are super friendly

Waiting over 20 minutes for sausage and chips. Chips were well overcooked. Not cheap either. First and last visit.

Tasty friendly chippie. Opens earlier than usual. Senior takeaways. Emerson Green Centre

Always happy to give new local places a try however I felt extremely ill this morning after eating food from this establishment last night. I now find out you don’t even have a food hygiene certificate? Won’t be recommending.

Was recommended by a friend decided to pop down with my wife, food was amazing and the shop is very clean. The staff were very friendly and happy. They were all laughing and happy the atmosphere was great. Best fish and chips we’ve had. Will definitely come here from now on.

Food was amazing, seen a few sad reviews on here but just to let everyone know they are amazing food quality is great. And they do have a food hygiene certificate.

I had Haddock chips and mushy peas. Haddock was delicious. Mushy peas just the way I like them. But I didn't like the chips although I expect others probably would. Fish seemed reasonable price but chips were expensive.

Really good fish and chip shop, really friendly staff and great food. Not much more to say, apart from there is usually some outside seating available if the weather is good, highly recommended

The chipsa re decent but the fish wasn't as good as it could be. Batter is just not good and felt like I was eating mouths full of overly greasy batter with no fish

Missed stuff off our order. Had an attitude when we called them about it

Top fish and chips in Bristol, lovely cod, highly recommend.

THIS PLACE IS THE ONE!!! honestly tho the staff are amazing and always happy. But the food is soooo good!!! The chips are the best IV ever had. Which is a big statement I know but after you try them you will agree I promise! So soft but so crunchy 10/10 from me 👍

You won't find better fish & chips than this... ANYWHERE!!

Amazing chip N fish when you order a large Cod you get a Large cod & the thick base of batter on one side of the fish is genius & delicious!👏👍

(Am sure Tina won't mind me nicking the title) Have used The Fishing Boat many times at the old and new premises. They have been doing their very best during these difficult times and have addressed the previous moans about hearing your number called by installing a little loudspeaker outside.I have always found the Cod and chips to be perfectly cooked and pretty huge portions. My wife will tend to moan at most things, but cannot find a thing to say wrong about these fish and chips. We have tried the ones from a shop in nearby Winterbourne as mentioned by someone previously and IMO they are not a patch.

We always come to eat from hengrove lovely people and good service too

Nice gluten free chips. Everything was cooked to order with a short wait.

Best Fish and Chips in Bristol. Great service too, lovely people

When I arrived to buy my fish and chip supper there was a considerable gathering of people outside, and inside, this chippy. There were adults not wearing masks and standing in queues without social distancing. There were people waiting to place orders, people waiting to collect food that had been ordered, and people waiting to pick-up telephone orders of food. There was also a fourth group of people who were there for no reason at all (other than to spectate). One party were represented by three generations of the same family, standing right in front of the entrance, with their 2-year-old child running around in and out of the chippy, and impeding people using the entrance. I ask: How many people does it take to place and collect an order for fish and chips? It was a ‘scrum’, no other word for it; there was no order to proceedings, and no signage to tell people to wait one side to be called-in by the number printed on their till receipt, and conversely where to queue to place orders. Worse, such was the noise and chaos right outside the door, that those collecting orders couldn’t hear their numbers being called. There is a need to provide on-pavement signage for social distancing, clear signage to say where to queue and for what reason, and a ‘now serving’ LED display visible outside for all to see. This need has been there since first lockdown last year!! The irritation I felt, caused by the chaos, and also being shouted at by the senior member of the staff (I point out he shouted at the whole ‘scrum’ not just me) caused me to slightly boil-over, and I retorted concerning there “being no signage and being unable to hear numbers being called”. To be fair the guy did recognise my displeasure, and added a free tub of mushy peas to my order. I did try them but I was reminded why I never buy them! As for the meal: the haddock was good, nicely cooked, but I would say the large fish I ordered has more or less the same amount of fish as the standard haddock I have had at other chippy’s. The chips were not as good as I hoped, and not as good as I have had from this chippy before: some chips were so soft that they had become a mush, these were oil-soaked and lacked the correct texture for chips. I managed to pick-out the best (which was sufficient for my appetite) and the rest went the way of the mushy peas.

Need been disappointed with this place.Super friendly staff always happy and chatty . Good size portions and some of the best chips in bristol,(trust me I know as I have a eating disorder and have alot of chips!!) Good variety of food on offer and fair pricing, I actually travel to get to this place as its better than any near me and worth the extra distance .keep up the good work guys !!

First time at The Fishing Boat. Superb Fish & Chips. Highly recommended. Jacqui

Delicious haddock and chips. Well cooked, lovely fish and friendly staff. Thank you.

Best fish and chips for miles around. Moved to new slightly bigger premises but still in Emerson's village centre. Really friendly service.

We live locally and get fish and chips from this place regularly. Have eaten fish and chips across the UK and I’d say these are among the best I have ever tasted. Friendly service and everything cooked fresh to order - perfect!

It was a Friday late afternoon and we had been out for a long walk in some half decent weather. We were a bit tired (in fact worn out) and cooking ourselves an evening meal was really just not going to happen. So, a takeaway was the obvious answer and we both felt fish and chips was the right choice. The Fishing Boat is our local chippy but our only previous visit had been in December 2019 (only a short while after the Fishing Boat had first opened for business) and I hadn’t been great. When the Fishing Boat originally opened it occupied a small retail unit that was formerly a very popular Cafe (which had itself moved to larger premises about 20 metres down the road). So popular had the Fishing Boat become that it has, very recently, taken-on much larger premises directly across Emersons Way. I have to say that I have for the last 10-11 years been very fond of a hugely popular chippy in Winterbourne some 3 miles drive from home, but at any time of day there are busy and dangerous road junctions to negotiate and the drive home is not good for the fish. Lately though (in fact 3 of the last 4) takeaways that we have had from our favoured chippy, have been very poor and in fact the last one was totally inedible. So, time for a change and a second try of the fare from our local chippy. Also we had heard good reports from friends and neighbours about the Fishing Boat. So I drove, parked-up, masked-up and joined the queue. In fact there was no queue: as the other customers standing around at the entrance had already ordered. Accordingly I entered what is quite a spacious and creatively decorated serving and dining area. I was welcomed with smiles and invited to place my order. So, 2 large haddock and 1 large chips it was, the £15.20 paid and ticket 54 issued. I took a seat at one of the (recently added) eat-out tables just outside on what is a, very broad, pavement. My thinking was that I would watch the other customers for a cue to when my order was ready. Within 3-4 minutes I was awoken from my daydream by one of the other customers relating “54” which I hadn’t heard, I was just so surprised to be called so soon. Back in I went, and I was presented with a substantial and attractive paper carrier-bag with the meals packed within, in cardboard boxes. Big ticks for the environmental considerations shown. Back home and on opening the boxes there were the two fish, both fairly large (but I have had larger) and a large portion of golden brown chips, not stuck together in lumps. The fish batter was not as good as some I have had (just not crispy enough). I like the batter when it crunches, is anything from 2 to 5mm thick, and unless it is then I don’t eat the batter, this was like a slightly crispy thin (cardboard-like) coating. Generally batter it’s a cooking device for me, rather like tin-foil around meat. The fish flesh flaked nicely under pressure from my knife, but the flesh was a tad dry and it hardly steamed when the batter envelope was breached. The fish however was plenty hot enough. The plentiful chips (we didn’t eat all of them as there we too many), were very good especially with loads of malt vinegar and dipped in 57 varieties of ketchup. For me, the fish was not cooked to order, there hadn’t been a long-enough wait (between ordering and serving) for the fish to be freshly prepared. Most likely the fish was drier because it had been fried and then kept in a hot cabinet. At it’s best the Winterbourne chippy served fabulously moist, and hot, freshly fried, fish because it was prepared to order. I certainly do not mind wating 10 minutes, or more, for freshly fried fish and I urge the Fishing Boat to consider accepting requests for fried-to-order fish. The meal was far better than my first visit to the Fishing Boat some 16 months prior, and it was a far better meal than the latter meals from my former favourite chippy. We will have more fish and chips from the Fishing Boad I’m sure, but hopefully they will be fried to order. The overall experience was somewhere between average and very good, there were slightly more good things than not-so-good things so I am being slightly generous in my 4-star rating - it’s a 7 out of 10, but that rating can’t be accommodated by TA.

Always excellent food good potions. Friendly staff 🥰

Always good food. Has coped with COVID as well as can be expected, but sometimes a big queue outside, whatever the weather. Sometimes hard to hear your order being called, could be improved by an electronic sign saying which order number they are serving. But food is the important bit and it's always nice.

Having seen a lot of great reviews we gave The Fishing Boat a try, but were very disappointed. My wife and I ordered a large fish and chips to share - the quantity was very good but the quality not so much. We were happy to wait while it was cooked to order, but when it came the chips were hard outside and very dry inside - it looks like they had been pre-cooked and then recooked to order, The fish was very thin and the batter okay but nothing special. Sorry but we won't be going again...

Having seen a lot of great reviews we gave The Fishing Boat a try, but were very disappointed. My wife and I ordered a large fish and chips to share - the quantity was very good but the quality not so much. We were happy to wait while it was cooked to order, but when it came the chips were hard outside and very dry inside - it looks like they had been pre-cooked and then recooked to order, The fish was very thin and the batter okay but nothing special. Sorry but we won't be going again...

Friendly staff, fast service and delicious food. What's not to love! This place has quickly become our favourite local chippy!

We sat with our scrumptious cod and chips in the park. Really lovely lunchtime in fresh air. Thank you. All the best with the move across the road.

My absolute favourite chippy. Their chips are cooked to perfection. Crispy on the outside with a soft centre. Their not greasy at all. Their curry sauce is delicious. Staff are friendly too. Looking forward to being allowed to dine in again soon so I can enjoy a nice pie!

Lovely chips, crunchy on the outside and soft inside! Even better customer service and a future return very likely!

Recently got a takeaway on the weekend, the food was nice and tasted fresh when I got home, but it is a tad on the expensive side for a fish and chip shop and no better than cheaper takeaways nearby. Good service but I felt pressured to leave a review of the place.

Came in with my boyfriend for fish and chips. Even though it’s got restaurant in the name it was way more expensive to eat in which is weird. Ended up having it to take away like everyone else seemed to be doing and it was pretty nice.

Fabulous fish and chips everytime, 😋

Great service, even better Cod and chips... Love this fish and chip.

A random act of kindness, myself and my partner were out for an evenings walk. We happened to stop outside The Fishing Boat to look at the menu inside (which looked good). To our surprise and without any prompting one of the staff members came out to us and offered us a free small bag of chips. We both thought they were delicious and also looked good - nice & proper chips ! In fact these were some of the best we've had in a very long time. Friends and neighbours have previously spoken highly of this establishment and with this act of kindness we have been converted. Looking forward to visiting properly in the near future. Thankyou Fishing boat for making our evening and see you soon.

Friendly staff, foods good and is freshly cooked to order.

After reading the good reviews I tried this place whilst staying at the nearby Premier Inn. Nic and clean place and staff were friendly and following covid guidelines. Sadly the food was disappointing, lukewarm sausage and chips that were over cooked and scrappy. Maybe caught them on a bad day but wouldn’t rush back.

We phone and pre order (great during covid) and it's usually ready in about 10 minutes. Top quality and good choices.

First time to visit this chippy. Excellent fish and chips. All cooked freshly when ordered. Will use them again. Very highly recommended, excellent service

Top quality fish and chips. Service is always quick and with a smile!