The Hook of Halstead in Braintree

Really dissapointed with our order yesterday. We had several issues. Seems pot luck here, we've been ordering off and on for years, but seems some staff aren't aware of chip shop etiquette. 1. Everything tasted rancid, clearly very old oil that needs changing. 2.Chips and curry sauce...sauce had already been put on the chips. Never experienced this, always got it in a pot to add myself, to my taste, it was a mess to open the packet... 3. I ordered a chip butty, roll should have come separately wrapped not inside with the chips, the 'spread' and the oil from the chips had made it so soggy. 4. If your going yo have a box online to add any "special requirements", please read it and do as asked. Small issues that just require a little thought.

Just had our first takeaway from here as just moved to Halstead. My daughter said this is defo the one you need to use and omg everything was so tasty, never had such crispy batter on fish or sausage before. No soggy batter at all. The chicken burger too was yummy. The portions were huge. Family said best ever. Can’t recommend them enough!

After having dinner here tonight this chippy is by far the best chip shop there is. The young staff are always friendly and the young lady frying is always very welcoming & a very hard worker. The food is hot & fresh. Highly recommend the batted cod. Thank you for a great meal evey time

Ok, just ok chips were pants. Maybe was a bad day

Excellent fish and chips and friendly staff!

First time I’ve had fish and chips in years as I’m a celiac, but The Hook serves…….GLUTEN FREE 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 absolutely delicious. Everyone who works there is really helpful and friendly, many thanks ☺️

Always great food, staff are friendly and the wait times are never even that bad.

Customer service is good within the Hook, I always find myself disappointed whenever I receive food from them. When ordering a portion of cheesy chips typically they will wrap the portion in the paper which gets stuck on the chips. I find that their portion sizes are on the smaller size, especially when the cost is so high for ordering from them. The food itself is good which is the only redeeming quality, otherwise I would struggle to rate this business anything more than a 2*. The main feedback I'd pass onto the owner of this establishment is to review both their portion sizes and the packaging of the food.

Cod was awful. If i didn't know better it had been cooked at lunch time and served to me in the evening. Cod was very dry and the batter was way too thick. Having traveled to get this, not worth the effort.

15 minutes for chips yet another customer came in after me ordered sausage and chips and was served before me

Great food, excellent staff and good value with some really reasonable prices. Well recommended 👌

Really disappointed this evening. Really greasy fish. Especially the child's one. Chips were horrible and got mushy peas but I ordered curry sauce 🤷‍♀️

Quite nice chocs and curry sauce.

The food was excellent but I ordered large cod and chips for my kids to share but I was given small cod. Second time that's happened

Oh dear! Was a regular at the Hook but for a few months I bought fresh fish from Joe the Fishman on the hill in Halstead Decided to try the Hook for a change. Quite disappointed. I usually have scampi but this time they were all smaller uniform shapes. They were that small that I could only really taste the coating. Formed scampi? Definitely cheap - poor quality. The chips were dramatically different. For the worse. Dry, like crisps. Hardly any proper chips. Hubbys “large cod” was long but thin. He said it was just okay. Think I’m better off going back to Joe and get much better quality fish, and buying my scampi from Tesco. Has the Hook been taken over? New management? Can’t believe the decline.

Prices have gone up by A LOT since covid. Fishes are a lot greasy.

Went to fish shop yesterday was served by Hunter very polite friendly and helpful and food was very good quality of food is lovely big portions of food food tastes lovely

Amazing service popped up today for a huge order that was delicious and was served by an incredibly handsome tall man who should of really been modelling. We will be back 👀

Always fantastic we get a take away from here every Friday night, never been disappointed so will continue with our Friday night fish and chips 😁

Great staff, good food. Always on time

Fab food, always friendly staff good value. Much better food than our local fish and chips. Would love to see chicken wrap on the menu

The shop has a very nasty smell of old and burnt oil if I did not order by phone I would have walked out again the fish and chips were over cooked and the food had a strange taste

Ordered over the phone went to pick it up firstly the shop smells of old burnt dirty oil the fish and chips were over cooked the fish tasted very watery no flavour at all the chips were dry and over cooked defo will not eat there again

Allways very good , but prices just gone up

Always brilliant. Never fails to impress.

Great fish and chips, great service.

The food is always good, and the staff seem friendly. It is always busy.

Used to be a great chippy Not anymore Not recommended

Curry sauce and chips are lovely

good fish and chips good atmosphere and service be going again keep up the good work guys and girls

Never disappointed with the food have a lovely friendly girl with pink hair who works there an the other staff are very good

Brilliant gluten free menu, which is exactly what we were looking for for our daughter Very friendly, cooked fresh due to allergy so took 20 minutes, but we were happy to have a little wander to the shops and back whilst we waited Very friendly, will definitely be visiting again!

Always packed on a Friday & Saturday night. Good food.

Guys this is no good my friend came over to get some fish and chips from you last night and you got the whole order wrong after nearly paying £10 for her order , the order she got was way cheaper than what she ordered surely it's not that hard to get things right . Yeah she didn't have time to travel back to you to get her order corrected as she needed to go to work come on , don't let your service slip like this .

Probably one of the best chip shops I have been to. Great food, great service and great prices.

Very busy chip shop obviously popular as shop was rammed, need to update online prices large chips online £2.90 actual £3.50 as I bought quite a few bits for family didn't realise till out of shop couldn't be arsed to go back in to mention as shop still rammed. Plus a bit greasy.

Travelled here after seeing high ratings on Google. Wasn’t worth the travel. Cod was great, but saveloy and battered sausage tasted like water and not cooked enough. Chips were ok. Next time will just get a fish and chips from a local place. Overrated reviews.

Perfect service and amazing taste for my fish and chips !!! 🥰😍😍😍😍🤤🤤🤤🤤

Got my order wrong again. Also a relative placed an order over the telephone and they got that order wrong too. Now not sure if I can be bothered with the hassle of ordering from them again now as have been put off by the errors previously.

Delighted with the separate preparation area and gf fryer, knowledgeable chef and gluten-free menu. Really enjoyed my cod and chips.

Great tasting fresh fish and chips.

Very Good £1 For a portion of chips!

Best fish and chip shop around, all Cooked fresh and top quality foods used. I can highly recommend hook of halstead to anyone, you won’t be disappointed 😃. Keep up the good work guys 👍🏻🎄

I asked if they could cook me a fresh piece of fish as there was one piece under the heater. They said that they were not cooking any more fish that night (still 40min until closing time) so I had to take the one under the heater. I took that and left the shop, I called them and asked if they had any more fish left, they said they did but will have to cook it fresh....😱😱😱. I revealed who I was and went back and got a fresh fish cooked and fresh potatoes.

Lovely service lovely cooled food and brilliant portion sizes

I’ve given it a few tries now and it’s been different. One day the batter on the fish is undercooked, the next the fish is over cooked. The chips well you’d be better off with a pick and mix with the choice of overcooked, crumbs or satisfactory. I can’t find a chip shop around Halstead that can do fish and chips properly.

Always a decent bit of fish and chips!

Really disappointed as we know they serve gluten free fish and chips, however we wanted it on a Friday but they stop cooking this at 3pm. Friday has always been a day for fish but school doesn't finish until 15:30. 😔😔

To much oil on the fish and chips

beautiful food, not a bad wait. couldn’t fault !! :) went there last tuesday and customer service was immaculate. great stuff. perfect business👍

Absolutely great and tasty. Great for when you fancy a fish and chips 😋😍

The food is fantastic. Great portions, real value for money. Whenever we place an order to collect it is always ready on time.

Great fish and chips at a fair price!

Ordered food, told it would take ten mins, went in co op for 5 and came to wait outside like everyone else, when I heard them say a number 3 past mine thought nothing of it, once it got to 30 mins asked at window to be given cold fish and chips and told my number was half hour ago. Why tell me 10mins If it’s ready now. Never go to the hook again

Best fish and chips in the area. Hence the queue but it's quicker to book on-line and collect . Well worth a visit.

Great chippy, never had a bad meal here, the staff are nice and friendly. It does get busy on Friday and Saturday evenings but it's worth the wait

Best chip shop in Halstead fish cooked fresh and tasty chips

Delicious. Best chippy in Halstead

The best fish and chips takeaway in the area. Polite and friendly staff also.

Good fish and chip shop. Nice staff, always busy, showing popularity of the place.

Best chips in Halstead! Definitely best place to go for fish and chips!

Only 4 stars because its not as good as you get up north but is very nice from there and does gluten free which is great

Perfect fish and chips, freshly cooked.

Brilliant food, brilliant service.

Fab fish and chips . Always looks like chaos but very organised xx lovely friendly staff

The hook is a very friendly place the food is superb recommended to all . The staff are so nice and friendly would recommend to all. Good for family partys

This has to be the best shop in the world!!! Gluten Free Chips!!and Fish!! And Scampi!!! In heaven!!!!💙

Very disappointed there was no fish just a very thick layer of batter very greasy chips were soggy and all struck together Cost £15 not worth a penny !!

Popped in as we were in the area and ordered 2 large Gluten free cod and medium chips. Excellent crispy batter and lovely chips. Huge portion and good value for money

Fantastic chips absolutely loved them came in a cardboard box could even eat the box it was so tasty. The fish was cooked perfectly and I definitely will return here. Did wait a whilst but they was very busy and I can see why. Staff was very apologetic about it and probably nicest ever.if I could rate this 10 stars I would well done keep up the exceptional work this place is amazing.

We go to the Hook often and we have never been disappointed. The food is always freshly cooked and delicious and the staff are friendly and efficient. Best chips in Halstead - definitely recommend!

Absolutely lovely fish and chips - best in town! Really fresh and tasty - definitely recommend. Staff friendly, helpful and super speedy!

My daughter and I turned up at this fish and chip shop not long before they were closing. Staff were good enough to cater for our gluten-free needs and turned the separate fryer back on. Fish was delicious with crispy batter and a good size too. The size of the portion of chips was larger than we could manage. Great meal! Thank you!

An excellent alternative to Oysters in Braintree. The fish is superb and to be honest I'm not a great chip eater but the chips are really good too. I have nothing negative to add. Parking couldn't be better, accessibility is fine. Having only used this shop since Covid I haven't been able to check for toilets so I don't know if there are any.

Fantastic Fish & Chips! The food was tasty, reasonably priced and served quickly. The only fish & chip shop I’d recommend!

Arrived, ordered and then made to wait just over 35 minutes for my order. Other's arrived after me and were served before me. Upon receiving my order no salt & vinegar had been added as requested and the chips were truly over cooked. The fish would fall into the bracket of acceptable, but very little fish as mostly batter. Value for money wise I would say for what I received it was very expensive. I don't know if this business has been taken over by someone else, but service has become sloppy, less staff are present to provide service and judging by the food I received last night the food was very average at best. I and my colleagues who use the shop at least 2 to 3 times a month and spend a reasonable sum have decided that we will be eating elsewhere from now on, this will hopefully shorten the queue for others and the waiting time.

Collected order last night and I have to say the chips were disgusting. They were really dark looking obviously overcooked and reheated. Will have second thoughts about ordering from here again this is not first time it's happened but last night hugely disappointed.

Always great fish and chips. Portions do seem significantly smaller and prices have possibly (?) increased since before Covid, but still overall happy. We will continue to visit.

Quality of fish and chips is excellent but what let's the Hook down is they don't check their orders before they hand them over. Had many occasions while waiting for my order people coming back complaining order was wrong unfortunately this happened to me today and had to go back to shop to get it rectified.

A fantastic fish shop, although the last 2 times we have been here the chips have been soggy and stuck to the paper they are wrapped in so much so that the chips ended up being thrown away with the paper as couldn’t actually get them off the paper without them looking like mash... such a shame as the fish, burgers, chicken and everything else is perfect

This chippy serves the best fish and chips. Large cod is always fresh always flaky and not mushy. The chips are always fresh. If you’re not a fish person, the battered sausages are epic! The quality hasn’t waned all through lock down. Yummy food.

Best fish and chips absolutely awesome

Great food and friendly service

Won’t do a collection again fish was fine but chips seemed as if they had been in the bag for a while and not very warm

My husband and I would like to recommend the excellent fish and chips from the Hook In Halstead the fish is the best we’ve ever eaten and the chips are second to none They are so efficient and our meal is always still hot when we arrive home Thanks again for your prompt service

What a whopping piece of fish! The service here was good, efficient, very safe for Covid-19. My husband and I shared one large fish and portion of chips. It was a generous portion. It is especially nice because there is easy parking right outside, makes grab and go much easier. Will use again! 5*

Superb food. We are Gluten Free family except our daughter and she eats the GF food as the batter is better. Great service, very friendly and outstanding food

I am not a big fan of chip shops but due to circumstances I decided to buy a portion of cod and chips from this outlet last evening. The staff were very patient with me as I had to return to my car to get more cash. I was served quickly and my order was processed within 5 minutes. I took it home with the aroma of fish & chips filling the car. I ate it with relish as it was without doubt the nicest fish & chips I can recall having. Crispy batter on the cod, which was succulent, the chips were soft, but not soggy, with a lovely crispy outside. Bliss at the end of a very stressful day. Well done all.

Good take away fish and chip shop, they didn’t take phone orders (may be just Fridays) so I opened an account and paid on line for a 17.45 collection slot. I arrived 10 minutes early and there were around 12 people queuing! So I waited to the left of the queue until my time. Looked like my order had been sat on the counter in a heat back for a while though. Mind you the food was good and hot when I got home!

Bought large cod which was clearly medium with soggy batter. Some chips hard in centre ( not had this before). Also only had 2 not 3 pieces of southern chicken. Paying for things not given is not good! Seems on downturn.

This is the best fish and chips i have tasted, not greasy and the chips are perfect! Service is first class, well done!

Amazing service and amazing food x

I enjoyed the takeaway. It's good value for money although sometimes you may have to wait longer due to the queue but it is expected due to COVID anyways. I will come here again.

I went to The Hook chippy for the first time today and wasn't sure what to do at first. I had a lovely cheery greeting offering to take my order. I ordered, paid, and was given a numbered receipt and given a waiting time whilst the food was cooked. After only a little while three attractively packaged boxes, in a carrier, were given to me. On reaching my son's flat, the food was superb....lots of it, well cooked and piping hot. Thank you ...see you again soon! Laura, Colne Engaine

Always look forward to fish and chips from here and review accordingly. However recently noticed that large cod is not large but the same size as medium cod which we occasionally have. Cod was also soggy and you couldn't get off paper bag it was in. So disappointing.

Been using since it opened. Always perfect if closed I go without. Best f&chips in Essex.

Food is ace, but the old people that work in there are soooooo noisy.

Ordered online on Saturday for the family which was the first time using this method. I was very impressed ordering was easy you could select your collection time. Food was ready on time and was excellent.

Good online service and excellent senior citizen's portions of good fish and chips.

This fish shop is amazing ,can order online first class food always hot and delicious value for money staff always polite love Gluten Free Menu .