WEYMOUTH'S Fish ‘n’ Fritz has recently been selected by The Guardian as one of the newspaper’s ‘20 best chippies by the seaside’... so what better excuse could there be to get down there and try them out?

As someone who has lived by the coast for all my life, 18 years in the sunny south east and the last four here in Dorset, I considered myself the perfect man for the task. A chippy connoisseur, if you will.

This was the first time I had tried Fish ‘n’ Fritz, found on Market Street, so I was also keen to find out what made them so special. Lunch for the office was on me: two cod, a large chips and a pea fritter was more than enough to feed three of us for the sum of £18.20.

The cod was massive - bigger than my face - and a nice golden colour, the pea fritter was like a giant green scotch egg and the chips were more than generously scooped into the box, so the all important first impressions were pleasing.

On the way back to the car I stopped and made my colleague Hollie take a photo of me holding the bounty by the beach.

Dorset Echo: This is me enjoying five minutes in the sun before heading back to the office. Hollie, my colleague, took the photo.This is me enjoying five minutes in the sun before heading back to the office. Hollie, my colleague, took the photo.

The pea fritter was for another colleague who said “this is nice” but he’s usually a man of few words so that constitutes thunderous praise in his books. I had a nibble and I’ve got to say it was much better than I was expecting.

I set about tucking into the chips and was mightily pleased: every chip was delightfully crisp on the outside with a real fluffy middle. The distribution of the salt and vinegar was consistent so no chip was left dry nor were any outrageously tangy.

The batter of the fish had a real lemony zing to it: Hollie said it was “delicious” and “very delightful”. Taste-wise I agreed and the fish was very flaky, which I thought was wonderful, however it did become quite wet: this, for me, is the only aspect in which there was plaice for improvement.

Overall, though, the office was left very happy (and very full) with the award-winning offering: you can’t beat a good fish and chips!