A cold January evening in Spitalfields leads to one of London’s best-known fish-and-chip restaurants, a plate of cod and chips, a pickled gherkin and the making of a proper chip butty.

Archive note, updated August 2026: This Roberts London film was published on 29 January 2016. It records Poppies Spitalfields, its menu, service and food as experienced on that visit. Prices and individual dishes may have changed; current location and opening information checked in August 2026 appears near the end of this article.

A cold evening opposite Spitalfields Market

The film begins after work on a dark, wet winter evening. Barry Roberts is standing opposite Spitalfields Market, close to Brick Lane and the Old Truman Brewery, looking for something hot and substantial. Fish and chips is the obvious answer, and Poppies is almost directly across the road.

This is the Hanbury Street branch, the original Poppies restaurant opened by founder Pat “Pop” Newland. Its position makes it a useful stop during an East End walk: Spitalfields Market is a few minutes away, Brick Lane begins nearby and Shoreditch lies just to the north.

The weather matters to the story. Fish and chips can be eaten in almost any setting, but on a cold London night the contrast between the street and the warm restaurant gives the meal extra force. The film is less a formal review than the record of a craving being answered at exactly the right moment.

What makes fish and chips feel British?

Fish and chips is treated as a British institution, although the origins of the dish are more complicated than a single invention story. Fried fish and fried potatoes arrived through different culinary traditions before becoming a familiar pairing in nineteenth-century Britain. The important point in the film is not who can claim the first portion. It is how many personal rules British diners have developed around the meal.

Which fish should you choose: cod, haddock, plaice or something else? Should the batter be delicate or heavily crisp? Are the chips best thick and soft in the centre, or cooked until firmer? Malt vinegar is traditional, but some people prefer the sharper vinegar from the pickled-onion jar. Then come the sides: mushy peas, curry sauce, tartare sauce, ketchup, pickled onions or a gherkin.

There is no universal correct answer. The pleasure comes partly from assembling the plate to suit yourself. Barry’s 2016 order is regular cod and chips with a sliced pickled gherkin, bread and butter, lemon, ketchup and tartare sauce, followed by plenty of salt and vinegar.

The 2016 Poppies order

When the food arrives, the batter is crisp and the cod inside is soft and flaky. The portion is generous without becoming theatrical. Thick slices of bread arrive separately, ready to turn a handful of chips into another British favourite: the chip butty.

A chip butty is deliberately simple. Buttered bread is filled with hot chips, then seasoned with whatever combination of salt, vinegar or sauce the diner prefers. It is carbohydrate inside carbohydrate, which sounds excessive until the heat begins to melt the butter into the bread. The film shows the construction and the inevitably awkward first bite.

Barry’s verdict on the main dish is enthusiastic. The cod is moist, the batter has the required crunch and the chips take salt and vinegar well. He also notes that Poppies was not a cheap chippy in 2016. That distinction is useful: this was a sit-down restaurant in a busy central area, with table service and a carefully designed interior, rather than a paper-wrapped takeaway eaten on the pavement.

Inside the Spitalfields restaurant

Poppies uses nostalgia as part of the experience. The Hanbury Street dining room combines the visual language of an old British chip shop with elements of a 1950s American diner. Framed photographs, retro fittings and period details create a setting that feels designed but not anonymous.

The restaurant’s identity is closely connected to Pat Newland, known as Pop. According to the current Poppies history, he started in the fish-and-chip trade at the age of eleven on Roman Road, where one of his jobs was cutting sheets of the Daily Mirror for takeaway wrapping. He later opened the Spitalfields restaurant and built the business around memories of the shops in which he had learned the trade.

That backstory explains why the interior is more than generic retro decoration. It is intended to recall a particular working world: counters, tiled surfaces, newspaper, old photographs and the bustle of a neighbourhood chippy. Pop has since died, but the company continues to present the restaurants as an extension of his original idea.

Was Poppies the best fish and chips in London?

The video title asks the question, but the film sensibly avoids declaring a permanent winner. Every Londoner seems to have a favourite chippy, usually connected to a neighbourhood, a remembered family order or a precise preference for batter and chips. A meal can also vary from one visit to the next.

Poppies did have a recognised national award behind the claim. The Spitalfields restaurant was named Independent Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year at the 2014 National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish. That is a meaningful achievement, but it does not turn taste into an objective league table for all time.

The more durable conclusion from the 2016 visit is that Poppies made a strong introduction to the dish. The food was good, the service was friendly, takeaway was available and the location allowed visitors to combine dinner with Spitalfields and Brick Lane. For someone trying British fish and chips for the first time, it set expectations high.

What has changed since the film?

The Roberts London film preserves one branch on one evening in January 2016. Poppies has since grown beyond Spitalfields. As checked in August 2026, the business lists four London restaurants: Spitalfields, Soho, Camden and Notting Hill near Portobello Road. The company offers dine-in, takeaway and delivery, although availability varies by location.

The current Poppies website says fish is delivered fresh, filleted by fishmongers on site, cooked in groundnut oil and served with hand-cut chips. Those are current company descriptions rather than details independently tested for this archive article. Anyone with a nut allergy or another dietary requirement should speak directly to the restaurant before ordering.

The menu shown in the film belongs firmly to 2016. The choices, prices, portion sizes and presentation should not be used as a promise of what will arrive today. This is precisely why an archive film remains useful: it shows how a familiar London restaurant looked and felt at a particular moment.

Visiting Poppies Spitalfields now

• Address: 6–8 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR
• Nearest stations: Shoreditch High Street, Aldgate East and Liverpool Street
• Opening hours checked 18 August 2026: Monday–Wednesday 11am–10pm; Thursday–Saturday 11am–11pm; Sunday 11am–10pm
• Nearby: Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane and the Old Truman Brewery

Opening hours and menus can change. Check the official Poppies Spitalfields page before making a special journey. The current locations page lists the other London branches.

Watch the original Roberts London film

The 11-minute film follows the visit from the wet streets outside Spitalfields Market to the cod, chips, gherkin and chip butty inside Poppies in January 2016.

For another fish-and-chips visit in a very different setting, read about the Prospect of Whitby in Wapping. The Borough Market full English breakfast and Regency Café continue the Roberts London archive of traditional London food. More restaurant and pub stories are collected in Hospitality.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Poppies Spitalfields?

Poppies Spitalfields is at 6–8 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR, close to Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane. Shoreditch High Street, Aldgate East and Liverpool Street stations are all within walking distance.

Is Poppies the best fish and chips in London?

That is a matter of personal taste. Poppies Spitalfields won the Independent Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year award in 2014, and the 2016 Roberts London visit was strongly positive, but London has many excellent chippies and individual meals can vary.

Can you eat in or take away?

Yes. Poppies currently advertises dine-in, takeaway and delivery, although the available services and ordering times may differ between branches.

What did Barry Roberts order in the film?

Barry ordered regular cod and chips with a sliced pickled gherkin, bread and butter, lemon, ketchup, tartare sauce and a Diet Coke. He used some of the chips to make a chip butty.

Does the 2016 menu still apply?

No. The film is an archive record of one visit in January 2016. Current dishes, prices, portion sizes and opening hours should be checked with Poppies before visiting.