Healthier Fish and Chips at Harbourside

Harbourside Fish and Chips, named as the South West’s best Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year in the National Fish and Chip Shop Awards for 2015, is on a mission to prove fish and chips can be a healthier dish.

Co-owned by Sarah Lock and Philip Thompson since 2009 Harbourside focuses on fresh, sustainable seafood, and aim to provide good quality tasting dishes using the finest and healthiestingredients they can source. Co-owner Sarah Lock however wants to do more to make Harbourside stand out from the crowd, and also to promote a positive public image of fish and chips:

“Fish and Chips has been a big part of the Great British diet for decades. Fish & Chips consistently receives negative press nationally and we felt this was unfair and needed to prove our point that there can be healthier ways to enjoy Fish and Chips.”

The unique approach that Harbourside has adopted is to be completely transparent about its menu offering by listing Weight Watchers points beside meal choices as well as nutritional information alongside their dishes – something which makes Harbourside stand out from other fish and chips restaurants.

The restaurant and takeaway has also adopted healthier cooking methods in terms of how they cook and prepare their dishes. These methods include using groundnut oil in their fish batter, which is a thinner oil that drains from fish easier and is absorbed less as it fries at a higher temperature than traditional beef dripping or vegetable oil. They also cut their chips to the healthiestpossible size which, according to research, is 14×17mm – a size that means the chips absorbs the least amount of oil and have a shorter cook time resulting in less fat and fewer calories. Furthermore, Harbourside also offers a wide choice of fish including battered, grilled and pan fried fish, as well as healthy side dishes, all of which allow the customer to make healthier choices. Menu options include cod fillet, line caught haddock, Harbourside homemade fish cakes, seafood platters and wholetail scampi, and lots of fish alternatives offering something for all tastes and all the family. The results from a recent nutritional analysis survey on Harbourside’s Fish and Chips are quite something:

“We sent a sample of our Fish, Chips & Homemade Mushy Peas off to be nutritionally analysed because we feel that the general public need to see that eaten in proportion Fish, Chips and Peas are part of a healthy balanced diet. We are not saying every day is a good thing but once a week can’t be bad for you. We needed to prove our point which is evident in both the nutritional figures and in the considered approach we take towards cooking at Harbourside.”

According to the Federation of Fish Friers, the average nutritional values for a 100g portion of fish and chips is 212.7 kcal per 100g. At Harbourside, a 100g portion of fish, chips and mushy peas is just 162 kcal per 100g. In addition to displaying nutritional values and Weight Watchers Points, and in further effort to help customers decide on ‘Healthier’ choices Harbourside has also developed illustrated menu icons to indicate which options are a healthier dish for its customers. 

Visit Harbourside Fish and Chips at: 35 Southside Street, Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LE or for enquiries Telephone: 01752 603183.