In short
The best fish and chips in Exeter is at Hook on South Street in the city centre. West of the river, go to Krispies in St Thomas. For a sit-down meal, go to Rockfish on the Quay. On the coast, Krispies in Exmouth won the national title in 2019, and Pier Point in Torquay is Devon's most decorated recent chippy.
Contents8 sections
Why Fish and Chips Is Devon's Best Social Food
Fish and chips is a meal you eat with other people. You unwrap the paper, argue about the vinegar, steal someone's chips and walk to a bench, a wall or the beach. The Oxford psychologist Robin Dunbar's work on shared meals shows that eating together bonds us in a way eating alone doesn't. We've written about that in the psychology of sharing food. You don't need the research to see it, though. Watch four friends split a large haddock on Exmouth sea wall.
This guide covers where to get good fish and chips in Exeter itself, which chippy is nearest depending on where you are in the city, and which seaside shops are worth the drive.
How we checked this guide: in September 2026 we checked every chippy against the Food Standards Agency hygiene register. We searched by address as well as by name, because an address search also shows up a different business trading at the same door. We then checked each shop's own website or awards body. Two shops from the previous edition have been dropped. Prospect Plaice in Sidmouth could not be found on the food hygiene register by name, and an address sweep of The Esplanade now shows other businesses there. We could not find dated 2026 evidence that Bloaters in Sidford is trading, so it is left out until we can. Hook's original operating company is in creditors' voluntary liquidation on Companies House, but the shop is still trading under the Hook name: its website is live, its February 2025 hygiene rating is under the Hook name, and it holds a 2026/27 customer-voted award. We don't print review scores or prices, because they go out of date faster than we can check them.
Where Is the Best Fish and Chips in Exeter?
Hook Fish and Chips, South Street
If you ask in Exeter where to get the best fish and chips in the city centre, most people will say Hook. Hook Fish and Chips is at 88 South Street, a short walk from the Cathedral and the High Street. You can eat in or take away. The fish is cod, haddock or plaice in a light batter. There's a proper vegetarian range too, with battered halloumi, Quorn sausages and mushy pea fritters, which is rarer than it should be in a chippy. It holds a five-star food hygiene rating, and it holds the Good Food Award Gold Seal (2026/27), given for consistently high customer ratings over three years.
It's open seven days from late morning to mid-evening, so it suits a weekday lunch or an early dinner before the cinema or a pub on South Street.
Our verdict: Exeter's benchmark chippy and the easiest recommendation in the city centre.
Krispies Exeter, Isleworth Road (St Thomas)
Krispies, Exmouth's national award winner, also has a shop in Exeter. It's on Isleworth Road in St Thomas, and it serves the same famous battered chips as the Exmouth shop. Krispies says all its fish is responsibly sourced, much of it from the North Atlantic, where catches are managed under a quota system. Both shops take click and collect orders through the Krispies app.
Our verdict: The closest you can get to award-winning seaside fish and chips without leaving Exeter. If you've never had battered chips, start here.
The Fish Supper House, Okehampton Road
The Fish Supper House is an old-school takeaway at 17 Okehampton Road, near the river on the St Thomas side. It's been there a long time, and it's the sort of neighbourhood chippy that locals mention before any of the fancier names. It holds a five-star hygiene rating from its September 2025 inspection. It's a traditional shop, so ask when you order what they fry in and which payment methods they take, especially if you're vegetarian or only carry a card.
Our verdict: A proper traditional chippy for the west side of the city.
Rockfish, Exeter Quay
If you want to sit down, Rockfish on Exeter Quay is the place. It's on Piazza Terracina by the water, and the menu changes with what comes in from Brixham Fish Market. Rockfish was founded by the chef and restaurateur Mitch Tonks and now has restaurants along the south coast from Plymouth to Poole. Its sourcing is built around the Brixham boats. There's a terrace on the waterfront for warm evenings. The Exeter branch also does click and collect, so you can eat Rockfish's fish and chips on a bench by the canal.
It costs more than a takeaway chippy, and you're paying for the sit-down meal and the setting. It works well as a relaxed dinner with friends. If you want to go further into seafood, see our guide to the best fish and seafood restaurants in Exeter and Devon.
Our verdict: The best sit-down fish and chips in Exeter, and the Quay makes it a good group meal.
Where Can I Get Fish and Chips Near Me in Exeter?
Most of Exeter's good chippies are to the west of the city centre, so the answer depends on which side of the river you're on:
- City centre, Southernhay, Heavitree side: Hook on South Street is the closest good chippy.
- The Quay and Haven Banks: Rockfish Exeter on Piazza Terracina, to eat in or for click and collect.
- St Thomas and Alphington: Krispies on Isleworth Road, or the Fish Supper House on Okehampton Road.
- Exwick: Smart Fish Bar on Exwick Road is a neighbourhood takeaway with a five-star hygiene rating (July 2025). We list it as a local option rather than a recommendation.
- Exmouth and the estuary: Krispies and the Proper Fish and Chips Co., both on Exeter Road in Exmouth, and Rockfish Exmouth on the waterfront at Pier Head.
For more ideas when you're eating in, our Exeter takeaway guide covers the rest of the city's delivery options. If you're on a budget, fish and chips also turns up in our cheap eats in Exeter guide.
Which Devon Seaside Chippies Are Worth the Drive From Exeter?
Krispies, Exmouth
Krispies on Exeter Road in Exmouth is run by husband and wife Tim and Kelly Barnes. In 2019 they won Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at the National Fish and Chip Awards, the top prize in the trade. Their signature is chips coated in a light batter before frying, which sounds like a gimmick until you try them.
Exmouth is a short trip from Exeter on the Avocet Line. Pick up your order and walk down to the seafront to eat on the sea wall looking across the Exe Estuary. It's one of the easiest low-cost outings you can plan with friends. Our Exmouth day out guide covers what to do with the rest of the afternoon.
Our verdict: A former national champion, and the battered chips alone are worth the trip.
The Proper Fish and Chips Co., Exmouth
Further along Exeter Road at number 73, the Proper Fish and Chips Co. is the other Exmouth favourite. It also has a shop on Honiton High Street, which the company says was named one of the UK's 50 best fish and chip takeaways for 2026. Both shops are open seven days, with a break between lunch and evening service. The main reason to know about it is the gluten-free menu. It uses its own gluten-free batter and cooks gluten-free orders separately, and it's available every day. That makes it one of the better chippy options in East Devon for anyone who is coeliac. Tell them when you order, as you would anywhere.
Our verdict: A strong alternative to Krispies, and the Exmouth pick if you need gluten-free.
Rockfish, Dartmouth
Rockfish started in Dartmouth, and the setting is even better than in Exeter. The restaurant is on the South Embankment, and there's a separate Rockfish takeaway on Lower Street. Take your fish and chips to the embankment and eat them looking over the River Dart towards Kingswear. You can make a day of it with the ferry, the castle or the steam railway, and our Dartmouth foodie day trip plans it out for you.
Our verdict: The finest place in Devon to eat fish and chips outdoors.
Wheelhouse, Dartmouth
Wheelhouse at 7 Fairfax Place is the traditional chippy in Dartmouth. The Walker family have run it since 1985, and the potatoes are chipped by hand. The restaurant has been refurbished, and there's a takeaway counter for eating by the estuary. Opening days vary by season, so check its website before you plan a Sunday or Monday trip around it.
Our verdict: The no-frills local's choice, and the Dartmouth chippy many visitors walk straight past.
Rockfish, Sidmouth
Rockfish opened its Sidmouth restaurant in spring 2026, in the old Drill Hall at Port Royal, on the eastern end of the seafront. There's an indoor dining room and a big outdoor terrace, with the same daily-changing Brixham menu as the other branches. It's the best sit-down option in Sidmouth. Our day out in Sidmouth guide covers the rest of the town.
Our verdict: Sidmouth's new sit-down choice, with the best location on the seafront.
Which Devon Chippies Have Won National Awards?
Pier Point, Torquay
Pier Point is on Torbay Road, a few metres from the sea. It finished second for Restaurant of the Year at the 2024 National Fish and Chip Awards. In 2025 the Fishermen's Mission, the charity for fishing communities, named it Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at its awards in London. The charity recognised the long support Pier Point has given the fishing community as well as its food. You can eat in or take away and walk along the Torquay seafront.
Our verdict: Devon's most decorated chippy of the last few years, and well worth the trip to the Riviera.
Harbourside Fish and Chips, Plymouth Barbican
Harbourside is at 35 Southside Street on the Barbican, with an upstairs restaurant and a takeaway counter downstairs. The same owners run the Barbican Fish Bar next door at number 36, a separate gluten-free shop with its own click and collect ordering. That makes this corner of Plymouth one of the easiest places in the South West for a coeliac to eat fish and chips with friends.
Our verdict: Reason enough for a day out in Plymouth, with two shops side by side.
Squires Fish Restaurant, Braunton (North Devon)
Squires on Exeter Road in Braunton was founded by June and Gordon Squire in 1969 and is still run by the family. It was a top-five finalist for Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 National Fish and Chip Awards. The title went to Trenchers in Whitby. The restaurant is large and spread over two floors. It's a proper day trip from Exeter, and it goes well with Saunton Sands or Braunton Burrows.
Our verdict: North Devon's standout, and one of the best fish and chip restaurants in the country.
How Do You Spot Sustainable Fish and Chips?
- Ask where the fish came from. A good chippy will know. Fish from the Brixham day boats is as local as it gets. Cod and haddock frozen at sea in the North Atlantic can be just as responsible a choice. If the staff can't tell you, that's a warning sign.
- Look for the MSC blue label. It means the fishery has been independently certified as sustainable. Ask whether the fish on the menu is certified rather than assuming.
- Try something other than cod. Hake, pollock and whatever the daily special is are often the more sustainable choices, and Brixham lands plenty of hake. Rockfish's daily-changing boards are a good place to try something new.
Three Fish and Chip Days Out From Exeter
- The easy one: train to Exmouth. Take the Avocet Line from Exeter, pick up from Krispies or the Proper Fish and Chips Co. on Exeter Road, then eat on the sea wall and walk along the seafront towards Orcombe Point.
- The scenic one: Dartmouth. Get a takeaway from Rockfish on Lower Street or Wheelhouse on Fairfax Place and eat on the embankment. Then take the ferry across to Kingswear.
- The coast path one: Sidmouth. Walk a stretch of the South West Coast Path, then book a table at Rockfish on the seafront at Port Royal, or order from its terrace.
Days like these are why day trips from Exeter with friends work so well. The plan is simple, the food is good, and people end up talking because they're walking and eating side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- Where can I get fish and chips near me in Exeter?
- In the city centre, Hook Fish and Chips on South Street. On the Quay, Rockfish Exeter. In St Thomas, Krispies on Isleworth Road and the Fish Supper House on Okehampton Road. In Exwick, Smart Fish Bar on Exwick Road. We checked each one against the Food Standards Agency register in September 2026.
- What is the best fish and chips in Exeter?
- Hook on South Street is the city centre's benchmark chippy and holds the Good Food Award Gold Seal (2026/27). For a sit-down meal, Rockfish on Exeter Quay serves fish from Brixham on a daily-changing menu.
- Which Devon chippy has won national awards?
- Krispies in Exmouth won Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at the 2019 National Fish and Chip Awards. Pier Point in Torquay finished second for Restaurant of the Year in 2024 and won the Fishermen's Mission award in 2025. Squires in Braunton was a top-five finalist for Restaurant of the Year in 2026.
- Where can I get gluten-free fish and chips near Exeter?
- The Proper Fish and Chips Co. in Exmouth cooks gluten-free orders separately with its own batter, every day. In Plymouth, the Barbican Fish Bar at 36 Southside Street is a dedicated gluten-free shop. Always tell staff about coeliac disease when you order.
- Is fish and chips better in Exeter or on the Devon coast?
- The coast wins on setting, with Exmouth, Dartmouth and Sidmouth all having good fish and chips near the sea. But Hook and Krispies in Exeter compare well with any of them, and Krispies serves the same famous battered chips in both Exeter and Exmouth.
The Bottom Line
For fish and chips in Exeter, go to Hook in the city centre, Krispies or the Fish Supper House in St Thomas, or Rockfish on the Quay if you want to sit down. For a day out, take the train to Exmouth, drive to Dartmouth or head to Torquay for Pier Point. Bring friends. Fish and chips on a sea wall is one of the simplest social plans there is, and often one of the best.
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