‘We work in a fish and chip shop and offer one fried festive food - it's not mince pies'

‘We work in a fish and chip shop and offer one fried festive food - it's not mince pies' (Image: Getty)

Fish and Chips are an iconic British comfort food, synonymous with seaside holidays and Friday night takeaways.

While some consider it the UK’s national dish, the humble roast dinner is a close competitor in the eyes of many Britons.

A specific kind of roast - turkey and all the trimmings - has long been the hallmark of a British Christmas, but fish and chips may have more of a stake in the nation's festive food offering than you think.

The team at Poppies, an iconic chain of London chippies, has divulged the unique hold that fish and chips have on the nation year-round - even at Christmas.

They revealed that even with a tempting offering of nostalgic chip-shop staples spearheaded by the chain’s founder, Pat ‘Pops’ Newland, the newspaper-wrapped goods still compete with deep-fried treats.

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Deep fried Christmas puddings are on the menu at Poppies fish and chip shops this year (Image: Poppies)

The Poppies team said: “We find business continues to do well in winter as people are in the mood to celebrate, and a hot plate of fish and chips keeps away the winter chill.

“Tourists coming to London for the holidays are keen to try out Britain's famous fish and chips and Brits are keen to treat themselves to their favourite too.”

As for what the unwavering flurry of hungry customers ask for, Poppies' chippies offer something more unique than cod and chips.

“It's business as usual with a touch more festive fun”, the team said, casually mentioning their latest release - a deep-fried Christmas pudding.

The gooey Christmas pudding core is contrasted by the crunchy batter (Image: Poppies)

The Poppies clan continued: “We love decorating our restaurants and the staff wear silly hats as they get into the festive spirit too.

“It's also our tradition to create a one-off Christmas special. Every year we help make the season bright by taking a Christmas classic and giving it a Poppies makeover.

“We have answered our customers’ wishes with the first ever Poppies Christmas Pudding, a merry marvellous addition to the menu. The rich flavours of the Christmas pudding are perfectly complemented by the crispy, crunchy Poppies batter.”

It’s unlike anything you may have heard of before - aside from the deep-fried Mars Bar. But the chippy experts claimed that “both British staples come together to make an irresistible and memorable Christmas treat”.

At a traditional British fish and chip shop, you can usually ask for almost anything to be deep-fried, as many are willing to batter and fry a wide variety of foods upon request - be it a chocolate bar or perhaps a mince pie.

Poppies' festive offering isn’t a new concept, in fact, the London chip shop chain has rolled out some other stellar items in the past.

The team revealed that they’ve made everything from glitter chips and battered Brussels sprouts to mince pies, Quality Street, and Ferrero Rocher.

They added: “We also always host a New Year's Eve event in our Camden restaurant. On the first Friday of each month, we run a free 'fish & gigs' event in our Camden restaurant, which sees a rotating line-up of incredible musicians perform live for our patrons for free!

“It's always a popular and fun event so we have extended it to New Year's Eve and have created a ticketed event for customers to ring in the new year with.”