One of the things Whitby is famous for is its fish and chips which are said to be the best in the world.
Having travelled extensivley, lived abroad and in London we can say that in our opinion this is very true.
Whitby fish and chips typically are fried in the traditional yorkshire manner which uses beef dripping, most of them also use the fresh fish landed on Whitby's fish quay.
Everybody talks about the Magpie Café which it seems, in public opinion, is the best place to eat fish and chips in town. However as locals for the past 30 or so years we have only used the take away outlet. We can say that the queues for it can be huge and the fish and chips from other shops are just as good and sometimes better and cheaper. The Magpie does have a great menu and even has weight watchers options.
You can take this guide as an independant local view of the best places to eat in Whitby. In our opinion the following friers are among the best in town:
Fuscos is on the West side of the harbour opposite the back entrance to Boyes Stores (still only 10 minutes from the flat) but worth the walk. The portions are ample but not the largest in town, the fish and chips are the top notch, possibly the best and the most consistant.
This award winning frier on Church Street (at the junction with Grape Lane) is very close to the flat. It has a really nice restaurant which won't break the bank but will get you some outstanding fish and chips (though the menu is not restricted to fish and chips). We use it oursleves. Take look at the testimonials on their web site.
Restaurant only - take away opening in 2016.
Located on Church Street at the bottom of Green Lane, this frier is close to the flat. The fish and chips are great and you get nice large portions.
Is the closest frier to the flat located at the bottom of Boulby Bank (the one to the left of the house) on Church Street.
Shortly after openning Greens was recommended in a national newspaper and has since gone on to win awards. It has two dining rooms, one a bistro and upstairs, a restaurant. We've only been to the bistro and the meal, ambience and service was really very very good and as good as any restaurant in Marylebone. Greens is next door to Hadleys on Bridge Street, around the corner from Mr Chips. On the downside Greens excellent food is not in the same price league as whitby's more typical fish and chip restaruants.
The restaurant in the lower rear of the building has a very cosy feel especially when the stove is burning, it can be a bit smokey because of the burning logs. The steaks are great although its possibly on the expensive side of value.
Humble Pie and Mash offer freshly baked pies with organic pastry, lcoally sourced ingredients for both meat and vegetable / vegetarian pies. Interestingly it's 'Fran' (Rebekah Gilgan) from the BBC's Grange Hill who runs it. Humble pie is opposite Mr Chips on Chruch Street.
On the same side of Church Street as the White Horse and Griffin, Sanders Yard is a great place to stop for tea and cake. It's a lovely place with tasty-large cake portions and brilliant value. It's opposite Whitby's market square on the upper part of Church Street.
Sherlocks is a unique coffee shop crammed with interesting artefacts making it very Dickensian. Sherlocks is on the other side of the bridge on Flowergate. To get to Flowergfate cross the bridge, go directly up Golden Lion Bank, keep walking at the top of the bank and eventually you'll find it on your left.