The best Scottish chippies according to the 2026 National Fish and Chip Awards including top takeaway
The National Fish and Chip Award winners have been announced for 2026, including three chippies in Scotland.
It’s one of the nation’s favourite takeaways, but which fish and chip shops are the best in the country?
The end of February sees the annual National Fish and Chip Awards take place at a ceremony in London, and this year three Scottish businesses were named at the awards.
The awards, which are now in their 38th year, celebrate and highlight the best of the fish and chip industry across the country in categories including sustainability and customer service.
The awards ceremony took place in London and was hosted by actor Stephen Mangan, and was organised by fish and chip industry association, the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).
The UK’s official competition for the sector, the awards involve a rigorous judging process including interview rounds, operational assessments, skills tests and anonymous taste testing.
While The Scrap Box in York took home the coveted Takeaway of the Year award, The Fish Works in Largs took second place. They also won the Field to Frier award.
Other Scottish winners included: Monster Fish & Chips Co. in Fort Augustus in Inverness-shire won newcomer of the year; and The Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum who won the Environment and Sustainable Business award.
Of her business award win, Sarah Heward, owner of The Real Food Cafe, said: “Sustainability underpins every decision we make, from how we source our ingredients to how we look after our team, our community and the area around us. To be recognised nationally for that is so incredibly meaningful for me.
“Running a rural hospitality business comes with a unique set of challenges, particularly in the current climate, but we’ve always believed that thinking long term, supporting local suppliers and investing in our people is the only way to build something lasting that people love.
“This has been a journey of continual improvement and learning for us, with the aim of reducing our carbon footprint and protecting our beautiful natural environment.
“What makes me most proud is the collective effort behind it. Our team have embraced sustainability in their day-to-day work, our customers have got behind our waste-reducing initiatives, and our incredible volunteers give up their time to collect tonnes of litter from the area.
“I’ve also made significant investments in energy-efficient equipment and building improvements and share my experience and learnings in public talks and webinars with other businesses where possible. Recently, we’ve introduced a Heat Recovery system that should save over 6 tonnes of carbon per year and reduce our energy bills.
“All of these actions have made a real difference, from reducing waste and lowering energy consumption to improving efficiency and creating a cleaner, more beautiful local environment. It has boosted pride and motivation across our team, and we’re so delighted to hear that our work is inspiring others in the sector too.
“Living and working in the National Park is a constant reminder of why sustainability matters. Our environment is incredibly precious, and we all have a role in protecting it. We’re now working with the Energy Saving Trust and Stirling Council on a proposed heat-recovery system that could cut our energy use by 20%.
“We’re also trialling new measures to reduce chip waste, such as collecting and weighing all the leftover chips with a view to reducing portion size and offering extra if customers feel they need more.”
Andrew Crook is the president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, he says the 2026 edition has been one of the most complex for the judges to separate the winners. “What a year it has been for the National Fish & Chip Awards.
“We don’t make it easy to progress through the assessments as benchmarks are always set extremely high.
“This ensures shortlisted businesses and individuals truly know about serving superb quality meals for customers and they are contributing to the growth of sector by innovating where possible, investing in their operations and people, and being exceptional advocates for the trade.
“It’s been clear from the start that those competing came with serious agendas to elevate industry best practice like never before and we are so proud to say these are the winners.
“Fish and chip businesses are the backbone of the takeaway space; the heritage is like no other and our winners represent tradition and the future to the highest degree.
“We have so much admiration and respect for all our finalists and winners and especially our new Takeaway of the Year titleholder, The Scrap Box. It’s going to be a brilliant time of extended celebrations! Congratulations to Aman, Gavin and the team, and thank you for your service, passion and love for the greatest dish in the world.”
Seafood from Norway’s Bjørn-Erik Stabell, UK Country Director for the Norwegian Seafood Council, added: “On behalf of the Norwegian seafood industry, we want to congratulate this year’s winners who have been crowned as the best in the business – you are truly remarkable.
“The commitment to quality across the industry continues to astound us year on year, and it’s this shared commitment that gets us excited about the future of fish and chips.”
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