The Smokehouse, Folkestone

Everybody loves fish & chips. And if you don’t, you just need to go to the right place. My parents are lucky enough to have a great chippie where they live in Folkestone, from Mark Sergeant. Mark used to run Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at Claridge’s; but he is from Kent so a few years ago he ‘did a Rick Stein’ and moved to the seaside, opening a restaurant and a chippie. I have eaten here many times and it is my favourite fish & chip shop.

My favourite dish at my favourite chippie is the salt & pepper squid. It’s just divine, the perfect SUPER-DISH and one I could eat every week and never get bored of. The spiced batter is amazing, better than anywhere else I know, and I love that there is a good mix of the head of the squid as well as little bundles of sweet tentacles. Last weekend I added a curried scallop in batter which was also very good. The chips are cooked in beef dripping and this makes them a) incredibly tasty and b) perfectly textured, I’ll also add a c) which is the fact that this a great link to how chippie’s used to be. The addition of a homemade pickled egg tops off the perfect lunch.

In Folkestone? Go there for lunch. A great place to stop off and have something to eat if heading for the channel tunnel.

thesmokehousefolkestone.co.uk