Is fish and chips too expensive for Brits?

Britain’s most popular dish is more expensive than ever thanks to cost-of-living price inflation. The humble fish and chips takeaway has been a staple of British households since its introduction in the 19th century. But with fish, potato and oil prices spiking in recent years, it’s no longer a reliable cheap eat.

New data from Britain's Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that fish and chips has had the steepest rise in prices of the UK’s most popular takeaways. In the past five years, the average price for a portion of the dish has increased by over 50%.

Across the country, the average price of fish and chips has risen to £9.88 (€11.70) from £6.48 (€7.67) in July 2019, an increase of 52%.

Compared to other takeaway options, it’s the highest rise over the past half decade ahead of kebabs (44%), chicken and chips (42%), pizza (30%), Indian (29%) and Chinese (29%).

According to a recent YouGov poll, fish and chips is the second-most popular dish in the UK, behind just chips on their own. Introduced to the UK by Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had emigrated from the Netherlands, the meal became increasingly popular in the 20th century and was one of the few foods not subject to rationing during the Second World War.

But the UK icon has been subject to steep rises in costs before it can reach British plates. Fish has risen in price, in part due to a 35% import tariff on Russian seafood after 2022. Potato prices have also risen due to small crop yields across Europe and increasingly highly paid UK farmers.

Another factor in the rise of fish and chips prices is energy. Both the oil for frying and the power required to run those fryers has increased significantly over the past five years. In 2022, the price cap for