Battered Cod

Always friendly and by far the best chippies in Manchester. I do love their cole slaw too. :) I appreciate how incredibly affordable they are.

Pricy for what it is and it’s suppose to be aimed at students.

I can’t believe it took me two years of living in Manchester to find a decent chippy but lo and behold here one is! When lusting after a platter of chips and steak pudding drowning in steaming curry sauce, there is no other remedy than Battered Cod of Withington. Cheap and cheerful every time.

Brilliant choice for your British fish and chips. Cheap prices for high quality food meaning its definitely the place to go for a takeaway night. Possibly the best fish and chips I’ve tasted in Manchester over the past two years of me staying at University here.

Superb. As good a fish and chips as I’ve had anywhere in the country. Somehow they manage to get the taste of the sea into their food — as if you’d just picked them up from the Magpie in Whitby and were sitting on the seawall eating out of the paper in your lap.
A gooey-​eyed, over-​romantic 5 stars!

Battered Cod of Withington, if you’re reading this, please don’t think that three stars is a bad thing — it’s a superb thing. It means I’ll be back, time and time again. Because you do exactly what you say on the tin. You offer battered cod, with chips and pies and gravy and peas, and you’re wholly A-​OK.
In fact if there were a three and a half stars award, you’d be a proud recipient!
I live mere minutes worth of strollage away from this branch of small South Manchester chain Battered Cod. (By the way, whenever I think of Manchester shops with around four or five branches, I think of Dev Alahan from Coronation Street presiding over them. Don’t you? Perhaps it’s just me then.
*Dev and Dierdre sexytime flashback*
*Sicks up coffee*)
Ahem, anyway, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been whinging all week. I’ve been ill, Unilocalers. And I NEVER get ill. Getting ill is stupid. I don’t do stupid. So feeling even more sorry for myself, I’d taken the three mile walk back from Oxford Road to Withington to blow the cobwebs (aka phlegm) out with some cold air and Curry Mile scents, and I thought I deserved a chippy tea.
Ah, chippy tea. I might sound quite posh when I talk (so people tell me), but I’m a Northern lass. Like, ya knooe. It’s bred into my very bones that I love a good chippy tea. Fish, mushy peas, separate pot of gravy (take THAT, Southerners), lashings of vinegar, salt and ketchup. When I was a nipper my dad used to take me to the chip shop after swimming practice on a Friday to undo all the good work I’d just done. We’d grab the provisions and drive home to eat our bounty in front of evening TV. Picking up my epic portion from Battered Cod for less than a fiver reminded me of these simple, childhood times. And I did the same as I always did back then. Hot water switched on for a bath, cat fed, feet up, Sky+ goodies. I swear, this was the evening that cured my lurgy.
So thanks, Battered Cod! I’m finally living somewhere with a good chippy round the corner. This Northern lass is mighty happy.

The Battered Cod is ace. It really is.
Essentially, The Battered Cod feels like the only proper chippy in Manchester.
As the onslaught of fried chicken, pizzas and kebabs continues apace, here we have somewhere that serves greasy fish ‘n’ chips wrapped in paper.
If you’re after fine Magpie Café style dining, quite frankly, you’re a mug. This is a place that is throwing chips at your mouth with enough vinegar on them to make your eyes water. I can’t think of anything I like better.
Right in the middle of the main drag of Withington, this place offers all the things you want from a chip shop… namely, gravy, mushy pies, pies, saveloy sausages… all the classics.
The price is good and, if you can’t be bothered walking home with your order, you can eat inside.
A wonderful chippy. Thumbs up all round.

I fear that it is possibly part and parcel of expanding which means the quality of each subsequent establishment drops slightly. This may be because the individuality of the place is lost, or maybe because once able to branch out the need to try hard to stand out is reduced somewhat. Whatever the reason (or indeed reasons), it is a recurring theme often encountered.
Way back when I gave the Battered Cod in Fallowfield five stars, and I hold by that position, for the combination of low prices, massive portions and good food makes it an excellent example of how fish and chip shops should be. For some reason the sister shop in Withington doesn’t quite live up to the bar, with the same prices, but food which doesn’t really cut it, and service that doesn’t seem as friendly. Alfie’s idea to walk the extra distance to the one in Fallowfield is probably impractical for all but the most die-​hard fish and chip fans, as the walk would take around 40 – 50 minutes as a round trip, so imagine Withington folk are kind of stuck at the moment.

OK, so now I feel a little bit mean about slating Withington in my last review. It may have its fair share of drunks, it may not have a decent supermarket or any classy dining options, but it does have something which Didsbury does not — a decent chippy.
The chips aren’t soggy, the fish to batter ratio is good, the service is quick, the prices aren’t extortionate. I’ve only been here a couple of times, but I’ve never experienced the gooey batter described by Alfie.
I’ve never been to the Battered Cod in Fallowfield, but the one in Northenden is much larger than the Withington branch and they’ll bring your food to your table.
THIS WEEK IS NATIONAL CHIP WEEK (15^th-​21^st Feb), so there is no better time to visit Battered Cod.

If you haven’t been to the Battered Cod, I pity you. Quite frankly, this chippy, right at the heart of Withington’s high street, does the best chips in Manchester. I like mine with mushy peas and ketchup, but I’ve heard that they do lovely fish too.
If you can’t wait until you get home to devour your order, you can also eat in here. Doing so doesn’t cost much more than getting a takeaway. Plus, you can sit and read the free tabloids as you stuff greasy chips into your mouth. The ultimate guilty pleasure!

During my Withington days, some sort of horrendous thing happened in my kitchen. The oven broke down, and the next day the fridge, obviously aware of my problem heating things up, went decidedly warm inside. While I appreciated the sentiment, it did mean all my cheese went off, and anyway, the fridge was not hot enough to cook anything in. It took my landlord a week to replace these broken items, and the one thing that kept me going through what I like to term ‘Kitchen Meltdown’ was the Battered Cod.
Here you will find grumpy Nothern ladies serving crispy batter, perfect chip-​shop-​chips and some of the best mushy peas I’ve ever had. And cheap, too, with enough fried goods for two, plus sauces, for less than a tenner. And sometimes, inexplicably, they do BOGOFs on battered sausages. Which is always a nice surprise!
This is a great chippy, serving good honest grub at great prices. The opening times are somewhat annoying, as it doesn’t stay open late enough, but that’s a minor drawback, and this place gets a lot of love from me!

Dear Reader,
I sincerely regret to inform the reader that I feel an obligation to convey some details with regards to two less positive experiences occurring simultaneously at the above-​mentioned location.
I should like to begin by reiterating the words of the excellent scribe Miss Angela B, who correctly attests that the two principle requirements for a successful vendor of fish and potato chips, are golden chips and crispy batter.
It is therefore, with deep remorse that I must turn this correspondence towards the actual condition in which I ruefully received my product as purchased from the venue to which this narrative relates.
The chips, something of a redeeming feature, may go without much notice. They were perfectly acceptable. It was the fish, purchased on two occasions with the same result, which induces me to write this unpleasant review.
The batter was, in short, not cooked. I feel that it may be necessary to add to the list of important characteristics of a fish and chip shop, the stipulation that food, when served on a plate ready-​to-​eat, should be cooked. The top layer of the batter I found in excellent condition, so I proceeded to plunge my teeth into the fish, but found the batter underneath very soggy indeed. This goo-​y substance, which I consumed (I felt inclined to do so as I was under the influence of repercussions from the previous nights inebriation), served the function of delivering a stomach ache, which I had not ordered.
I have since had a positive experience at this establishment, though I would urge the reader to walk the extra distance to the Fallowfield sister-​shop, identically entitled, which will eliminate the risk suggested by my experience.
Yours magnanimously,
Alfie.

Whilst this branch isn’t quite as good as its sister restaurant, it’s a damn sight better than most of its local competitors.
There’s only a few things that make a good fish and chip shop a good fish and chip shop: the chips are golden and the batter crispy. It doesn’t even matter how many options are on offer as long as a chip shop gets these two right.
Well, I’m pleased to say that the Battered Cod succeeded on both counts. And it’s pretty decent on the pocket too.

if you fancy a good traditional english fish and chips there is no better place than the battered cod .yhe chips here are just great and the fish with that crispy battered is one that you have to experience atleast once. The interior here is rustic and honest same as the staff. here they also serve english breakfast which is quite good as well but its best known for its fish and chips. i would highly recommend this place to any of my friends

I feel that battered cod is well over rated. But considering how few good fish and chip pplace you have left, it will do.
The chips are good but I think the fish batter is not to my taste, a bit rock hard!

Although not as good as its sister up in Fallowfield, the Battered Cod Withington made a solid enough start for our first meal there to not make the extra bus journey up the road to our first love. The fish and chips meal here was pretty good value for money; £3.95 for fish, chips and a side. The gravy here was pretty good as a side, as were the mushy peas and the fish was nice and tender and not overcooked.
However, I do agree with the previous poster that the food was over-​salted, but this is a simple matter in the fine art of communicating such a thing to the server next time, and it is definitely a lesson learned that I will salt my own chips in future. Moreover the batter detached itself from the fish and went a little bit soggy, but still tasted fine once it was prised off the paper.
All in all, a good start from the Battered Cod in Withington, I foresee many more chippy teas to come.

I can only assume it was an off day. Based on Qype we gave Battered Cod a go. It smelled soooo good in the car but unfortnately, when we tipped out the plastic trays onto plates, what was supposed to be a large fish n chips resembled a childs potion and on tasting it, got left after three mouthfuls as it was completely dusted in salt, so much so my lips and tongue were numbed. The fish wasn’t crispy, infact, it’s fair to say the batter was in parts undercooked and still soggy. My friends chips and gravy was apparently nothing to right home about, also being extremely salty.
Everyone has off days but this was poor enough for me not to be in a rush to give it a second chance.
Disappointing

I like eating off tables lined with transparent plastic! Not directly of course, preferably with a nice white plate juxtaposed between the sheet and the food itself. And therein lies what appears to be the philosophy of the legend of the Battered Cod: it does exactly what it says on the can. It’s a fine, fine chip shop and a Manchester institution and I can’t believe that it’s taken me until now to sample its fatty delights.
There are no frills to the Battered Cod but the food I had was top draw and the place was full of eager patrons during the whole-​tail time we were there. There is the option to dine, the service came with a smile and the steak and kidney pie was excellent.
The real test of any chippy though comes with the quality of the chips themselves — something about which I’m exceedingly fussy. A chip that is a tad overcooked is a mischip, an undercooked chip is a nearchip. For every Golden Chip, the virtuous potato snack is beset on both sides by those two vices. At the Battered Cod I trod the path of the Golden Chip.
A Manchester legend, no less.

Firm favourite in the Withington constituency when it comes to fish & chips and associated codphanalia. Actually, speaking of Cod I’d check whether they sell cod or haddock, last time I went they were selling a substitute fish, though quite nice wasn’t quite the same as codfishing stock levels you see.
It’s not that often I venture out to the chippie these days, I easily pile the pounds on and always think fish and chips are best eaten in coastal villages on holidaysomewhere like St Ives or Padstow, your legs dangling over the port wall watching a ‘crabbing’ session take place.
Still, if the kids ever have a visit to the battered cod, I can’t help grabbing a voluptuous handful of spare chips and hastily punching a hole in my face to pour these down as quick as you like — the chips are really good.
They have a seating area too (unlike the original Ladybarn branch) which if it were nestled in the Northern Quarter or Soho would be deemed the place to go.
The staff are ace.
Best chippie for miles.

My first choice for fish and chips in the Withington/​Didsbury area. This place never seems to get it wrong, chips are just how they should be fat, crispy and topped in salt and vinegar (look I’m a Londoner at heart and I’m just not buying into your chips and gravey lark). Fish is covered in a bubbly batter, and the price means you’ve got change left to pop over to the DVD shop accross the road for the complete lazy night in.
Spot on.