There’s a specific kind of happiness that only works with sand between your toes and a paper parcel of fish and chips on your knees, the vinegar soaking through and a gull eyeing you up. Anglesey does this very well. Here’s where to get it right.
Benllech: chips on the sea wall
The east-coast classic. The Mermaid Fish Bar in Benllech sits a short walk from the beach, and the move is to carry your supper down to the sea wall above Benllech Beach and eat it looking out over the bay. Golden sand, Blue Flag water, and a chippy that knows its job — this is the full traditional seaside experience, and Benllech is built for it with a pay-and-display car park right behind the beach.
Holyhead: a harbour-town supper
Over on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), Catch 22 in Holyhead (Caergybi) does proper fish and chips in the island’s biggest town. It’s a good shout if you’re catching or meeting the Dublin ferry, or coming off the Holyhead Mountain walk with a serious appetite. Holyhead doesn’t get the tourist write-ups it should, and a decent chippy supper is part of putting that right.
Trearddur Bay: beside the turquoise water
The Sea Shanty café sits right at the edge of Trearddur Bay, the horseshoe cove of clear water on Holy Island’s west coast. It’s more of a sit-down café than a pure takeaway, but for fish eaten with a view of paddleboarders crossing turquoise water, it’s hard to argue with the location.
Red Wharf Bay: a chippy supper at the pub
Not a chippy in the strict sense, but the Ship Inn at Red Wharf Bay serves fish and chips you can eat at a bench looking out over the vast tidal sands of Red Wharf Bay (Traeth Coch). When the tide is out, the bay stretches for what feels like miles of golden sand and you can walk it off afterwards.
What makes a good Anglesey chippy supper
A few things to know before you go:
- Time it for the catch and the crowd. Chippies on Anglesey get busy on summer evenings and at weekends — go a little before or after the rush, and expect some to keep shorter hours in winter.
- Cash and small queues. Smaller fryers can be cash-friendly and quick; the trade-off for that authenticity is occasionally limited card facilities, so check ahead in peak season.
- Eat it outside. The whole point is the setting. Benllech sea wall, Red Wharf sands, Trearddur rocks — the chips taste better for the view.
- Mind the gulls. Herring gulls on the Anglesey coast are bold and fast. Eat with your back to a wall.
Beyond the fryer
If you’re building a food-focused trip, fish and chips is just the start — Anglesey’s coast also gives you crab sandwiches, fresh lobster, and sea-salt everything. For the full sweep, from a butcher’s shop in Menai Bridge to harbour-wall crab in Moelfre, read our food lover’s guide to Anglesey. And if the weather turns, our rainy day guide has plenty of dry alternatives to a soggy beach picnic.