EAST Coast in Musselburgh has been named as one of the UK’s 50 ‘Best Fish & Chip Takeaways’ – the only chippy in Edinburgh and the Lothians to make the list.

The accolade follows an extensive search by trade publication Fry Magazine to find outlets serving up the finest fish suppers.

Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, East Coast had to impress a mystery diner who visited unannounced and marked the chippy on more than 40 aspects of their business from the quality of the food and customer service to cleanliness and value for money.

The North High Street restaurant scored 97 per cent with the mystery diner particularly praising the fish, saying “the haddock in batter was probably the best I’ve ever had from a chip shop” and commented on the freshness, taste and quality of the fish and batter itself.

The mystery diner also noted that “the shop was very clean, tidy and well presented” and that service and staff were “welcoming, prompt, friendly and knowledgeable”.

Owner Carlo Crolla said he, his wife Katia and the team were “proud” to have added another award to their collection.

He said: “All the continuous hard work is paying off.

“It’s great to be up there with the best in the UK knowing that so many entered up and down the country.

“This means so much to us and I want to dedicate this win to all those who have supported us.

“Often businesses in smaller towns don’t get the recognition they deserve so it’s great to be able to successfully represent a business from Musselburgh on a national level in a competition with such a high benchmark.

“I would put our success down to having a friendly team, dedication, great knowledge of the industry whilst continuously wanting to improve, having very high standards and knowing what a consumer wants.”

Reece Head, competition organiser, said fish and chip shops had faced a number of challenges.

He said: “It’s been a tough year for fish and chip shops with rising potato and fish prices putting pressure on shops’ margins.

“On top of this, takeaways are now dealing with the difficult issue of coronavirus, so it’s with great pleasure that we bring some positive news at this tough time.

“This is just the news many takeaways need as they look forward to getting back on their feet and reopening their doors.”

Mrs Crolla added that East Coast, which temporarily closed on March 22 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, was preparing to reopen its service due to customer demand.

She explained: “We do not have a set date for reopening yet but we would like to inform our customers that we are working on a click and collect service for online web ordering plus an app and we ask that they look out for the details on our social media channels and our website.

“This will be announced in the near future.”

 

 

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