John: a visit to Harry Ramden’s fish and chip shop

Oct 29 2009 by John Avison

The Guiseley restaurant is Blackpool tacky in a 1950s way, not exactly run down, just unchanged since Vera Lynn’s heyday.

It’s like eating in a museum. If you wanted to film a cafe scene set anywhere from about 1930 to 1970 you could do it here without changing or hiding a thing. Harry Ramsden’s is the real time-warp deal.

You half expect Sooty and Sweep to pop up behind the counter and take your order. That’s not a random thought – Sooty and Sweep inventor and Harry Ramsden’s nephew, Harry Corbett, lived just a mile or so down the road and used to come in to play piano on an evening.

Does Harry Ramsden’s deserve its reputation as the best fish and chips in the world?

Difficult to say. They were good, but not the best I’ve ever eaten. And they were not cheap.

The best thing I can say is that stepping back into history was something I wouldn’t have missed.

The worst thing I can say is that we probably won’t be calling again.

Harry Ramsden’s is a bit of history I feel comfortable about leaving behind.