The Magpie Cafe

Housed in a distinctive black-and-white former merchant's house on Whitby's Pier Road, The Magpie Cafe has been a pilgrimage for fish and chip lovers since it began serving in the late 1930s. The fish is landed locally where possible and fried to order in a batter with a long-standing reputation for staying crisp and greaseless, and the menu stretches well beyond cod and haddock to whatever the North Sea boats have brought in, plus grilled and non-fried options for lighter appetites. It's a proper sit-down restaurant rather than a takeaway counter, so it suits families who want to make an occasion of it, though summer queues are legendary and it doesn't take bookings for the main restaurant at peak times. Go slightly off-peak, ask for a window table, and let the kids watch the boats. Expect to pay more than a standard high-street chippy, but the freshness and setting justify it.