A FISH and chip shop in Weymouth has been named among the UK's ten best after a mystery diner gave it a nearly flawless score of 97 per cent.

Fish ’n’ Fritz in Weymouth is the only chippy in Dorset to make this prestigious list.

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

To make the ten best, Fish ’n’ Fritz had to impress a mystery diner who visited unannounced and marked the restaurant on more than 40 aspects of their business from the quality of the food and customer service to cleanliness and value for money.

With the pass mark set high, Fish ’n’ Fritz scored an impressive 97 per cent with the mystery diner particularly praising the fish, portion sizes and friendly staff. One of the comments from the mystery diner was: “I found the staff very pleasant and willing to help make our visit a very good and positive experience. Throughout my entire experience, they were polite, friendly had smiles which reached their eyes and spoke in a voice that was warm as if you could hear the smile that the server was presenting.”

Paul Hay, the owner of Fish ’n’ Fritz, said: “It is such an honour for my team and I to get recognition like this from such a prestigious competition. We get a lot of positive comments from people in the restaurant, from our ‘Social Media’ platforms and TripAdvisor but to get this kind of national recognition is the icing on the cake."

Reece Head, competition organiser, said: “The eating out market is more competitive than ever and you can no longer just open your doors and expect a regular trade; the focus has to be on offering a quality product that’s consistent, accompanied by exceptional customer service in clean, inviting surroundings.

“Our 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants hit the mark on all these aspects day in, day out by buying the best ingredients, filtering their oil every day, sourcing the right packaging, training their staff and investing back into their premises. This all comes at a price, but these shops see the value it adds and it was makes them stand out.

“We are proud of all the winners and the efforts they go to not only to raise standards in our industry but to set new ones too. The industry is so much more professional than it ever has been because of shops like those in our 10 Best who go the extra mile.”

Fry Magazine’s 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants is in its seventh year and sponsors include Goldensheaf, Frymax, Friars Pride, VA Whitley, Middleton Foods, KFE, Nortech Foods, Brakes, Profry, Acumen and Kingfrost.