The Bay Fish & Chips

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#7 of 43 Restaurants in Stonehaven$, Seafood, Fast food, Gluten free options

+44 1569 762000+ Add website

Write a Review

Hours

Sun

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Mon

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Tue

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Wed

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Thu

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Fri

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Sat

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Improve this listing

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

1,104 reviews

#7 of 43 Restaurants in Stonehaven

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Seafood, Fast food, British, Scottish, Gluten free options

“Fantastic haddock, chips and mushy peas.”

“Best fish and chips, excellent onion rings!”

“Haddock was excellent quality as was the home made tartar sauce.”

“Little crunch Mooshrooms and onion rings , done in same oil as fish You can t...”

Location and contact

Beach Promenade, Stonehaven AB39 2RD Scotland

+44 1569 762000

Improve this listing

Details

Manage this business?

CUISINES

Seafood, Fast food, British, Scottish

Special Diets

Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, After-hours

FEATURES

Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Parking Available, Accepts Credit Cards, Waterfront

Contribute

Write a review

Upload a photo

Ask a question

We perform checks on reviews.

Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews

Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.

When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.

Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.

Learn more about our review moderation.

4.5

1,104 reviews

Excellent

712

Very good

176

Average

100

Poor

Terrible

mbglasgow1981

Glasgow23 contributions

Perfect fish and chips!

Apr 2021 • family

We were travelling north, ordered online from the car from Dundee. Ordered 2 haddock suppers and 2 small haddock suppers. Fish was fresh, a large fillet and cooked to perfection. Chips were absolutely lovely. Collection was at the exact time requested, and food was piping hot and clearly just out the fryer. (Food was still piping hot even after my mad run to try and get a pic of some killer whales in the bay) Portion size was perfect, smaller than our local chip shop but that is reflected in the price. What was not comparable was the quality and freshness of the fish, streets and streets ahead. The kids are asking to stop again on our way home!

Written 30 April 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ItTastesLikeFeet

Edinburgh491 contributions

Best battered fish I’ve ever had!

Aug 2020 • solo

Currently only running a click and collect service so I ordered from the website. As a visitor to Stonehaven it was a bit annoying to create an account just to order (a guest option would be preferred). Collection time was 20 minutes from when I ordered so I went for a walk along the beach first. My order was confirmed by email and also received one saying my order was ready. Went to the window to collect and the server passed me my food from the window. The battered haddock was the best I’ve ever had! Light and crispy batter with soft, flakey fish. Very fresh and piping hot. The chips were also good quality and freshly fried. Because I visited for a late lunch (after 2pm) there was a short wait time, but can imagine it would get busy during the day and at dinner time. Get your orders in early!

Written 29 August 2020

Nicola H

1 contribution

Delicious but be prepared to wait

Aug 2022 • couples

The food was delicious and I appreciated the option of a smaller portion at a cheaper price as I can never usually finish a standard portion of fish and chips. The food is cooked fresh to order but my big issue, which will put me off visiting again, is the inefficient ordering system. You queue in a U shape once you get into the shop (you can easily start queuing outside at peak times) and you order and receive your food in the queue order. I waited almost an hour for 2 fish suppers and I could see my food sitting cooked in the counter at least 10 minutes before I received it but had to wait for the customers in front of me to be served first even though one of them had ordered approx 10 meals. If you fancy a bag of chips, I wouldn’t bother unless you have a lot of time to spare!

Written 2 August 2022

LondonRFitz

27 contributions

Disappointing service

July 2020 • family

I heard that I had to order ahead so placed a large order via the Click and Collect service the night before our family trip to Stonehaven. Unfortunately I forgot to change the collection time and the default situation is collection an hour later. As soon as I saw the order confirmation, I noticed the incorrect collection time. It said on the confirmation to contact the shop if any issues with the order so I immediately called. In fact we tried calling constantly for over 40 minutes but no one picked up. I also wrote 2 emails within the first half an hour. At the collection time, I was emailed back to say that the food was ready for collection and therefore they could not change the order. I was told by the chef that there is a warning on the website about collection times which you have to accept- there was not. I appreciate that I made a mistake, however, the shop can’t simply make themselves uncontactable without warning. Customer service was not up to scratch- not even an offer of discount on a second order. We will be taking our custom elsewhere in future. Gutted as the fish and chips are good and we were regulars.

Written 30 July 2020

Laurie R

Whitehills1 contribution

Overrated

Aug 2020 • couples

My partner and I decided to drive to Stonehaven from Banff as we had heard great things about the Bay Chip Shop so we were eager to try it. Ordering our lunch and picking it up was extremely easy and totally fool proof however we felt the food itself was disappointing. The portion sizes were rather on the small side and the chips we felt were possibly from frozen. It is quite expensive for what we received. Perhaps we were just unlucky that day and it was not up to the standard that other people had been met with on previous visits. It is unlikely that we will return as it is a long way to travel for something that we felt was overrated.

Written 14 August 2020

Edwin K

1 contribution

Disappointing

Sept 2020 • couples

My wife and I had a takeaway on Tuesday and were most disappointed at the fish suppers supplied. My standard fish consisted of a half fillet and my wife's small haddock was the size of her palm. In each case there was an ample serving of chips but this was overall very disappointing especially as previous visits have always resulted in an excellent takeaway. It may be a one off but we will hesitate before going back. No wonder the order is handed over in a closed bag as you only discover what you have when you are well away from the shop.

Written 18 September 2020

MrsKathrynP

Maybole11 contributions

Unable to get service as we don't have internet access.

May 2021 • none

What sort of place only does online ordering? My pensioner Mum & Dad are currently holidaying near Stonehaven in their motorhome and were desperate to have a chippy tea tonight and having seen The Bay and how busy it seemed they decided to head there after their long day out and about for their evening meal. Dad joined the end of the long queue and gradually got to the serving window only to be told it is internet order only. When he pointed out they don't own smart phones or have internet access he was more or less told tough, it's internet orders only. Restrictions on Takeways were lifted weeks ago and not everyone has the ability to access the internet especially holiday makers with no internet or non smart phone owners. Tourist places have obviously suffered financially during lockdowns so how does denying custom to folks at the door help boost income again? Tourist places often complain that motorhomers don't bring money into the local economy and here you have a place that turns good money away at the door if you haven't pre-ordered online.

Written 27 May 2021

GaryHMFC

Aberdeenshire1343 contributions

Lovely place for fish & chips

July 2021 • couples

I ate here tonight with the missus. You have to order online (or using their app) which was seemed a bit OTT for getting a simple fish and chips. The waiting time was 50 minutes which was a long time for a Wednesday evening, but we didn’t mind as it gave us a chance to walk around Stonehaven. This place is located beside Auntie Betty’s ice cream, just around the corner from the outdoor swimming pool, so you can walk along the beach towards Dunottar Castle direction to pass the time... just watch out for the swooping seagulls overhead! I went for a single standard haddock and a side order of onion rings. Both were delicious and good portion size. The battered haddock in particular was crispy and succulent, probably one of the tastiest I have ever had. The missus went for the seafood platter which she scoffed, albeit she said the portion was disappointing as the battered haddock was small, and there was only one piece of scampi, a fish cake, and some chips. I think she was expecting some more variety for a seafood platter (even though it was very tasty). The bill came to £17.70 which was reasonably good value for two persons. Overall the quality was excellent, and I would recommend this place to others.

Written 21 July 2021

Rashad M

Birmingham26 contributions

Not bad but not great

Aug 2021 • none

Its certainly the go to place in Stonehaven for fish & chips, perfectly situated on the sea-front and next door to Aunty Bettys ice cream parlour. By now you have probably read you can only place orders online, I like many others before me found this peculiar but put it down to the aftermath of a covid world. You can order directly from their website or alternatively download an app. You can also add any preferences you may have before you place your order under special requests. Once your order is placed, average waiting time seems to be around the 50min mark and you receive an email prompt when your food is ready. In terms of taste, the fish is ok, its certainly not the worse fish I have ever had but its by no means memorable or even close to some and for me this was the issue; the taste isnt reflective of the price. Again the chips are ok too but that is it, its all just ok. I was fine with the portion size but I imagine it is on the smaller side for some. Would I go there again? Maybe because I like to eat fish and chips at the beach but would I miss this particular fish and chips, no.

Written 24 August 2021

Scot45

Scotland878 contributions

Extremely disappointed

Oct 2021 • couples

Have been to the bay chip shop many times over the years. Tonight we were so looking forward to enjoying our fish and chips, how disappointed we were !!! The cost of fish and chips is £8.60 which is slightly more expensive than other chip shops in the north east. But the biggest shock was the size of the fish which was small to say the least. Speak about maximising profits. The taste of the food was good but the portion size of the fish is poor. What ever you do don’t order a kids fish for your son or daughter otherwise they will finish it in two mouthfuls extremely small . I for one will not be returning perhaps the bay now thinks they have the monopoly in the area . Don’t say you haven’t been warned. They need to visit la mirage in Helmsdale because the fish they served had it been of the size that the bay served you would have received two fish .

Written 15 October 2021

Ian O

62 contributions

Fabulous scampi- everything else a let down

Aug 2020 • family

The scampi was simply the best I’ve ever tasted - well done. That said everything else had so much promise but was poor. Firstly, due to Covid you have to download their app and pay by and order on your phone. As a visitor to the town this felt a bit a tedious but I understood why they had implemented it. The chips weren’t that warm and the potatoes were a bit floury in texture/ taste. The fish had lovely batter but the actual fish was poor quality- it didn’t taste fresh and was thin. The mushy peas were just a dried almost cold stodgy mass. I would loved to have reviewed the onions rings but they didn’t pack them in my order, even though I paid for them. Back to the app, despite paying by the app they can’t refund my onion ring money via the app I need to give them my bank details or have a credit on my account. Very poor when I live 400 miles away! Please give my cash to the train crash fund. If you can get the rest of your product as good as the scampi you’ll have one of the best chip shops in the UK. I just found it really strange that the rest of what we ate was a million miles away from it.

Written 28 August 2020

KeenBeanScotland

Aberdeen216 contributions

The best fish and chips!

Oct 2020 • family

I ordered our lunch via click and collect through the website while the kids played on the beach. The window at the chipper opened and the lady handed out a brown bag with our order including wedges of fresh lemon (an option you can request when you place your order). It was delicious and the best fish we have had.

Written 12 October 2020

John S

Rosehearty11 contributions

Quick drive by delight

Aug 2020 • couples

Fast and quick service new app - ordered on line and ready in 20mins. Lovely crisp batter with juicy fish inside. Chips cooked perfectly - crisp, firm and piping hot. Breaded scampi lovely and fresh.

Written 16 August 2020

Porty

13 contributions

Rude short grumpy woman at hatch.

Mar 2022 • family

Rainy day, and discovered its online only. Not particularly easy to create an account and order and reg. card details when phones getting soaked. Told woman serving i had ordered and just got "ah well we are busy theres other orders" and she slid the window closed in my face. Nice! Almost instantly you feel like walking away.. Short middle aged grumpy woman with glasses at her age should really learn some customer manners . If management see this please retrain.. If she IS management then please quit. Not bad food but very over rated..service is appalling i feel sorry for the older pensioners who just want a poke of chips but not internet savvy. Epic customer service fail

Written 20 March 2022

Patricia R

3 contributions

Overpriced small portions

May 2022 • none

Ordered two small fish and chips and after waiting ages with only one young girl serving..( another standing back twiddling her thumbs but she was apparently doing phone orders only while our fish sat in hot plate for ten mins) The fish was TINY…and not that great either….nothing like the Bay used to be. At £12.20 for both it is grossly overpriced and like others have said in reviews even the standard haddock was small. It will be ASHVALE Aberdeen next time I’m afraid.

Written 14 May 2022

…

Showing results 1-15 of 986

Best nearby

We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.

Best nearby hotels

See all