Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips has made the headlines countless times since being established around 30 years ago.
What is this down to? Well, their impressive string of award wins is mainly to play, which include Best Fish & Chip Shop in Scotland (2019) and Best Young Fish Frier in Scotland (2019).
This has meant that I am very familiar with Low’s despite having never tried the business’ food at either of its branches – located in Westhill and Berryden – before last week.
The Westhill fish and chip shop was Julia’s go-to once upon a time when she resided in the town.
After hearing word that this site recently earned a spot in the Top 40 of the Fish & Chip Takeaway of the Year 2023 list, we decided it was finally time to feature it in our Drive-Thru Diners series.
Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips: What is it and what’s on offer?
As already stated, Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips boasts two branches in the north-east – one located in the Berryden Business Park and the other located in the Westhill Shopping Centre.
The business was established by Clifford Low, who had been managing director of the Ashvale and spent his entire life in the fish industry, before being taken over by his son David 17 years ago.
Alex Walker took a directorship in the Berryden site three years ago.
The locations serve all of the mouth-watering chipper (or chippie to some) delights you can imagine – from homemade pies and a range of burgers to smoked sausage and, of course, fish suppers.
The Westhill site is open from 9am to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 8am to 10pm on Fridays, and noon to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Berryden site is open from noon to 10pm daily.
Visit lowstraditional.com for more information.
The order:
The verdict: King rib
Neither of us had come across a king rib before. Is this a crime? After trying one out during our Low’s visit, I can confirm it most certainly is.
For those that haven’t the faintest idea of what the chip shop dish is, a king rib is a sweetened patty of minced pork that is fried or deep-fried.
The meat, slightly pale in colour, was tender, juicy, and full of flavour. The sweet and salty notes balanced each other out perfectly. Julia and I were full of compliments.
As for the batter, wow. It was arguably one of the most visually appealing batters I’ve seen and it somehow managed to retain the moistness of the meat without becoming damp or soggy.
Presentation
Julia: 3/5
Karla: 3.5/5
Taste
Julia: 4.5/5
Karla: 4.5/5
The verdict: Battered vegan sausage
The battered vegan sausage (well sausages, considering we received two miniature ones) was on par with our king rib, which says a lot.
According to the business’ website, they are made from cauliflower, lentils, spinach, and green chilli, but trust me when I say you wouldn’t be able to tell it contains no meat.
Julia said it’s the perfect option for veggies for that very reason – you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything in terms of flavour.
We love when businesses create vegetarian and vegan products that those adhering to the diet(s) are sure to love. Another superb dish.
Oh, and you can opt for the sausage without the batter if you like.
Presentation
Julia: 3/5
Karla: 3.5/5
Taste
Julia: 4/5
Karla: 4.5/5
The verdict: Burger in batter
If Julia and I were going to recommend one thing when ordering from a Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips branch, it would be to avoid a battered burger.
It wasn’t inedible, there are just so many more delicious items on the menu. It was also incredibly soggy and the burger tasted a tad overdone, although we do appreciate that deep-frying a patty may have this effect.
Ours contained cheese, onion, and relish. The ingredients didn’t really wow us and the batter proved to be the star of the show.
Presentation
Julia: 4/5
Karla: 3.5/5
Taste
Julia: 3/5
Karla: 2/5
The verdict: Macaroni pie
Julia and I were conflicted on this one.
On the one hand, Julia found our macaroni pie to be a tad on the stodgy side but thought the flavour was on point. She loves a traditional chipper macaroni.
On the other hand, I thought the texture was great but didn’t think there was enough cheese in the mix, making for a rather bland filling.
Nevertheless, it looked the part and the pie pastry was a delight, boasting a nice salty kick – albeit it was a tad wet on the bottom.
Presentation
Julia: 4/5
Karla: 4/5
Taste
Julia: 3.5/5
Karla: 3.5/5
The verdict: Small haddock supper
Last but certainly not least was our haddock supper, which came with a lemon wedge.
When you have a fish and chip shop, you need to have a sound haddock supper. There was a lot riding on this.
Our first thoughts were that the portion was huge. I’ve been wondering how big the jumbo haddock supper is for days now…
Once again we were met with that crunchy, mouth-watering batter that I’d now class as my favourite chipper batter to date.
Julia did say she thought the fish was a tad dry and the chips weren’t crispy enough. I totally agreed with the chips comment, but they were fluffy inside which we loved.
Presentation
Julia: 4/5
Karla: 4/5
Taste
Julia: 4/5
Karla: 4/5
The haddock supper came out on top at Lows Traditional Fish and Chips, racking up a score of 16/20.
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