Fareham does not, on the face of it, look like a town built around fried fish. It's roundabouts, a High Street, a marina full of boats owned by people called Nigel. And yet — ask anyone who actually lives here what Friday night looks like, and the answer is depressingly consistent: nobody's cooking, the oven's cold, and somebody's already reaching for their coat and asking "chippy?"
So we did the unglamorous bit for you. No made-up rankings, no "voted Fareham's favourite" nonsense with no vote behind it — just five fish and chip shops in and around Fareham with genuine, checkable Google ratings, ranked the only honest way: highest star rating first, ties broken by whoever's got more people vouching for them. Every rating and review count below is real and traceable at the time of writing — treat it as a snapshot, because ratings move the second someone gets a soggy batter on a bad night.
One more thing before the pitchforks come out in the comments: "best" here means best-reviewed, not "the only one worth your money." Every shop on this list is a genuinely good chippy. We're just telling you where the queue's likely to be longest — and why.
1Castle Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop
Representative image below shows Fareham town centre, not this specific venue.
★ 4.6 (133 Google reviews) — 153 White Hart Lane, Portchester, Fareham PO16 9AY
Trading in Portchester since 1953, Castle Takeaway has had roughly seventy years to work out exactly how it likes its batter, and it shows. It tops this list on real Google star rating, and reviewer sentiment across Google and TripAdvisor consistently lands on the same handful of words: freshly-cooked cod, proper crispy batter, and staff who treat regulars like regulars. Note that TripAdvisor's own separate scoring system rates it lower (around 4.1) than Google's 4.6 — the two platforms often disagree, which is normal and not something we're going to pretend isn't there. On the numbers that count most (Google, the one most people actually check before they order), Castle Takeaway is Fareham's highest-rated chippy right now.
2The Plaice
★ 4.5 (331 Google reviews) — 1C Fareham Park Road, Fareham PO15 6LA
The Plaice has the biggest review count of the top two, which for a chippy usually means one thing: people keep coming back and keep bothering to say so. Reviewers repeatedly mention portion size — a "medium" cod here reportedly looks like an "extra large" anywhere else — plus chips that come out properly dry rather than swimming in oil. It's the kind of quietly confident naming pun (The Plaice, obviously) that only works if the food backs it up, and by the numbers, it does.
3Ocean Plaice Fish & Chips
★ 4.4 (281 Google reviews) — 254 White Hart Lane, Portchester, Fareham PO16 9AR
A separate business from Castle Takeaway despite sharing the same road — Portchester's White Hart Lane is apparently doing something right for chip shops specifically. Ocean Plaice earns its spot with a light, crispy batter and generous chip portions that reviewers rate highly, alongside the occasional honest note that things can get a little inconsistent during the Friday-night rush. Fair enough — so would you, frying at that volume.
4Buoys Plaice Restaurant & Takeaway
★ 4.3 (640 Google reviews) — 87 Southampton Road, Park Gate, Fareham SO31 6AF
Park Gate is Fareham Borough, not a separate town, so it's on the list the same way Waterlooville's "best of" pieces count Denmead and Purbrook — genuinely local, not a stretch. And Buoys Plaice earns its place emphatically: 640 Google reviews is comfortably the biggest following of anyone here, with reviewer sentiment repeatedly calling it the best in the wider Fareham area. In the interest of balance, some reviewers do flag prices on the higher side and portion sizes that can vary — worth knowing before you order for the whole five-a-side team.
5Stubbington Fish & Chips
★ 4.3 (411 Google reviews) — 36 Stubbington Green, Fareham PO14 2LE
A genuine local institution — family-run for 30-plus years according to multiple listings — Stubbington Fish & Chips ties Buoys Plaice on star rating and lands fifth on the tie-break (fewer reviews, still a very healthy 411 of them). Reviewers consistently praise fresh cod and generous portions; as with any chippy that's been going three decades, there are a handful of less glowing reviews mixed in on service and pricing too. We're not going to pretend a real business has zero critics — that's not what "honest" means.
The honest verdict
Ratings move, fryers have off nights, and somebody in the replies is absolutely going to insist we've got this wrong. That's the deal with a "best of" list. But right now, at the time of writing, Castle Takeaway's 4.6 stars puts it top of Fareham's chippy table, with The Plaice and Ocean Plaice close enough behind that the real tie-breaker is probably just "which one's nearer." Buoys Plaice has the numbers to prove it's the area's biggest crowd-pleaser, and Stubbington's three decades of trading speak for themselves. Wherever you end up, get your order in early — this is Fareham on a Friday, and everyone's had the same idea at the same time.
One more honest note: Fareham.co's own listings previously included an entry called "Fareham Fish And Chips" at a Havant Road address. We checked it while researching this piece and couldn't verify it as a real, currently-trading Fareham business — its listed postcode is actually in Horndean, and its listed website doesn't resolve. We've left it out of this list and flagged it for correction rather than include an unverifiable venue.