Return to Jackson's Chippie, Ilkeston

The Chip Fiends returned to Jackson’s Chippie in Ilson. (That’s what the locals call the town). On this occasion we noticed a picture of Blackpool Tower on the wall inside the shop. It appears to be made entirely of coloured sand, segmented into little sections. A bit like a stained glass window.

On our previous visit we had had fish and chips but spotted the other homemade delicacies that the shop sold such as ball-shaped fish cakes, cheese and onion balls, and spicy fish balls. There were tempting onion rings and a spam fritter in the display cabinet too.

Between us the Fiends went for the cheese and onion ball and a spicy fish ball, cod and chips with curry sauce, and fish cake, chips and mushy peas. The spicy fish ball at 50p a pop seemed a real bargain. What else can you buy for 50p these days?

We were asked if we wanted our mushy peas at the bottom of the tray. Kerry’s in Ilkeston is the only other chip shop where we have had peas served like this. It’s so much better than having them ladled all over the chips. The server also asked if we wanted plastic forks, but we declined and took wooden ones.

We found a bench in the market square to sit and eat. The cod was better than the one we had eaten before (when the batter was soggy).

Cheese and Onion

The cheese and onion ball was ok, but we couldn’t taste any cheese in it. The white chunks of onion were still quite firm rather than soft but had that sweet taste that onions have when roasted. Being mostly potato the cheese and onion ball was quite filling to eat with chips, so we didn’t manage all of it. A nice idea but not as tasty as we thought it would be.

Spicy Fish Ball

Homemade Fish Cake

The spicy fish ball was nice. Not too spicy, but with a good, crisp outer casing. The homemade fish cake was very good. It had plenty of fish in it and, like the spicy ball, a nice crisp outer coating.

The curry sauce was the revelation of this meal. It was so thick that Mr Jackson could hardly get it off the ladle! We stood a chip in it.

The peas were also excellent. The real deal. Soft pearls in sauce. They were a treasure, buried beneath the mouth-watering chips and fish cake.

Ratings out of 5:

Chips: 4
Fish: 4
Cheese and onion: 3
Spicy fish ball: 3
Homemade fish cake: 4
Curry sauce: 5
Mushy peas: 5
Shop / service: 4
Over all: 4 *

*The quality of the curry sauce, better fish, and the attentive service has pushed the rating up from 3 to 4 this time.