If you only have time for one scoop of chips on Waiheke, make it The 3 Fishes in Ostend, where the battered gurnard or snapper with chips, mushy peas and curry sauce is the feed you'll measure the rest against.
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Fish and chips · Ostend · $
★ 5.0 from 104 Google reviews
A walkway slips through beside the Woolworths in Ostend and comes out on Putiki Road, where a small kiosk has built a serious reputation for fish and chips, the best on the island and, for plenty of eaters, the best they've had anywhere from England to Melbourne.
Fish and chips · Surfdale · $
★ 4.2 from 140 Google reviews
On Miami Avenue in Surfdale, a couple of minutes' walk up from the beach, this bakery opens at six on weekday mornings and seven on weekends, and shuts by mid-afternoon, so it's made for breakfast, smoko and lunch rather than dinner.
Fish and chips · Onetangi · $
★ 4.3 from 80 Google reviews
Onetangi Beach has its own store a few steps back from the sand at the end of Fourth Avenue, and it's where a Waiheke day tends to start: coffee and something from the cabinet before your swim, fish and chips once you're out of the water.
Fish and chips · Onetangi
★ 4.2 from 44 Google reviews
What this Onetangi Road counter does best is fish and chips wrapped in paper, and you can eat them a short walk from the beach.
Past Ostend, the choice comes down to Onetangi and Surfdale, starting with Onetangi fish & chip co on Onetangi Road, where you get blue cod, crumbed or in a light batter, with chips seasoned with salt and pepper. A few steps from the sand on Fourth Avenue, Beach Store turns out a fish burger that's the standout, plus crumbed fish with chunky chips once the evening comes and the kitchen switches over.
Last of the four is Surfdale Bakery & Cafe, doing fish and chips from a small shop on Miami Avenue. It's worth keeping in mind for a hot pie before 8am or a takeaway lunch that doesn't cost much, and it opens every day of the week. All four do takeaway, so you can eat on the sand at Onetangi, walk back to your place in Ostend, or check the takeaways page for the rest of the island's options.
The guide has four places doing fish and chips: The 3 Fishes in Ostend, Onetangi fish & chip co on Onetangi Road, Beach Store a few steps from the sand on Fourth Avenue, and Surfdale Bakery & Cafe on Miami Avenue. All four do takeaway, and Beach Store is the one with tables outside and a water view.
If you want the freshest catch, go to The 3 Fishes in Ostend for battered gurnard or snapper with chips, mushy peas and curry sauce, and it opens Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For blue cod, head to Onetangi fish & chip co, and Beach Store is the pick when you want to eat near the sand.
