This isn’t really about the Jamison family history, but it’s about a serious subject nonetheless; the relationship Northern Ireland has with its many chip shops. On mainland Britain, the chip shop now faces some serious competition from the plethora of Asian takeaways, kebab shops, Peri Peri joints and fried chicken shacks, but in Northern Ireland, apart from the eternal Chinese takeaway, chip shops rule supreme, at least outside the larger metropolitan areas.

During our recent trip along the Antrim coast, we looked forward to the great punny names many of them boast, as well as the excellent quality of the fare.

Here’s some of the best names we encountered this July, and where to find them; needless to say, we didn’t have a bad chip!

Chip Ahoy – Portavogie

Flash in the Pan – Bushmills

The Hip Chip -Bushmills

The Codsway – Bushmills (really, there must be an insatiable demand for fish and chips in this modest Antrim town!)

The Frying Squad– Bangor

For Cod and Ulster – Belfast

A note on the lingo – often, a portion of chips is referred to in NI as a “chip” so you may face the bewildering but delightful options that we did of “did you want a chip, a family chip, or a wee large chip?”