Beautiful British Butty and Portland Plaice

Reviews

• Qype User (MissCa…)

  star star star star star_border 8 June 2026

  For some reason, whenever I'm on the lash around the Princess Street/Portland Street area, I always eschew the delights of the neon McDonald's sign at the end of Oxford Road and end up in the mighty Portland Plaice for a tray of chips and mushy peas all smothered in gravy. Indeed, it's arguable that they do the best post-pub-haute-cuisine known to man (or at least it is in my opinion anyway).
  
  Best of all, you can get a full meal to line your stomach for the price of the loose change rattling about at the bottom of your handbag AND they appear to be more than capable of understanding drunk people - meaning that they are usually able to translate your slurred 'I've just had fifteen whiskey and cokes and a Jaegerbomb chaser' infused language into an actual real life food order. With chips. Who could ask for more than that?

• Jordan L.

  star star star star_border star_border 7 June 2026

  I came to this little shop after watching the Christmas lights switch on. There is seating inside but not a huge amount.
  
  On my visit there was two staff members, one on the till who was rude and arrogant and the other getting the food who was polite and nice. If I could of put a complaint in about the rude of I would have.
  
  However, I was very impressed with the food here. Some of the best chip shop gravy I've had for a while, and the chips were nice too! I would happily get food from here again, just hope for some better service next time.

• Natalie W.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 29 May 2026

  It's actually fairly nice to sit inside here (especially because there is nowhere else in central Manchester to sit, is that because outdoor space is considered a poor investment when it can only be used 0.01 days of the year?) and the staff were nice. The fish and chips though I felt was a bit lacking. The fish was smaller than average but to be fair average chippie portions probably are a bit excessive. The fish itself wasn't very firm and I would be a but suspicious of what it is seeing as it is only called "fish" and not "haddock" etc. Chips were a bit soggy and meh, mushy peas not great either. I would guess this place has gone downhill since the other reviews, which is a shame.

• Garrett P.

  star star star star_border star_border 24 May 2026

  Just a general update for this place.  It's still decent food for a drunk night out when you want a greasy chippy or a fast lunch, but now that I've had plenty of experience at other fish n chips joints, I see that my previous experience was mainly my excitement to try something new.
  
  The food here is easy and decent, but you can get better fare if you're willing to leave city centre.  As always, it tastes best if you're properly tipsy and get it with loads of salt and vinegar.

• Emma Louise M.

  star star star star star 18 May 2026

  We all make terrible decisions regarding food when we've had a skinful. I get away with it far more as I don't eat meat, therefore generally my post-beverage binging will involve fries or a dubious pizza at the most. Kebabs are lost on me, and that's no bad thing.
  If you've danced the night away and have the munchies, I have a far better suggestion for you.
  
  Don't get soggy fries and burnt pizza crust from the nearest freezer-to-oven shack, dear God, please don't. If you're partying in the Gay Village or along Princess Street, take my advice and go to Portland Plaice. Why? Well, what could be better than proper fish and chips after a night out? That's right, proper fish and chips. Real fat chips, mushy peas, gravy, battered fish fingers, all wrapped up neatly and smelling pungently of vinegar. My Baa Bar companion, the blonde, introduced me to this little treasure, and I've never looked back.
  
  The downside is that it might be open until ridiculous o' clock at weekends, but not during weekdays. Many a time have we trekked there from afar, finding it shut, realising it's a Tuesday. Maybe not enough people would go, but they forget, chippy food is cheap, and students (and writers) like cheap, and students (and writers) are out during the week... the maths does itself. But never mind, just grab it while you can.
  
  Some of my favourite memories include myself and the blonde grabbing us a little midnight snack, smuggling it into the taxi and eating it in the comfort of my own flat in front of the TV. Ah, those were the days. Now if only we could arrange our next Satan's Hollow excursion nice and quickly...