Ten Reading fish and chip shops went head-to-head to battle it out for the top spot in the Chronicle’s Best Chip Shop 2021 competition.

We revealed the top 10 favourites as voted for by you last month and asked you to pick your go-to chippy.

Whether it’s their perfect pies, crispy golden batter, succulent chicken or fluffy chips, you have been voting in your thousands for your ultimate favourite using the coupon in the Chronicle this month.

The wait is finally over – we can reveal that the winner of the Best Chip Shop 2021 competition is JFC.

The Coley Park chippy has been crowned the best in the borough by readers, with The Tasty Plaice and The Lemon Plaice, both in Reading, took second and third place respectively.

Harjeevan Singh Randhawa, the son of Harpal Randhawa who owns the popular fish and chip shop in Wensley Road, said the family were thankful to the community for their votes, adding: “We want to say a special thanks to the whole community for supporting us for the last 15 years.

“We are very grateful. There are quite a lot of good chippies in Reading so it’s an honour to have won.”

Reading Chronicle:

Harjeevan spoke to the Chronicle about the impact of the pandemic on the business, saying they, like many others, had to shut shop for three to four months during the first lockdown last year.

He said: “We just about managed but it was really hard. It’s not something you forecast or budget for.

“We used that time to become Covid-secure and came back stronger and more prepared.

“We also ventured out towards places like UberEats and JustEat to deliver to our customers.

“It hasn’t been easy, but chippies and other takeaways have kept people going.”

He also spoke about the sense of community in Coley Park, saying: “We are in an estate so 90 per cent of our customers are regulars who come in every Friday and Saturday.

“We’ve been here for 15 years so we know many of the people here by name.

“Before that we were in Witney, we’ve been in Reading for a total of 22 years or so.”