British Expats Spark ‘fish And Chips Fridays’ Revolution In Spanish Villages

In nan sun-drenched villages dotting Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, a culinary gyration is frying up a storm. Local tapas bars, erstwhile patient purveyors of patatas bravas, croquetas, and gambas al ajillo, are flipping contented connected its caput by embracing a quintessentially British institution: food and chips. 

Dubbed “Fish and Chips Fridays,” this improbable inclination has taken clasp successful expat-heavy towns, transforming sleepy colony squares into bustling hubs of cross-cultural feasting. 

From Málaga to Alicante, restaurants are battering up cod and hake, serving aureate chips pinch a broadside of sangría, and moreover inventing fusion dishes for illustration paella-battered food and chorizo-dusted fries. 

The consequence has been a heartwarming blend of British comfortableness nutrient and Spanish flair that’s sewage everyone talking—and eating.

Where did this each begin?

The communicative began successful El Rincón, a charming colony adjacent Málaga, wherever María González runs Taberna La Luna, a family-owned barroom struggling to compete pinch nan glitzy tourer restaurants on nan coast. 

Last summer, María noticed her British customers—mostly retirees and distant workers who’d settled successful nan area post-Brexit—kept reminiscing astir the food and chips they missed from home. “They’d travel in, bid our calamares, and past show stories astir their section chippy backmost successful Brighton aliases Blackpool,” María recalls pinch a laugh. “One day, I thought, why not springiness them what they want?” 

She enlisted nan thief of a British expat regular, retired cook Dave Thompson, to cleanable a crispy batter recipe. The first “Fish and Chips Friday” was a gamble, but erstwhile María opened her doors, nan consequence was overwhelming. “We sold retired successful 2 hours! Locals, expats, moreover visitors driving through—it was madness.”

It dispersed for illustration wildfire

Word of La Luna’s crispy cod and thick-cut chips dispersed for illustration wildfire. Soon, different bars successful adjacent villages for illustration Torrox and Altea followed suit, launching their ain Friday food fests. Some added Spanish twists: Taberna El Sol successful Alicante serves “hake à la Andalucía” pinch a garlicky alioli dip, while Bar Los Amigos successful Denia offers “chorizo-chippified chips,” blending steaming Spanish sausage pinch Britain’s beloved spuds. 

In Nerja, a coastal municipality known for its caves, 1 enterprising cook created a “paella-battered cod” that’s go a societal media sensation, racking up thousands of likes connected Instagram pinch its aureate crust flecked pinch saffron and paprika. 

Hashtags for illustration “Fish Chips España” are trending connected TikTok pinch complete 46 cardinal videos of expats and locals alike showing disconnected their sunlit plates piled precocious pinch fried goodness, often paired pinch a chilled tinto de verano.

The economical effect is undeniable. For galore mini businesses, Fridays were erstwhile quiet, pinch locals sticking to evening tapas and visitors flocking to all-inclusive resorts. Now, “Fish and Chips Fridays” are a lifeline. “Before, we hardly covered costs connected Fridays,” says Javier Ruiz, proprietor of Bar El Puerto successful Torrevieja. “Now, we’re booked solid. I moreover hired a British expat to thatch america really to make due mushy peas!” 

The influx of customers has besides created jobs, pinch immoderate bars training section unit to maestro nan creation of nan cleanable chippy batter. For British expats, who number complete 250,000 successful Spain (based connected pre-2025 estimates), these events are a sensation of location and a motion of belonging. “It’s not conscionable astir nan food,” says Sarah Jenkins, a retiree from Manchester surviving successful Benidorm. “It’s astir emotion for illustration we’re portion of nan community. The locals subordinate in, and we’re each laughing together complete a sheet of chips.”

Some interest complete anglicising Spain

But not everyone is raising a solid of sangría to this trend. Some traditionalists interest that fish and chips are “anglicising” Spain’s ineffable tapas culture. “Tapas are our soul,” says Carmen López, a Granada-based nutrient critic. “They’re astir sharing, lingering, connecting. Fish and chips consciousness so… individual.” 

Others reason that nan inclination is little astir taste erosion and much astir evolution. Younger Spaniards, accustomed to globalised eating trends, are embracing nan novelty. “I ne'er thought I’d emotion mushy peas pinch my Rioja,” admits Juan Morales, a 30-year-old fisherman from Almuñécar who now attends his section bar’s Friday chippy night. “It’s fun, and it brings group together.” The statement has sparked lively discussions connected X, pinch posts ranging from playful memes astir “chips invading Spain” to earnest pleas to sphere tapas traditions.

The trend’s occurrence lies successful its blend of nostalgia and innovation. For British expats, food and chips evoke rainy seaside evenings backmost home, while for Spaniards, it’s a chance to research pinch their culinary heritage. In immoderate villages, nan arena has grown into full-blown festivals, pinch unrecorded music, chip-eating contests, and moreover “batter-offs” wherever chefs compete for nan crispiest crust. In Calpe, a caller Fish and Chips Festival drew hundreds, pinch expat and section kids playing together arsenic parents swapped stories complete plates of fried hake. “It’s for illustration a small portion of Blackpool mixed pinch nan Costa Blanca,” says Dave Thompson, nan expat cook who helped commencement it all. “And honestly, nan Spanish make amended chips than we do!”

Raising deeper taste concerns

Yet nan emergence of Fish and Chips Fridays raises much profound questions astir taste adaptation. Is this a heartwarming illustration of integration, aliases are Spain’s coastal towns astatine consequence of becoming “little Britains”? For María González, nan reply is simple: “Food brings group together. If food and chips make my customers happy—British, Spanish, aliases anyone else—I’ll support frying.” For others, nan equilibrium is trickier. Over-adaptation could alienate locals who cherish late-night tapas runs, while ignoring expat tastes risks losing a lucrative market. Some analysts constituent retired that Spain’s eating civilization is already shifting, pinch municipality areas for illustration Madrid and Barcelona adopting much globalised hours and menus. Fish and Chips Fridays mightiness conscionable beryllium nan latest section successful a broader communicative of modernisation.

For now, nan inclination shows nary motion of slowing. From mini tabernas to seaside chiringuitos, Fish and Chips Fridays are frying up organization spirit, 1 crispy cod astatine a time. Whether you’re an expat craving a sensation of home, a section funny astir British comfortableness food, aliases a tourer snapping a photograph for Instagram, this quirky fusion is difficult to resist. So, what’s your take? Should Spain’s bars support dishing up food and chips, aliases is it clip to take sides nan tapas tradition? Grab a plate, subordinate nan conversation, and let’s spot if #ChippyFridays takes complete nan world. And fto Euro Weekly News cognize successful nan comments what you think. Are you fresh for immoderate aureate fried food and chips, aliases will you instrumentality to nan accepted patatas bravas, gambas al ajillo, and different succulent tapas that we liked truthful overmuch astir Spain successful nan first place?

Fish and Chips person been euphorically welcomed successful galore towns wherever hundreds and thousands of British expats unrecorded | Credit: Food magic/Shutterstock