Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
If you’re visiting Ryde and enjoying the esplanade or the huge expanses of sand, you’re unlikely to look behind the rows of imposing Victorian...

If you’re visiting Ryde and enjoying the esplanade or the huge expanses of sand, you’re unlikely to look behind the rows of imposing Victorian residences that front the shore.

Chipmunks, Monkton St, Ryde

If you did, you’d be even less likely to venture down Monkton Street, with its appearance of an inconsequential urban backstreet. But by such an omission you would miss out on the pleasure of the row of shops which features Chipmunks fish and chip bar, a small but well-frequented takeaway chip shop that, despite being only a few moments from the beach, is almost entirely patronised by locals.

Chipmunks is a simple, homely chip shop that serves good food quickly. It’s not got the finest chips on the island, but it’s great value for money and very far from having the worst. The portion size and quality certainly trump the better-placed Cod Father.

Matt is a regular patron, usually enjoying a generous portion of cod, and junior reviewers Bill and Jack swear by the Chipmunks battered jumbo and saveloy. The friendly and brisk service adds to the experience, plus, if you’re in a hurry, it’s almost always possible to park right outside.

  • karen (owner) says:

    ahhhh thanks paul , glad you liked it and thanks for your feed back , it really means a lot ….. kind regards…………karen :O)

  • PAUL MULLERY says:

    Hello Karen. Finally got around to trying your fish and chips. They were excellent, and the mushy peas. Wifey was also impressed. Will definitely put you in the diary for another visit

  • Lisa says:

    Fish was gorgeous! My son loved his salmon & dill fishcake. He is a very fussy eater too!! Hmmm…have to agree with the chip portion size though. It was plenty for us, but small in comparison to what I have received in numerous places on the south coast (across the water) I would definitely come back here. If I was ever fortunate enough to come to the beautiful isle of Wight again 🙂 PS we drove 4 miles back to eat these. They were still hot!!

  • sarah marsh says:

    fantastic food – as always – definately the best around

  • karen (owner) says:

    hi paul, i’ve had the shop since 1998 so 13 years so i hope the time you got your food 8 years ago was just a one off , we do go through periods of the year when the potato crops are affected by snow and frost so maybe you caught us during one of those periods , which do affect most chipshops who use fresh potatoes – i can only apologise for your dissatisfaction …. please do come and try us again and hopefully i can convert you to our customer base :O)

    COMING SOON A SUMMER SIZZLER MENU INCLUDING CHICKEN POPCORN, CHICKEN FILLET BURGERS, SALT AND PEPPER SQUID , JACKET POTAOTES, FROZEN DESERTS, SPICY CHICKEN WINGS AND LOTS MORE ……

  • PAUL MULLERY says:

    Hi Karen. I don’t know how long you have owned the shop but I went in once around 8 years ago and would only rate the fish and chips as average. Reading the excellent write-ups here I shall be paying you a visit this week to sample the haute cuisine.

    All the best

    PAUL

  • nicki says:

    had a wonderful supper from here today , ive been twice whilst visiting the island and i must say its georgeous , the food was fresh and tasty and im definately coming back when next on the island ………. lovely its making my mouth water !!

  • karen dilk says:

    hi, just a quick note for any customers using this website , january to may is a horrible time for potatoes cause of frost and cold weather – a potato is alive until peeled and if a potato gets too cold it produces sugar , when the potato is cooked it then caramilises and leads to a darker not so crispy chip – please bear with us through these weeks – thankyou karen (owner)

  • karen (Owner) says:

    apologies to all customers we are having some building work done and it has disrupted a couple of usual trading days , normal service will resume once work done but unfortunately the work is necessary and we have tried to cause minimum disruption……..

    THANKYOU FOR YOUR VALUED CUSTOM :o)

    P.S TO CATT AND MATT – ANY CHANCE YOU COULD UPDATE THE PHOTO AS WE HAVE HAD NEW SHOP FRONT AND IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM PRESENT PICTURE HOWEVER WE WILL HAVE SCAFFOLDING FOR NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS SO NO RUSH…………. THANKYOU

    Matt and Cat reply: done. You’re right about the mushrooms by the way, very nice!

  • tom says:

    brilliant as usual, got my regular supper saturday night and it was fresh and tasty as usual, i wont go any where else, …….. top of my list everytime …..

  • sarah bygraves (visiter) says:

    over for a weeks holiday and happened to be ryde regatta (great family day) everyone around us seemed to be eating chips and they looked yummy!! we followed the directions given to monkton street and found this fab shop, i’ve never seen anything like it, people were queing up outside, dispite being busy i got served very quickly and OMG i wish it wasnt the last day of my holidays, they were the best chips ever !!!! sadly we had to go home the next day with the taste of those chips still in our minds – kids meals for £1.20 just brilliant for holiday budgets – i highly reccommend this place to anyone and well done to the girls working there it was boiling hot in there but they were so efficient and still managed smiles for everyone , when we return to the isle of wight in august chipmunks will be on our list……………

  • karen (owner) says:

    sorry about mozzarella sticks mandy, they are new to our menu so maybe little teething problems getting used to cooking them :O0 glad you liked the fish though :O)

    karen (owner)

  • mandy says:

    Had lovely fish and chips tonight. Shame about the mozzarella sticks, over cooked and bland but the fish was lush.

  • karen owner says:

    Hi to all our customers,

    Hope you all had a happy xmas and good luck for 2010, we look forward to seeing old and new faces in the coming year :O)

  • sarah says:

    sorry , im just so passionate about good food lol and this place is totally reasonable and sells yummy food what more do you need ?? foot note , olivios in ryde is fantastic and the service is really high standard check it out.

  • Neil (local) says:

    Sarah, why are you shouting?! Lol

  • sarah says:

    I AGREE BUSHY, IN WHICH CASE I THINK CHIPMUNKS HAS IT CAUSE THEIR FISH AND CHIPS ARE EXCELLENT ALL THE TIME, WHEREAS TERRYS CAN BE HIT AND MISS, DOESNT HE ALSO DO PIZZA WHICH TAKES HIM OUT OF THE TRADITIONAL FISH AND CHIP SHOP TABLE LOL, NO REALLY IVE ALWAYS FOUND CHIPMUNKS TO BE YUMMY AND VALUE FOR MONEY BUT I THINK CHIPSHOPS IN GENERAL ARE VALUE FOR MONEY AS APPOSED TO CHINESE AND INDIAN SO BIG UP ALL CHIPSHOPS (AS LONG AS THEY ARE DECENT) WHAT I CANT ABIDE IS WHEN THE CHIPSHOPS USE FROZEN CHIPS LIKE THE ONE ON THE ESPLANADE WHO CLAIM TO BATTER ANYTHING, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY STARTED WITH A DECENT BIT OF FISH,

  • Bushy says:

    Since when did fish & chip shops get judged on chicken, battered mushrooms etc.? In my day (cue grumpy old man), they served fish, chips and mushy peas – nowt else!

  • Neil (local) says:

    We’ll agree to dis-agree then Sarah! Like I said, both serve excelent quality food, but in my opinion Terry’s offer slightly better value for money. For example; battered mushrooms are £1.50 at Chipmunks as opposed to £1 at Terry’s.

  • sarah says:

    neil , i have to disagree about value for money, where else can you get kids meals for £1.20….also i find the portions of chips at chipmunks are the biggest around including terrys, however, i agree if chipmunks is closed id use terrys ,however i really think chipmunks is better in so many ways …… as for wights, they dont come any where on my list, their burgers taste like they come out of a tin…… chipmunks and terrys i would say are the best around….

  • Neil (local) says:

    While I agree with Mat that Chipmunks offers really good quality food, when comparing it to Terry’s at Wootton, I have to say that in my opinion Terry’s slightly have the edge for value for money as most things are slightly cheaper. But of course they ar’nt in Ryde so I would agree that Chipmunks are the best in Ryde. Wight’s in the High Street would score better if they did chicken! Have you ever heard of a chippy which does’nt do chicken?

  • Mat says:

    This place goes from strength to strength. I’m a fish and chip connoisseur and I’ve NEVER had a bad meal from here. There really is no point going anywhere else in Ryde, if not the IOW. Terry’s in Wootton isn’t bad – but for fresh ingredients, consistency, speed and service this is my favourite by far.

  • Ben says:

    Shall i tell you the best thing about chipmunks is the quality of the ingrediants, i visit chipshops all over the island and if there not using frozen chips its cheap ingrediants and quite frankly its horrible. at least with chipmunks you get Beautiful white fish and quality ingrediants that and hansome young men in there lol enjoy all.

  • karen says:

    thankyou cat and matt for your recommendation sigh , which is proudly displayed in our window

    karen (owner)

  • karen says:

    message to david, this is the owner karen and im sorry you feel this way about our shop, however judging from the comments left (none of which are family or friends ) people have a different opinion to yours……. our phone maybe constantly engaged when you call and this is because we are a busy family owned shop who actually do very well and do not receive complaints such as yours, usually our customers comment on our large portions and value for money – i think perhaps you may have an a bee in your bonnet about something or perhaps you are from a jealous rival takeaway – if however you did receive a smaller then usual portion , please make yourself known and i will put right….. you can contact me on my shop number and all things said there is plenty of times our phone is free for you to call ….. i value our customers opinions but yours seems some what unfair as carnival night was extremley busy and we took no complaints from anyone at all !!!!!!

  • david says:

    These reviews must be friends of the owners my wife visited on carnival night because the roads were closed(weve had problems before)she ordered a large chips and a large and medium cod all i can say is the portions were pathetic the fish were small at best and dry and the portion of chips wasnt enough to feed one ive tried to phone to complain but its constantly engaged i even took a photo it was that shocking!!When will these places learn a happy customer comes back!We will be taking our custom elsewhere!!

  • Curry Fan says:

    Had great fish, sausage and chips from here this week on hols.

    CHECK OUT THE CHEAP KIDS OPTIONS – Sausage, Chips & BEans for some silly price like £1.20. Guy in front of us ordered EIGHT of these – obviously to share around his family of 4-6, saving mega bucks!

  • chrissie says:

    i agree mat, i think this takeaway is very reasonably priced and the food is always lovely and fresh, the service is always fast and efficient so therefore any money spent here is well spent, i can think of a number of other takeaways in the surrounding area that ive been to and ive got home and chucked the lot away so now i dont bother going any where else……….p.s has any one smelt the kfc in ryde and newport lately – their shops stink of dirty smelly oil, thats another thing for this shop it never smells bad infact it makes my mouth water just thinking about it – i think i will go there for tea tonight lol……

  • Mat says:

    I’m happy to spend £1.50. I think they’re good value for good food. What I resent is paying any money for bad food.

  • Neil (local) says:

    I had mushrooms today and yes, they were very good. But they are a bit pricey at £1.50 compared to 90p at Terry’s in Wootton.

  • Mat says:

    Thanks Karen, I had the mushrooms on Friday and they were really good, fresh and not at all soggy. You seemed really busy too which is a great sign. Can’t wait for the Cheese and Onion Pukka Pies!

  • karen says:

    true to my word battered mushrooms are now on our menu and i must say are selling like hotcakes, so thanks mat for the suggestion.

  • karen says:

    chipmunks will always listern to our customers and if you want battered mushrooms then watch this space, may i reccommend our veggie cake, its packed full of proper veg and can be served in a bun with salad if prefered – or our rice based veggie burger…. we also are bringing in a cheese potato and onion pukka pie which is yummy !! i will look out for more veggie ranges so once again watch this space. (all comments welcome) sorry if any spelling mistakes… oh and just before i go we do a fantastic fillet of fish , fish burger served with salad and mayo, its a skinned boned fillet of cod and its scrummy….
    we look forward to serving you…

  • Sandra Webb says:

    Had the usual large cod and small chps and every mouthful was delicious – as always.This is now the only place where the food is of a consistantly high standard.Fab.

  • Mat says:

    Hi Karen, I’m a massive chip shop fan but would love to see more decent vegetarian food on menus. Battered mushrooms and veggie sausages are good but don’t think you do them. Some home made veggie specials would be great too, from my experience most veggie burgers are rubbish. Keep up the good work. Hope your diverse menu of specialties pays off, just don’t forget us veggies.

  • karen (Owner) says:

    hi,

    my names karen the owner of chipmunks , just checking in to make sure everyone is happy with chipmunks, thankyou all for your lovely comments, its a pleasure to serve all my customers old and new…..

    have a good summer everyone – and hope to see you at chipmunks, if you do have any problems with us or want to perhaps see something added to the menu , please let us know.
    thanks cat and matt for a great web site.

  • roger (native) says:

    hi,
    hope everyone had good holidays – i really missed this chippy cause they had a week off over christmas, ive just been for my lunch and its as good as ever – clean fresh and tasty – defo best in ryde and im sure they would be in top four for the island –

  • jasmin says:

    thanks richard – if your local to ryde which i am then best in ryde will do , i will let you know

  • Richard says:

    nice but not the best perhaps the best in ryde …but deffo not the Island

  • The Billo-bob says:

    Yeah, fast service good food some really nice saussies!
    :p
    Hope we’ll be back!

  • Clare Norman says:

    I am a regular visitor to the island to visit family and have to
    say that I love the food at Chipmonks. The batter is light and
    tasty and the chips are always crispy. Its always nice to hear
    that a company is “family run” as you know you will get better
    quality and service than a larger franchise. I just hope that the
    current financial climate doesnt destroy another valued business
    because I for one would miss this excellent take away.

  • lucy says:

    I stumbled along this place whilst staying in ryde , i really fancied fish and chips and asked the ryde harbour master where he recommends, he said without doubt it has to be the one he uses , as do most of the island locals (im talking proper islanders)chipmunks chipshop is without doubt the best on the island and will give the mainland a good run for its money too. Its fast efficient clean and friendly and has now become my local, but dont believe me go and ask a few people in ryde, im told by one of its waiting customers that the owners of over 10 years have done wonders for the place and he telephones his order from newport its that good.

  • James says:

    “battered jumbo and saveloy”

    Is that allowed? 🙂

  • karen says:

    I would just like to thank all the people who have been kind enough to take the time to leave such lovely comments about my families chipshop, as a small family business we really try to offer the best food,service and value for money we can, and its lovely to hear we have achieved this. We have just added PIE MASH AND LIQUOR to our menu, and glad to say its taking very well. Once again thankyou for your comments.
    hopefully see you again.
    karen (owner/operator)

  • derek atkins says:

    This is an excelent fish & chip shop and to date I’d say the best we’ve found on the island, although we’ve still more to research so perhaps we might find a better chip shop.

  • Sean says:

    Very good Chips. Well cooked, tasty and a fair sized portion.

    It was fairly busy when I went on a Wednesday evening on the recomendation of this great website. The staff appeared to know many of the regular customers and the service was fast and friendly.

  • jackie says:

    best chippy ive found is in ryde, chipmunks monkton street, the quality of the fish and chips is amazing not thin fish but chunky fleshy crispy fish and the chips are to die for – dont take my advice try it yourself i highly reccomend to any one who loves a traditional british chippy

  • errol says:

    fantastic shop food always brilliant and the service is amazing even though food cooked fresh your in and out in no time so efficient, i always use this chip shop you can tell the quality of the food its not at all greasy and i have seen them in action on carnival night even though they are really busy quality and service is not compromised i highly reccommend

  • Carol says:

    I agree with Jackie, I am a local and have enjoyed many fish and chip suppers from Chipmonks and they have always been exceptional quality and value for money. The battered fish is especially good.

  • jackie says:

    i visited the island earlier this year and spent my time in ryde which is my fav place on the isle the fish and chipshop in monkton st. chipmunks is one of the best chippys not only on the island but also on the mainland i live in london and we have some pretty decent places chipmunks is on par with them , their food was cooked fresh which makes a difference to the fish every time you get it its crispy clean and fresh there is no smell of oil in the shop unlike alot of other takeaways i have been too. i would defo reccommend to anyone visiting the island to get there chips from them i think i must have put on a stone on my holidays cause i got a cod and chip supper every evening.

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