Pelican Fish Restaurant

The Pelican has been serving fish and chips on Sticklepath Hill in Barnstaple for around thirty years, and it's still a family business - Fraser now runs the day-to-day, carrying on what his father Martin built. Richard hand-fillets the fish on site, and the kitchen sources it from sustainably and responsibly managed fisheries, with a preference for fairly local ingredients where possible. A 2015 refurbishment took the restaurant from dark and retro to light and airy, with a yellow, peach and teal colour scheme and a fish tank that customers get to help name in summer.

The menu runs beyond classic cod and chips to homemade curries, fresh salads, a Splash Burger - a smaller battered cod fillet in a floury bun with lettuce, tartar sauce and a side salad - and a children's menu. Chips are unlimited for anyone eating in, and desserts run to sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownies and Molto Nice artisan ice cream. It's open midday to 9pm, closed Sundays, with takeaway running slightly later, and it has been ranked the UK's number one fish and chip restaurant on Tripadvisor.