Moore’s Fish & Chips, Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas is somewhat of a mystery to me. There are a handful of reasonable restaurants around here, especially if you head up King Street to Mr Pook’s. But the whole town is dotted about with a bunch of random places that I’ve walked by a fair few times now and wondered who actually eats there. In a lot of cases, foot traffic and tourism seem to keep the lights on. But some restaurants manage to thrive on just one good idea. A gluten-free risotto restaurant? Why not?

For Moore’s Fish & Chips, their one good idea is their online pre-order system. Why does this work so well? Because people come from miles around (literally!) to collect their little piece of fried heaven. And who wants to wait or be late to collect and risk it going cold before you’ve had a chance to get it home? “Not me!” I hear you say.

From the outside, Moore’s is nothing particularly special to look at. Except for the queues every time I’ve been (which, to be honest, is becoming a habit every time we visit), that tell me these really are worth waiting for. There’s a mouth-watering smell wafting out of the door which makes the anticipation even greater. When you pre-order for collection, you’re told to wait in your car and a text message will be sent to you when they’re ready. Which is fair enough – it’s not a big place and seriously, the queues are something else! But that then causes another small issue – where to park so you can get to the shop door quickly enough when you’re called… I guess one might call these ‘middle-class problems’ but I like my food hot so this has to bear some consideration.

Okay, so I hear you saying, “Enough of this innovation. What makes them such good fish and chips?” And this is where I’m going to shield myself from you all because you’re going to compare them to your favourites and tell me they’re no better.

But the batter, people. That secret recipe that every fish and chip shop claims to have. Moore’s is good. Really good. A thin and crispy coating that’s not layered with slimy, undercooked batter underneath, but instead a hot, flaky, well-seasoned white fish (I had cod but there’s haddock and more to choose from). It’s a debate whether I actually needed salt and vinegar on them at all. And the chips? Hot, fluffy, potato-filled chips that are light and crisp in all the right places.