Gherkin off in the East End.

On Monday after a day working at the D&A New Blood student event in the Old Truman Brewery, Shoreditch, we found ourselves starving and unwilling to make the walk to Saf (lazy, we know). Having clocked Poppies' Chippie on the way there, we went back in about 7 o' clock for something to 'tide us over'.

What a surprise. You know somewhere's good when it's rammed with people. And there were actually benches outside we could sit on, unhassled by staff. The bloke at the counter wasn't phased at all by my asking whether the weapons-grade gherkins were 'amazing'. He just nodded very earnestly. So we had two of those, served wrapped in paper. They had to be clutched with a whole fist, but while good, could in all honesty have been a little more interesting on the pickle spice front.

We had a 'small' portion of chips, which were huge and crisp and fresh, the portion uncharacteristically generous for London. Doused in salt and lots of vinegar, they had that satisfying crunch on the outside, and that fat softness on the inside. We ate the lot - even the little crisps at the bottom which sometimes end up mushed by vinegar (the newspaper was fake, but who cares about that when hot carby salt and fat is all over your tongue?) £4.50 for the lot including a cream soda - really not bad.

On our bench outside we were able to marvel at the fish portions which, although not for the likes of us, looked crisp and lively - and large, though not vulgarly so, with fresh lemon on them. And the mushy peas weren't that classic cheap neon - made in-house, maybe? People were queueing to get served, and the man next to me who was devoid of chips told me he'd just finished his, but was sitting around a bit longer to enjoy the vibe.

Nice. A proper East End chippie without any of the tourist bollocks, or mugged-at-the-counter prices. We'll be darkening their door again.