A woman tried the cheapest to most expensive fish and chips in her local area to determine which were the "best" and she was "shocked" by the outcome.

Fish and chips is a cornerstone of British culture and cuisine, coming in the same bracket as a cup of tea when people consider what they most associate with life in the UK. Not long ago, fish and chips was a delicious, affordable treat many savoured on a Friday after a demanding week at work.

As the cost of living crisis persists, it's becoming far more challenging to indulge in a takeaway on a regular basis. The price of fish and chips - once famously and dependably inexpensive - has, like lots of things, rocketed.

Food content creator Becca Stock - known on TikTok as Becca Eats Everything - travelled to takeaways in her "local area" of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, where she purchased "the cheapest, the most expensive, and mid-price fish and chips" to find "which ones taste the best."

The content creator, who has accumulated more than half a million followers on the popular social media platform, began: "Let's start with the cheapest one; this is from Sizzling Pubs, they're like a neighbourhood pub across the UK."

She displayed a cardboard box containing a large battered fish, chunky chips and a pot of sauce to the camera and said: "This was £9.49, unbelievable to me. Also, it comes with mushy peas and curry sauce."

Becca then lifted the fish towards the camera to give viewers a better look. She continued: "This batter, it's not feeling the freshest. It's a bit soggy, a little bit undercooked."

Having taken a bite, she described the fish as "just mush" and "grim", and said: "That's absolutely rank - batter is tasteless, it's soaking wet, it's mushy fish, it's undercooked batter."

She said the chips were "so dry" and went on: "It's not that hard to cook good fish and chips. With that in mind, the cheapest gets a one out of 10."

Despite her scathing critique, Sizzling Pubs has attracted considerable praise on Trustpilot. One satisfied customer wrote: "The meal was out of this world, the nicest steak I'd ever had, hats off to the chef. We will be back soon".

Becca then turned her attention to the mid-priced fish and chips, sourced "from a place called Queen's Fish and Chips in Gloucester", which cost her £13.48 for a large battered cod and chips.

She kicked off her taste test with a chip and noted: "Not bad chip-shop chips, reasonably fluffy on the inside."

Of the fish, she said: "The fish doesn't look like mush - it's flaky, it's meaty. Batter's not bad, could do with a little bit more seasoning but it's nice, thick, fresh, crunchy batter."

Becca was particularly taken with the generous portion of chips, convinced they'd "do two people". Summing up, she said: "I don't think £13.50 is a bad price to pay for this. The mid-price one gets an eight out of 10."

Finally, Becca tried "the most expensive" fish and chips, from a restaurant called The Chip Shed. Becca said: "They've got like four locations across the country, mainly over the western side."

Of her order, she said: "This was - are you ready? £19.90, and that is for a portion of chips that I would say do two people, and this is the lemon sole, so it's not a cod. This was £15 on its own - eye watering, I know."

As she pulled the fish apart to show the camera, she branded it "succulent" before tasting it. She then said: "This batter is terrible, oh my goodness. It's not cooked. Literally more tasteless than the cheapest one - I'm shocked."

Becca conceded the fish was "very delicate" but insisted the disappointing batter "ruined" the £15 fish. She continued: "The chips are the nicest, they're very creamy as well as fluffy."

Becca added: "I know you don't want to overcook the fish, I understand that but then you need to do a thinner batter.

"I still think I'm being a bit generous here but taking into consideration how good the chips are and how well the actual fish cookery is, the most expensive one gets a five out of 10. That means my winner is the mid-price one - £13.48, Queen's Fish and Chips in Gloucester."