A fish and chip shop has been voted the best plaice to get the traditional dish in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

It’s the third consecutive year Papa’s Barn, in Ditton, has received acclaim from the National Fish and Chip Awards, having battered the competition last year when they finished third nationally.

On Tuesday, September 1, Papa’s was announced as the top fish and chip shop in the region as part of the 2016 National Fish and Chip Awards – they will now tackle Poppies Fish and Chips in Spitalfields to see who is London and south east England’s best.

The chippy, based in London Road, is run by brothers Theo and Michael Papa-Adams, who rebuilt their business following a fire which completely destroyed the building back in 2010.

The accolade comes two weeks after a pair of the restaurant’s chefs were invited to the Faroe Islands to celebrate a Fisherman’s Festival, serving their popular food to thousands of people.

Brothers Gavin and Craig Lewis travelled to the town of Klaksvik on the weekend of August 22-23, where they served around 4,000 portions of fish and chips in 12 hours – at one point it was estimated they served one dish every 10 seconds.

The team of eight who travelled to the harbour town were only due to serve until 4pm, however, the demand was so high chef Gavin rallied the team and motivated them to continue serving until 11.30pm.

He said: “As long as there is a queue of customers, Papa’s Barn will serve them fish and chips.

“It was a great weekend, the reaction we got was fantastic. The following day we walked into a restaurant and got a round of applause from people in there – I was very proud to be representing Papa’s.

“The Faroe Islands have no fish and chip shops, but they are all well aware of it.”

The whole event was paid for by JFK, a Faroese fishing fleet, who also arranged a temporary shop and exported equipment for the Papa’s team to serve up with.

Theo Papa-Adams, said: “To be recognised as a top quality brand for the third year running is an honour, we’re extremely proud of our successes.

“We owe a lot of it to our wonderful staff and incredibly loyal patrons.”

Papa’s Barn has also been invited to return to the Fisherman’s Festival next year.