Popular Wolverhampton chippy prides itself on warm welcome and quality food every time

A fish and chip dinner is something which has been a tradition in homes across the region for many years.

It can be a Friday evening treat, a lazy lunch or something to enjoy while out on the town, following a night out or simply because people have walked past a chip shop and, enticed by the smells, walked in to buy something.

Popular favourites can include the traditional battered cod with chips, covered in salt and vinegar, battered sausage and haddock, while other popular dishes include kebab meat, pies, curry sauce and saveloys.

One fish and chip shop which has built up a reputation for quality over the years has been Penn Chippy in Wolverhampton, which has been a focal point of the community and beyond for decades.

Set in the leafy suburb of Penn, about two miles from Wolverhampton city centre, the chippy regularly appears on top ten lists for fish and chip takeaways in Wolverhampton and sees a regular flow of customers during lunchtimes and evenings.

It has been owned by the Singh family since 2000, with Kuljinder Singh taking on the role of owner nine months ago.

Mr Singh says the family have loved running the shop and speaks about the things which make it special.

"We've been here now for around 24 years and have always found the customers to be really nice, which made it easy for me to become owner of the place nine months ago.

"I think one of the biggest reasons why we enjoy the custom we do is due to the quality of the food we provide, such as cutting the chips freshly every day, morning and afternoon, and frying fish to the order of how the customer wants us to cook it.

"We listen to what our customers want and we provide that as best we can for them."

The shop opens six days a week, with two openings each day between Monday and Friday and one opening on Saturdays, while the shop is closed on Sundays, and also opens on Bank Holidays.

Visitors to Penn Chippy can enjoy a large and wide-ranging menu, with three portion sizes of chips available, as well as potato scallops, chips in a pitta or naan bread and a chip butty.

The cod comes in two sizes, as well as in bites form, with roe and fishcakes also available alongside scampi and chicken nuggets, plus different types of sausage, wraps, pittas and burgers, plus kebab meat served with chips, pitta or naan breads, and a range of specials.

The kebab meat has become a popular part of the menu, with Mr Singh saying that the shop buys quality meat, which is from New Zealand and is 100 per cent lamb.

That quality of meat has become more expensive for the shop, as has the rise in basic prices for ingredients like potatoes, which Mr Singh says has been a tricky thing to do.

He explains: "The food has become very expensive at times, such as we used to pay £5 a bag for potatoes, whereas now, we're paying around £20 to £25 per bag, and it's the same for fish and sausages as everything has gone up.

"The biggest thing we've had to do, as a result, is to put prices up, although we don't want to have to put them up to the point where customers can't afford them."

Mr Singh says that despite price rises, the shop is still popular, and customers can always expect a warm welcome.

"When customers come in, they will always get a friendly welcome and we'll have smiles on our faces and they'll always tell us that they enjoyed the fish and chips or the kebab they had last time.

"When a new person comes in, we just ensure that the quality is high and we talk to them and ask them if they're local or if they've travelled far, such as people who have come from several miles out.

"We love what we do and we'll always work to ensure people get great quality food."