‘I tried a deep fried Christmas dinner – and it sent me into a food coma’

Pantrini’s fish and chip shop in Whitley Bay is also offering up battered pigs in blankets and stuffing balls for a slightly bizarre Christmas dinner with a twist

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Fish and chip shop does deep-fried Christmas dinner

Pigs in blankets piled high, passing around endless selection boxes, and enough leftover turkey sandwiches to feed a village – to me, festive food is what makes Christmas so special.

So when I heard that my local fish and chip shop, Pantrini’s in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, had brought out their own unique festive menu with a twist, I couldn’t resist popping in to try it all out.

The family-run shop has been serving Whitley Bay for 100 years, and has won multiple awards for their classic fish and chips.

Now they’ve shaken things up for the festive season by offering up a Christmas dinner with a true chippy twist – everything is deep fried in crispy batter.

Yes, Pantrini’s has taken classic festive favourites and stuck them in the fryer – customers can get their hands on battered pigs in blankets, battered stuffing balls, and even battered Brussels sprouts.

The snacks are all served up in the classic Pantrini family recipe batter, with either turkey and cranberry gravy or classic cranberry sauce. I took on the brave task of trying everything on the menu.

Let’s start with the stuffing balls – because these are my personal highlight of Christmas dinner, I was keen to see whether they would hold up with a crunchy coating of batter; and they certainly did.

Part of me was expecting to find cheap stuffing balls beneath the batter with not much flavour, but the herby sage and onion pork was even tastier than the fancy supermarket ones that I usually order in for Christmas day.

With a choice between gravy or cranberry sauce I opted for the sweet and tangy latter, which was perfect to balance out this salty snack.

Next up were the pigs in blankets. As battered sausage is already one of my favourite chippy orders, the novelty of this one wasn’t quite as much of an attraction – but that didn’t stop me polishing them off, and dipping them in the Pantrini’s special Christmas Gravy really took them to the next level.

They were also the easiest dish to eat by hand, so I think they would be perfect to take with me as snack fuel next time I have a wander along the North East coast.

I saved the one I was least looking forward to until last. I grew up near the North East coast, home to some of the best chippies the UK has to offer – so I’ll eat just about anything as long as it’s battered. But even I had my reservations about the sprouts.

The last time I attempted to eat a Brussels sprout is now a distant memory, and I think I might have managed a bite before firmly deciding that they were not for me.

Although the Pantrini’s staff reassured me that their deep-fried sprouts were surprisingly tasty, and had emerged as a favourite among some of their customers, I was very sceptical that even a thorough deep-frying could improve the dreaded sprout.

But I can now say that this is the first time in my life I’ve actually enjoyed them. Even once I had crunched through the batter, the sprouts inside were soft and sweet; a perfect match with the crisp salty batter coating.

Well done, Pantrini’s – you’ve single-handedly changed my lifelong low opinion of sprouts. I might just add them to my Christmas dinner plate in the future – if I can get myself a home fryer.

For those wondering where the main attraction of Christmas dinner is in all of this, never fear – Pantrini’s has the turkey covered too. They’re dishing up turkey burgers, deep-fried in breadcrumbs this time, complete with stuffing and cranberry sauce smothered on the bun.

The turkey burger is delicious – and it’s about the size of a small house. Anyone planning a visit to Pantrini’s may have to make a couple of trips to try out both this and all the deep-fried sides.

And finally – if you haven’t burst from everything else – Pantrini’s has indulgent festive desserts on offer too. There are gingerbread pancakes with clementine Chamtilly cream, a chocolate brownie in the shape of a Christmas tree, and a gingerbread latte.

Sadly, I only had room for a few sips of their Terry’s Chocolate Orange hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, which I’m planning to grab in a takeaway cup the next time I go for a bracing winter walk along Whitley Bay beach.

Of course, it’s not something I’d recommend on the regular – tucking in to all of this at lunchtime left me in desperate need of a lie down, and I was stuffed for the rest of the day. But I hope everyone gets the chance to try a battered Christmas dinner at least once.

Is sticking the biggest meal you’ll eat all year in a deep fryer overkill? Probably. Will it send you into a food coma? Almost definitely – but really, isn’t that what Christmas dinner is all about?