The Inlander6%
Twiggy’s Fish and Chips reels Spokanites in with authentic British fare 12%
By Dora Scott5%
7/30/2026, 1:30:00 AM
Topics: Restaurant Review, Local Business
BS Summary: This article contains 29 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Anecdotal, and In-Group Bias, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 27.9% saturation with 314 hits. Analysis detected 1,964 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,125 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 28.1% and a BS Rank of 12% (19,727 of 22,362 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 88.20% of the article peer group.
Outsiders may not have the most favorable impression of British cuisine, but when it comes to fish and chips, many Spokane residents have long been hankering for an authentic “chippy” experience.
The wait is finally over with the opening of Twiggy’s Fish and Chips at 1505 N.
Ash St.
Co-owners and husband-and-wife duo Mark Twigg and Maureen Torphy decided to open up shop after craving the English-style fish and chips that Twigg grew up on.
“I think you can get really good fish and chips around [here], but not necessarily how we have it,” Twigg says, referring to his childhood in Manchester.
“So we just wanted to do it how we like it.”
For fish and chips newbs like me, Twiggy’s menu is full of culinary adventures.
I mean, there’s *two* pea-based sides and tons of other classically British accoutrements for the fried fish meal including the requisite lemony tartar sauce and malt vinegar.
While some may think a casual dish like fish and chips should cost far less than $19.50, a full-size order’s portion contains a hefty piece of crispy Pacific cod that can easily be shared between two people.
Or get a half order, around 5 ounces, for $14.50.
“We would have Atlantic cod or halibut [in the U.K.], and then over here we’re using Pacific cod, which is a slightly smaller cod, but it tastes very similar,” Twigg says.
“And because we get all of our fish direct from our fishermen up in Alaska, they’re really nice cold waters like it is around the Atlantic.”
It took the owners a bit to nail down their recipes, especially for battered and fried items.
Until they were approved to use their commercial fryer, all testing had to be done from a smaller fryer at home.
Twigg says it was a challenge as the batter often stuck to the fryer’s sides.
**Most Americans love their french** fries crispy, but don’t expect to find that at Twiggy’s.
In true British fashion, the chips are cut thick, soaked to get some of the extra starch out, fried first at a lower temperature and put into the fridge, after which they’re fully fried during service time.
“Having chips that are more potatoey and less of a crunch, I really like because I think you’ve got enough crunch from the fish,” Twigg says.
Many of Twiggy’s sides are based on recipes he ate as a child, which were somewhat easy to replicate for a few servings, but much trickier to scale up for restaurant service.
“You have to make it into 200 portions, and with gravy and stuff, it’s not just multiplying everything up because all the liquid is different,” he says.
When deciding on the curry recipe, another challenge was going through dozens of iterations.
“You kind of get to a point where you’re like, ‘I don’t know, just tastes the same,’” Twigg says.
The mushy peas ($3) and the smashed peas ($3) sides might surprise some customers.
Twigg describes the former as similar to a salty split pea soup, and something that you’d dip your fish or chips in.
While the Brits normally opt for a canned version if cooking fish and chips at home, restaurants like Twiggy’s make it from scratch.
“To make mushy peas is like a real process,” he says.
“You have to soak them 24 hours before, then you have to boil them down.”
Smashed peas, on the other hand, are a cold version with sour cream that Twigg says pairs well with all the hot, fried foods.
If you’re not a big fan of fish, there’s plenty of other options.
While it was tough to source anything close to Britain’s traditional, herb-seasoned saveloy sausage, Twigg eventually found a close version by working with local butcher Crown Foods.
“We’re getting good feedback on those, and you can get those normal or battered,” he says.
There’s also chicken tenders and chips ($13), which can also be ordered as a sandwich ($12).
Other handhelds include one with fish that’s topped with tomato, lettuce and homemade tartar sauce.
There’s also a chip bap ($8), which is basically bread, chips and a side of gravy.
“When you’ve got rid of some of the chips, just close it up as a chip sandwich and just dip it in,” he explains about his favorite childhood meal.
Since Twiggy’s opening, tons of folks originally from the U.K. have stopped by for a taste of home.
“It’s always kind of fun because you find out where they’re from and stuff, and then we like to insult each other a little bit,” Twigg jokes.
Even Spokanites without British roots had been waiting expectantly for Twiggy’s to open its doors as soon as they saw signage of a cod character dressed in a top hat and monocle.
The restaurant’s soft opening was in June.
**It was around two years ago** that Twigg and his wife were first inspired to open a restaurant of their own, and they began looking for a location in March 2025.
One day they passed by an empty building at Ash Street and Maxwell Avenue in the West Central neighborhood.
“We were saying it would have been a great spot … and then when we drove past [last] September [or] October, we got speaking to the owners of the building, and they were looking to rent it out,” Twigg says.
While the space had been recently used as a car sales garage and a gold brokerage, Twigg notes its owners had started renovating it to become a restaurant.
“When we came into it, the whole place had been done,” he says.
“I think they were going to do some kind of sandwich type thing, and then they decided that they’ve got too much on, and we came in just at the right time to take it down a different road.”
From that project Twiggy’s inherited some historic black and white photos of Spokane, which inspired them to add similar British-themed art like of a soccer match and U.K. landmarks.
The dining area’s five or so tables fill up quickly, with any standing room taken up by lines of people ordering or waiting on their takeout.
Limited space has been a challenge for storage, too, with Twigg noting how they’re often nearly out of ingredients by 3 pm.
Once they have their routine down, however, Twiggy’s will eventually open for dinner service after first launching a few extended Friday hours through August.
Whether you’re new to the chippy experience, or it feels like a homecoming, queue up to get your fill.
Twiggy’s Fish and Chips • 1505 N.
Ash St.
• Open Tue-Sat 11:30 am-3 pm • Instagram: @twiggysfishandchips
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