9 of the 10 best French chip shops are located in Nord-Pas-de-Calais

The site Friteries.com has released its famous ranking of the best chip shops in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The region occupies nine places out of the top ten in the 2024 ranking. The best brand in France happens to be 14's diner in Hersin-Coupigny. Melting and crispy immersion.

Fries and Nord-Pas-de-Calais, a love story. This has been confirmed for around ten years thanks to the ranking of the site Friteries.com, published Thursday January 2, 2025. Among the 535 brands listed for the French ranking, it is the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais which come in first. head. 9 of the top 10 chip shops are from the region.

The 14's diner chip shop in Hersin-Coupigny (Pas-de-Calais) has been voted best chip shop in France for the first time. It has only existed for four years, but it has already won the hearts of northerners. Valérie, the boss, left her job as a banker to run this chip shop with her husband.

It’s a source of pride to have gotten there so quickly. I make fresh fries with local farmers. We deliver every day. We do two baths then we work the beef fat”presents the manager of the chip shop at 14's diner in Hersin-Coupigny.

The town of Hersin-Coupigny can thus pride itself on being the nerve center of fries. In third place in the ranking of the best chip shop in France is La friterie hersinoise, a neighboring brand.

It’s a source of pride to have gotten there so quickly.

Valérie, manager of 14's diner in Hersin-Coupigny (Pas-de-Calais)

The ranking of the best chip shop in France is based on the vote of Internet users. Reviews Facebook also count. “It’s the chip shop spirit that is rewarded”notes Kim Mouna, restaurateur at La friterie du Parc in Grenay (Pas-de-Calais), seventh in the ranking. For the creation of this list, the opinions Google play an important indicator. On the page Google My Business of the chip shop, we notice a rating of 4.4 stars out of five. The comments are also rave: “Excellent chip shop, cleanliness, smiling and welcoming staff, very affordable price.”

“What pleases my husband and my four children is Kim’s joie de vivre and kindness”rejoices Mélanie Scionis, 36 years old, resident of Grenay. When you approach the Parc chip shop in Grenay, located near the Bully-Grenay station, what stands out is the storefront. A bright red facade and a small shelter to keep customers waiting, “sometimes there is a wait of up to 15 minutes on Wednesday lunchtime”relates the loyal customer since she was little.

If the line of gourmets is never empty around the Parc chip shop, it is because “the fries have flavor and are not too greasy”describes Mélanie Scionis. A good fry shack in Nord-Pas-de-Calais is summed up with “live preparation, double cooking, generosity and above all, fun.”

7ᵉ is good, but I could have done better. One year, I already came 3rd.

Kim, manager of the Parc chip shop, in Grenay (Pas-de-Calais)

If for this customer, Kim fully deserves her distinction, for the manager of the Parc chip shop, “7th is good, but I could have done better. One year, I already came 3rd”he blurted. The man with a storefront in his town has been responsible for his fast food restaurant for almost 29 years. “In my house, I make what I do best: fries”simply says the restaurateur.

This Friday, January 3, 2025, as usual, Kim is doing her shopping. On his list: vegetable oil, salt, pepper and mainly fresh potatoes, already peeled and cut. “I take bintje, it’s the best variety”he specifies.

Back at the barracks, the fries go into a first bath for pre-cooking in vegetable oil, in order to remove the water from the tuber. Then the fries are plunged back into the oil for three minutes, until the potato is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Kim sells her fries for 3 euros for small portions and 5 euros for large ones. “I always accompany them with mayonnaise, Provençal sauce or mayonnaise. My wife likes them with salt and vinegar.”he delights. The restaurant offers fries on its menu, but also hamburgers, American sandwiches, merguez and Mexicanos. You have to pay on average between 8 and 10 euros to eat a full meal at the Parc de Grenay chip shop.

At the beginning, out of pure greed, in my shack, I was like a kid in a candy store.

Kim, manager of the park chip shop, in Grenay (Pas-de-Calais)

“At the beginning, out of pure greed, in my barracks, I was like a kid in a candy store”he smiles. Chip shops don't just attract locals. Campervans from the four corners of France stop near the Grenay chip shop to have a bite to eat. “For most of them, itis there revelationit's a change from fries from kebabs or fast-food chains”underlines the manager of the Parc chip shop.

Read also: Ranking of chip shops: The best fries in France can be enjoyed in Dunkirk

Nord-Pas-de-Calais shines for its chip shops. In France, to find a chip shop outside the region, you have to go down to 9th place, at “Frites Bonnel”, in Angers (Maine-et-Loire).

• 14's diner, in Hersin-Coupigny (Pas-de-Calais)
• Burger Magic, in Aniche (North)
• Hersinian chip shop, in Hersin-Coupigny (Pas-de-Calais)
• Chez Delphine, in Cambrai (North)
• Chic Frite, in Dunkirk (North)
• Kat'frites, in Beuvry (Pas-de-Calais)
• The Parc friterie, in Grenay (Pas-de-Calais)
• At Aurel, in Helfaut (Pas-de-Calais)
• Bonnel fries, in Angers (Maine-et-Loire)
• O cht'i Régal, in Bruay-la-Bussière (Pas-de-Calais)

The ranking of the best chip shops also lists Belgian and Luxembourg establishments. In this case, the 14's diner in Hersin-Coupigny is dethroned by the Lesve ta frite chip shop in Namur. In the top 10 of this overall list, five chip shops are located in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Proof to support this, the region is definitely the ideal region to enjoy fries.