The Classic British Seafood Barry Manilow Loves

While Barry Manilow may have started his career writing famous fast food jingles for the likes of McDonald's and KFC, there's actually not a lot of information out there about the food he likes. Tidbits like his extremely detail-oriented meal request at a 1994 concert in Fargo (via Deseret News) are rare, so his eating habits tend to be a mystery, for the most part. There's enough evidence, however, to suggest that the "Copacabana" singer loves himself a classic plate of fish and chips, at least when he's in the U.K.

While there aren't any readily available records of Manilow actually talking about the dish, he's been spotted enjoying fish and chips several times over the past decade. In 2022, while on tour in the U.K., the singer dropped by for lunch at The Swallow's Nest in Worcestershire, ordering the fish and chips with a glass of water. Back in 2014, Manilow was spotted having the dish at Duke of Wellington, a pub in Hatfield Peverel during a separate tour. Based on this, it's safe to assume that he enjoyed the British classic enough to make a point of stopping at restaurants and ordering it.

If you're a Fanilow looking to eat at the same spots Barry Manilow did, manage your expectations. The fish and chips at The Swallow's Nest, for example, seems to be inconsistent, according to TripAdvisor reviews. One person said that the fish and chips "were delicious, so well cooked," and that they'd never had another tartar sauce as nice as the one served with the dish. A different user, however, found the chips to be too hard to enjoy, and a separate post described the fish dish as too oily.

Duke of Wellington's reviews on Tripadvisor tell a similar story. One reviewer found the fish portion to be small and mostly batter, while another complained about the stingy serving of chips, counting just 11 skinny pieces on their plate. On the positive end, someone said the fish was fresh and that the chips were crunchy with fluffy centers.

Either way, Barry Manilow at least had fish and chips made with the right seafood. According to their respective menus, The Swallow's Nest uses haddock for its fish and chips, while Duke of Wellington uses cod. Both are often regarded to be among the three best types of fish for fish and chips, with the third being pollock. Cod is a classic choice for its mild flavor and tender texture, while haddock gives you more of a bite on top of sweeter flavors.