Multi-award winning, visited by people from all walks of life, a queue which lines Pier Road, known around the globe for its fish and chips – The Magpie Cafe is at the heart of Whitby’s fish and chip offering.
It is for these very reasons why, The Magpie, despite demand, will only ever be open in Whitby.
Ian Robson, chef proprietor, says potential and demand to open other branches outside of the town is there, but he doesn’t want to lose the ‘magic’ of The Magpie.
He said: “We have floated the idea of opening in other areas but would the quality drop if I am not there all the time? I like to be part of it so that has always put us off. And only being in Whitby makes it exclusive.”
Ian took over as joint proprietor in 1990 but has worked there since 1971, where his first job was slicing and plating up beef, pork and chicken lunches.
It was only meant to be for extra cash while he worked at Greenwoods Menswear but his affinity with The Magpie has become a way of life. In turn, The Magpie is ingrained in the lives of local folk.
Between The Magpie Cafe and its other ventures – the takeaway, The Whitby Catch and The Magpie’s Kitchen – the business is one of the largest employers in town and has seen generations of families work there.
A family business it indeed is, moving down the generations since 1954.
Ian took over The Magpie in 1990 along with Alison Slater, from Alison’s parents, Ian and Sheila McKenzie. They in turn had taken over from Alison’s grandparents, Clifford and Gladys Barker.
The building, built in 1750, was a Merchant’s House. At one time it was owned by a member of the Scoresby whaling family, then, from 1823 to around 1832, by Francis Pickernell the harbour engineer who designed Whitby’s first swing bridge, to whom a blue plaque is displayed at the entrance.
It later became Harrowing’s shipping office and converted into a cafe in 1939.
The 1950s and 1960s were a time when fish and chip shops were gaining in popularity. It was a cheap meal to buy and one of the few things not rationed during the war as the staple ingredients – fish and potatoes – were readily available locally.
However, at this time, The Magpie Cafe was more of a traditional seaside café than a fish and chip restaurant, which would come later.
Once fish and chips were established on The Magpie menu, it would be friendly, local fisherman proving to be the catalyst for adding a wider array of seafood.
Ian recalls: “We were mostly fish and chips and one day fisherman, Richard Brewer, turned up with some King Scallops saying, ‘would you like these’. We said we would give it a go and it took off from there. It went well and we started adding other things.”
It is now very much a fish and sea food restaurant with the most popular dishes (other than fish and chips) being the seafood medley, mussels and scallops. Other dishes now proving very popular are oysters and octopus.
Television cookery programmes, and the ease of foreign travel, have encouraged people to be more adventurous with food nowadays.
It is a well-known part of The Magpie’s story that a visit from celebrity chef, Rick Stein, led to The Magpie featuring on his television show. He said The Magpie’s were the best fish and chips he’d had, and it increased the restaurant’s popularity.
Since then, The Magpie has attracted other celebrity chefs, most notably James Martin and Brian Turner.
Many famous customers, too numerous to mention from the world of TV, film and sport have visited over the years. However, one in particular, Honor Blackman famous for The Avengers and Bond film, Goldfinger, brings back a memory to Ian.
“I remember her requesting that I deliver fish and chips to her at the Spa, which I of course was happy to do. She was charming and extremely grateful”, recalls Ian.
Over the last 20 years, The Magpie has developed as a restaurant and a business, overcoming the major setback of a fire on the May bank holiday weekend in 2017, which resulted in the restaurant being closed until mid-December.
When the opportunity arose to buy number 15 Pier Road, they did and extended into that, then the two upper storeys of number 16.
Good Friday remains the busiest day of the year, just as it was when Ian started full time back in 1979. On a busy day, The Magpie will welcome in the region of a thousand customers and go through a tonne and a half of potatoes (60 bags).
There have been some strange requests from customers over the years though. Notable ones include a regular visitor requesting her fish and chips be pureed as she had undergone jaw surgery, and another was that chefs make a birthday cake for a doll and the staff sing happy birthday to it.
Surprisingly, one of its most commonly asked questions is ‘are you open on Christmas Day?’
While The Magpie opens seven days a week all year round (save for a few planned maintenance days) having Christmas Day off is as sacrosanct as salt and vinegar on your chips.
Perhaps it encompasses the appeal of Whitby and fish and chips though.
Ian added: “I am proud of the reputation we have built up over the last 40 years. They keep saying they will let me retire but it isn’t happening…just yet.”
Bread and butter is a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips. Picture: Ceri Oakes
