Double-Decker Brit Bus Fries Fish

Chippy on Wheels Makes Fish N'Chips Mobile

It’s double the fried (fish) fun at North Texas’ only chippy on wheels -- The Angry Friar. 

Owner David Wilson mulled over the idea of turning a double-decker bus into a restaurant for ten years before he found the1961 London Transport Routemaster in a Fort Worth field.

It wasn’t easy turning his mobile fish n’chips concept into a reality.

He dealt with red tape for a couple years from the former owners (a movie company in New York) before the bus was all his. Then the arduous task of transporting it began.

Wilson rented an 18-wheeler to haul it to Denton, careful to drive a certain route void of any bridges that were too low. 

“There’s about 200 bridges from Fort Worth to Denton and I know all of them because I had to map our route … it was kind of a nightmare,” said Wilson.

But the nightmare has turned into a dream come true for Wilson, who said he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. He goes through 200 pounds of potatoes and makes 70 paper cones to hold the fries a day. He uses only 5-7 ounce pieces of flaky, white fish. 

 “Cod and Haddock from the Icelandic water is so fished out now that even England is using catfish and that’s what we use,” said Wilson.

The Angry Friar has added hush puppies to its menu (soon deep fat fried sausage will be added), but other than that, “this is as traditionally close as you’re going to get to England.”

Wilson said he wants to prove that a small, independent business can thrive while giving back to the community and staying green.

“The vegetable oil is recycled into biodiesels … the generator is biodiesel … so the whole bus runs on its own waste,” said Wilson.
 

On the side of the bus, two slots allow patrons to donate their change to two charities, one to a local animal shelter and another to families of fallen firefighters and police officers.

At the beginning of every month, Wilson writes a check to the charities and posts a copy on the window so patrons can see where their donations go.

Renovations are underway to make the top of The Angry Friar a café where diners can sit in air conditioning and watch TV as they nosh.

Much to the appreciation of many a broke and hungry University of North Texas student, The Angry Friar is a mean, green fish fryin’ machine.

We compiled the following list of other places in the Metroplex where you can order a heaping helping of fish n'chips. Enjoy!

The Old Monk
Idle Rich Pub
Trinity Hall

The Londoner
Press Box Grill
Victory Tavern
Dallas British Rose Pub

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