Welcome to one of South Wales's more bizarre gastro experiences. Chippies with aspirations to greatness generally have stunning settings - think Aldeburgh, with a freshly wrapped battered cod just yards from a shingle beach and the oyster cabins of the local fisherfolk. Or what about Rick Stein's Padstow emporium? OK it's in a pay-and-display municipal car park but when you can sit out on the fishing quay that hardly matters.

As the A48 disappears into your rear view mirror, Finnegan's offers something rather different. In the middle of a housing estate lies a mini shopping centre, every bit as bland and predictable as the built-by-numbers semis all around, and next to the obligatory Tesco Express is British Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 2004. Yep, some years ago they did indeed receive the golden scampi from something called the Seafood Industry Authority. So that'll be Seafood Industry Authority Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 2004 then. Crikey.

So did they deserve it? Well the queue right out of the door is a good sign (traditional in all the best chippies) and the food has a certain ambition. Everything is cooked to order, hence the wait, and orders are managed by a delightful system of submitting the initials of your name. 'XZ' comes mischievously to mind as I hand over my 6 quid for hake and chips to close the deal. 10 minutes later a handsome cardboard box is in my hand with a very decent slab of hake and slice of lemon resting on their raft of chips. Can't stand the housing estate any more though, so it's off to Ogmore beach, narrowly avoiding the sheep munching at the kerbside in my desperation to keep the chips warm.

Results: not bad. Not life-changing either. The hake is a very average cut, not a patch on something I cooked from Cardiff market two weeks ago, and the batter is very oily in parts. Decent chips though. And the seasoning just right (you'll love the way they spray the vinegar on). The view's great too. I imagine the Seafood Industry Authority would be delighted. For all the hassle of the queue and the challenge of negotiating the maze-like housing estate it's maybe not somewhere you'll be rushing back to from afar. But you'll also be hard pressed to find a better chippy in South Wales.