Binley Mega Chippy: song explained, where is it on Google Maps, Coventry food reviews - why is it trending?

The latest bizarre TikTok craze has gone viral, and fans of fish and chips are loving it.

The term 'Binley Mega Chippy' may not signify anything to many people who don't use the app on a regular basis.

Those three words, however, are likely to bring smiles - as well as a growling stomach - to ardent TikTok fans.

But why has this seemingly unremarkable chip shop become so popular? The origins of it all are difficult to pin down, as they are with many weird internet trends.

It’s not even like it’s a new establishment; since its opening in 2004, the chippy has been a local hangout in Binley, a suburb in the east of Coventry.

So just why is it capturing the imagination of so many?

Here is everything you need to know.

Binley Mega Chippy: we visited TikTok sensation Coventry chip shop - thoughts, reactions and food review

What is Binley Mega Chippy?

On the surface, Binley Mega Chippy is just a simple fish and chip business in a Coventry suburb that has become an internet sensation.

The chippy seemingly began to acquire widespread recognition in April 2022 after a TikTok food critic named @craigs.kebab.house posted a slideshow of the greatest takeaways in the UK, with Binley Mega Chippy being the first.

But a lot of the shop’s popularity has to do with a fan-made theme song from @binleymegachippyfan53, who shared a video with the well-known theme tune attached.

If you don’t already know the ‘song’ already, it’s not hard to learn. Essentially combining a football-terrace style chant with the word’s ‘Binley Mega Chippy’, one listen and you’ll have it down pat.

It’s admittedly catchy, and has been stuck in this writer’s head ever since I laid eyes and ears on it earlier in the day.

The song was only the beginning though, and Binley Mega Chippy ‘remixes’ and reviews have since sprung up with a focus on the eatery’s £4.99 "Morbius Meal” - fish and chips, mushy peas and a can of soda.

It’s been churning along in the realm of TikTok for a while now (over half a million people have viewed the tune, and thousands more have used it to make their own videos), but this past weekend was Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in Coventry.

That gave music fans the opportunity to make a pilgrimage of their own to the famed chippy to discover what all the fuss was about.

“I have no idea what happened,” Kamal Gandhi, the shop’s owner, told The Guardian. “Thursday it started to get busy, and I noticed people out the front taking pictures. I was just like, ‘What are people doing?’”

“We assume someone local who likes the food has made the song and it’s just gone viral.”

Where is Binley Mega Chippy?

Thousands of people have been making their way to the chip show to sample its culinary delights for themselves - including from overseas.

According to The Guardian, the shop has seen minibuses from Dundee, families from Essex and Portsmouth, and even a Portuguese passenger fly in especially.

The chip shop is located on Binley Road, Binley - so you couldn’t really get anymore Binley if you tried - roughly a 15-minute drive from the centre of Coventry.

Binley evolved from a small mining village on the outskirts of Coventry to the large residential area it is today.

Ellie and George Foster, aged 16 and 15, wore Binley Mega Chippy Mega Fan T-shirts as they travelled from Nottinghamshire for their fix of food.

“We saw it on TikTok. It’s just quite random and that’s what makes it funny,” they told The Guardian. “We made the T-shirts to wear when we came, and they gave us a free bottle of lemonade and photos with them.”

“Of all the things they wanted to do on half-term, this was top of their list,” said the siblings’ mother, Claire. “We could have gone to the seaside, but no, they said they wanted to go to Binley Mega Chippy.”

What are some of the reviews?

Of course, following its spike in popularity, the takeaway has been inundated with glowing customer reviews, many hilarious in their drollness.

“Binley mega chippy gave my life meaning,” one listless customer wrote, while another said they had “never had a meal like it”.

“Amazing place, the culture and passion put into the chips give me a reason to life. I love Binley Mega Chippy,” another wrote.

“Staff comforted me as I cried on the floor. 5 stars,” said a customer who was overcome with the food’s quality.

Another made their way there in such a rush that they “broke my favourite crocs.”