Food and Drink - Restaurant review - The Fish Shop on St John Street
Published: 22 July 2010
by MATTHEW LEWIN
BATTER on fried fish, as in fish and chips, must form an adequate casing to protect the fish from becoming overcooked by the very high temperature of the oil.
Perfectly fried fish should emerge from its casing still moist and delicate for, as we all know, fish is cooked as soon as the flesh reaches 65 degrees celsius. And if the batter tastes good too, that’s a bonus! So, using the above as a guide, there is only praise for the haddock and chips I had at The Fish Shop on St John Street, Finsbury. The haddock emerged steaming and glistening from its golden crust, still hot but only just cooked, and it was excellent. The chips, made from actual pieces of potato, were quite good but could have been better.
This is somewhat more than a fish and chip joint. It is a serious fish restaurant where you can have everything from oysters, steamed mussels and a seafood platter (£18) to pan-seared salmon, smoked haddock and various fish roasted whole.
Our starters included a creamy organic salmon soup, while my Chief Culinary Adviser enjoyed her fan of grilled English asparagus with truffle oil and a nicely poached egg.
We could also have had whitebait, crispy salt and pepper squid rings, baby octopus slow cooked with fennel, a crab cocktail or caramelised king scallops.
My Adviser had a crispy fillet of sea bream. She also had a very good apple tart (lots of apple, lovely texture and not too sweet) for dessert, while I had a glass of fresh mint tea.
The bill, including the tea, a glass of wine and service, came to £57 or £28.50 each, which was reasonable for this quality of food.
SUMMARY: Excellent fish and chips. Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner (Sunday until 8pm). Cost should be around £25 for three courses, less service and drinks.
RATING: 4 stars (out of 5)
The Fish Shop on St John Street
360 St John Street, EC1
020 7837 1199
www.thefishshop.net
info@thefishshop.net