From the water to the counter

Every fish on a counter has made a journey, and the shape of that journey decides how good it is when it reaches you. The water it came from matters. What happened in the hours after it left the water matters more.

Why is fish kept on ice?

Fish starts changing the moment it comes out of the water, and cold is the only thing that slows it down. Chilled hard and quickly, a fish keeps its gloss, its firmness and its clean smell for days. Left warm, it softens and dulls, and nothing further down the line brings it back. That is why the whole trade runs on ice, from the box at sea through landing and sale to the refrigerated van and the slab.

How is fish graded when it lands?

Once landed, fish is sorted by species, by size and by condition, then sold on all three. Buyers read exactly the same signs you can read at home: bright eyes, red gills, firm flesh and tight skin. Two boxes of the same species landed on the same morning can sell at very different prices, and condition is usually the reason. In this trade the handling is the product.

How does fresh fish get to London?

Most fresh fish reaches London overnight, bought near the coast, packed over ice and driven up in the small hours. Distance is measured in temperature more than in miles. A well iced box travels three hundred miles better than a warm one travels ten.

How do we choose what to buy?

We buy British where we can, we buy on condition rather than on price and we keep the counter short so nothing waits around. What is on the ice changes with the weather and the season.

What should you ask your fishmonger?

Ask what is good on the day rather than asking for a species by name. A fishmonger who buys on condition knows which boxes came in well that morning and which did not, and the honest answer will sometimes send you to a different fish than the one you walked in for. Ask how it was kept, ask to see the gills and ask what the counter would cook tonight.

Come and look. Everything is cut to order, filleted by hand and priced by weight at 18 Barnes High Street. Order by 1pm for next day delivery across west and south west London, or collect in Barnes in about two hours, Tuesday to Saturday.

Read our guide to sustainable fish and meet the fishermen we buy from.

Order from the counter: fresh fish and what is on the counter today. Order by 1pm for next day delivery across west and south west London, or collect the same day in Barnes.