Hake with chorizo and butter beans

Hake sits between cod and monkfish in texture, with soft, large flakes and a delicate flavour that Spanish cooks build whole meals around. Ask for loin from the thick end, skin on, so it holds toge...

Whole roast sea bass with fennel and lemon

A whole fish roasted on the bone stays moist and carries more flavour than a fillet, and sea bass is one of the easiest to get right. Ask the counter for a fish of about 500 to 600g and have it sca...

Beer-battered cod

Cod loin holds a batter because it is thick, firm and low in oil, so it stays in one meaty flake and does not break up in the fryer. Ask the counter for loin from the thick end of the fillet, skinn...

Ultimate prawn cocktail

The prawn cocktail earns its place when the prawns are cooked fresh and the sauce is made, never squeezed from a bottle. King prawns poached for minutes, a Marie Rose lifted with Worcestershire and...

Grilled mackerel with gooseberry

Mackerel is a rich, oily fish with firm flesh that holds together under a fierce heat, so it suits grilling more than almost anything on the counter. Ask us to fillet and pin-bone it, or to butterf...

Whole roast bream with garlic and lemon

Roasting bream whole on the bone keeps the flesh moist and gives you more flavour than a fillet, and it is one of the easiest whole fish to handle. Ask the counter for a fish of about 500 to 600g a...

Plaice goujons with tartare

Plaice is a flat fish with soft, sweet, fine flakes, which makes it ideal cut into strips and breaded, where a firmer fish would fight the crumb. Ask us to skin the fillets and you can slice them i...

Garlic king prawns

King prawns have a firm snap that survives fierce heat, so this is a two-pan-minute dish where the skill is restraint. Buy them raw and shell-on for the deepest flavour and we peel and devein them ...

Seared tuna steak with sesame

Tuna is a dense, meaty fish that firms up and dries fast, so it is cooked hard and quick on the outside and left rare in the middle. Ask for steaks cut thick, at least 2.5cm, so you can build a sea...

Oysters three ways

One dozen oysters gives you three ways to eat them, raw with a sharp mignonette, grilled under garlic butter and battered as tempura. Buy live rock oysters and we shuck them to order free, or shuck...

Fish tacos

A taco needs a firm white fish that holds in big flakes under a spice crust, so ask the counter for hake or pollock loin and we skin it and cut it into strips free. The build is a system, hot crust...

Smoked haddock chowder

A chowder is a chunkier, creamier cousin of cullen skink, and smoked haddock is what gives it backbone. Ask for an undyed cure, which flakes cleanly and keeps its shape in the bowl rather than diss...