Restaurant review: Fish Shop, Dublin
Fish and the average Dubliner have always had a rather strained relationship.
Yes they love their Burdocks with batter-bits, and a ‘one-n-one’ from the local Italian chipper, but that’s about it. It is certainly a long time since anyone sold cockles and mussels from a handcart.
This is not just recent generations — besides the salmon of knowledge and the wisdom it gave Fionn MacCumhaill, most of the tales of our ancient heroes tell of rock-lifting, cattle-rustling and chasing wild boar and deer — those guys never went fishing.
Fish was penance on a Friday, oysters and mussels were “famine food”, and even the monks declared chicken to be a fish so they could eat it during lent.
Things are changing however and there are now at least seven fish restaurants in Dublin city centre when five years ago there were none (or none worth writing about).
Best of them all is Fish Shop, formerly a pop-up in Blackrock Market and now in a permanent home on Queen St, near the Four Courts, just north of the Liffey near Smithfield. Just opposite is the Dice Bar, a well established hip (dare I say it, hipster) pub where they dance on the tables to drum and bass on Friday nights. I recommend ordering a craft ale there while you wait for your table to be ready (you can’t book ahead and there is always a wait).
Fish Shop is a simple space with bare floors, walls and tables and the menu is similarly stripped down. If the weather has prevented the fishing boats from leaving port (a frequent occurrence lately) you may find just one main course available — this alone shows how much they value their ingredients.
I visited twice to get a better feel for the menu and on my second visit some brave fishermen had been out so the menu included Megrim Sole baked in the wood-burning oven.
Megrim is a cousin of Black Sole and Lemon Sole but is more sustainable given that it is less in demand.
The texture is not as delicate as in its more glamorous cousins, but the short time it spent in wood-oven had kept the flesh moist and some caper butter accented the meaty flesh nicely.
Oysters with lime and chilli were deep-fried briefly in a light tempura batter, just enough to provide a crisp outer shell while the sweet flesh inside remained uncooked. Three of these little beauties cost just €7.50, surely one of the best value oyster dishes in the country.
Cockles with a sherry vinaigrette had a pleasing contrast between the acidity in the sauce and sweet flesh of the shellfish — the importance of balancing flavours is understood here.
And now to the main event. Beer-Battered Catch of the Day is the one constant on the menu here and I suspect if this was the only thing they ever served then they would be just as busy.
Three quarters of the restaurants in Ireland serve beer-battered fish and chips but I’m not sure any of them have mastered it like Fish Shop. The texture of this golden- hued wonder is such that it almost sparks when you break it with a knife while the flesh of the fish (usually hake) is moist and yielding. The chips are roughly-cut proper chips and of course were crunchy outside and fluffy within.
Bread and butter are sourced from Le Levain and Arun in Stoneybatter, and the similarly well-chosen drinks list includes craft ales (eg Metalman) and classic fish matches such as Manzanilla, Muscadet Sur Lie, Beaujolais Blanc (chardonnay), Bourgogne Aligoté and Txacoli — the salty, pétillant thirst-quencher from the Spanish Basque country that seems to actually taste of the sea.
Desserts on my two visits were a nicely-executed crumbly and nutty almond cake and a delicious Lemon Posset — sweet and creamy-textured but also pungently citrus-focused.
This is soulful and honest food. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and co-owners Jomike and Peter completely understand the importance of simplicity.
There is no salmon of knowledge on the menu but you will leave feeling sated and probably wiser.
Dinner for two with one bottle of wine, two starters, two mains, one side dish and two desserts — €88.50 (excluding tip).
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday, 5-10pm
Lunch: Wednesday-Friday 12-2.30pm
hello@fishshop.ie
Food – 8/10
Service – 7/10
Drink – 7/10
Ambience – 7/10
Value – 9/10
Fish Shop is a simple idea — beautifully-cooked (sustainable) fish served without pretension in a stripped- back but welcoming space.
