The Fish Shop

I have read a lot about Islington being a trendy place to go out but I have never been there myself. And even more shockingly, I've never been to Sadler's Wells theatre until last weekend. Yes, that's true but until quite recently we were living in West London near Richmond & Kingston and it is quite far from East London, you see. That's my excuse anyway. Finally, I had a chance to visit Sadler's Wells to see a Korean musical called 'Another Sun,' which wasn't too bad and I also liked to mention that I really liked the theatre. It's just a shame that we are still not conveniently located to travel to the theatre in public transport. Anyway, that's enough about the theatre for now.

After the theatre, it was almost 5.30 pm and having missed lunch, we were both very hungry. Being a seafood-lover, I felt quite lucky to spot this fish restaurant not far from the theatre. When I ventured in with my somewhat reluctant husband, we noticed that the restaurant was actually bigger than it looked from the outside. As the first customers that night, we were seated at the small table by the window at the back overlooking the small garden. We shared two starters between us - Grilled Asparagus & Poached Egg with Hollandaise sauce and Pan-fried Scallops with Fennel. Asparagus didn't look great and equally tasteless but maybe it's because it was out of season. Luckily scallops seemed to be very fresh but we were not really bowled over by the dish.

For main course, we both had Lemon Sole with Seasonal Vegetables with an additional side dish of Mash Potato to share. The fish itself was fresh, well-cooked and tasty enough but the seasonal vegetables were just awful. They look like the stir-fry made out of the bags from the supermarkets. And even worse, the mash potato was so dire that my husband was convinced that it was out of the packet. I could only guess two things from our meals: 1) the chef was off that particular day and somebody else stepped in to cook or 2) the chef is quite good with fish (wonderful!) but not so good with vegetables (oh uh!). Whichever was the case, we were not brave enough to stay longer to try any dessert. While we were there, we have agreed that we didn't want to come back to this restaurant. Having said that, I happened to notice that the fish & chips at the next table looked rather nice. And of course, it doesn't come with the mash potato, hallelujah! So, maybe, just maybe there is a tiny chance of going back for fish & chips if we are ever in Islington again.

The Fish Shop

St John Street, Islington, London EC1V 4NR

Tel: 020 7837 1199