Billingsgate Fish Market
Discussion
Anyone been?
I'm staying in London in a few weeks time and was going to get up early on the sat morning and get myself to Billingsgate Fish Market to get a couple of live lobsters for my evening meal (might be my birthday that day...
)
Lobster, homemade chips and russian salad. I might even have to raid the vintage champagne stock downstairs also...
I'm staying in London in a few weeks time and was going to get up early on the sat morning and get myself to Billingsgate Fish Market to get a couple of live lobsters for my evening meal (might be my birthday that day...
)Lobster, homemade chips and russian salad. I might even have to raid the vintage champagne stock downstairs also...
I worked at Billingstate for seven years.
Transport - take a car - there's a huge car park at the market, and if you're early enough you'll avoid the congestion charge too.
Get there for 5am and you'll be brushing the shoulders of the trade buyers and get to see the best fish. You can't actually buy fish until the bell rings - 5.30am if memory serves (it was a while ago now!) The public can buy smaller volumes of fish, you just need to buy from the vendors set up for retail trade (they'll be the ones with boxes of fish laid out for you to pick individually from). If in doubt ask - they're a friendly, if somewhat cheeky lot down there! One thing they cannot do at the market is prepare any fish for you - it's against the bylaws.
Lobsters - currently running around £15 a kilo for commerical volumes - Canadians are about a quid cheaper than natives at present. Expect to pay a bit more but you may be lucky and catch a glut on the market. There are several traders with excellent live tanks. I prefer crab myself and it's much better value.
Fresh fish - buy with your eyes and nose first, and then your wallet. That's why it pays to get there early - you can see who's got what you want and bargain from there. It's great fun!
Frozen - lots available, but be careful. Lots of frozen fish has water (in the form of an ice glaze added). Theoretically, it's there to provide protection from freezer burn, but now it's there in large amounts to keep the price of a unit down. Always ask what the weight of a frozen product is net of ice glaze (i.e. the weight of the product without the glaze). Only then can you compare pricing effectively.
Oh, and watch out for the porters with their trolleys - if you're lucky you'll get a shout, if not you'll be face first in the fishy water!
HTH and enjoy your visit!
Transport - take a car - there's a huge car park at the market, and if you're early enough you'll avoid the congestion charge too.
Get there for 5am and you'll be brushing the shoulders of the trade buyers and get to see the best fish. You can't actually buy fish until the bell rings - 5.30am if memory serves (it was a while ago now!) The public can buy smaller volumes of fish, you just need to buy from the vendors set up for retail trade (they'll be the ones with boxes of fish laid out for you to pick individually from). If in doubt ask - they're a friendly, if somewhat cheeky lot down there! One thing they cannot do at the market is prepare any fish for you - it's against the bylaws.
Lobsters - currently running around £15 a kilo for commerical volumes - Canadians are about a quid cheaper than natives at present. Expect to pay a bit more but you may be lucky and catch a glut on the market. There are several traders with excellent live tanks. I prefer crab myself and it's much better value.
Fresh fish - buy with your eyes and nose first, and then your wallet. That's why it pays to get there early - you can see who's got what you want and bargain from there. It's great fun!
Frozen - lots available, but be careful. Lots of frozen fish has water (in the form of an ice glaze added). Theoretically, it's there to provide protection from freezer burn, but now it's there in large amounts to keep the price of a unit down. Always ask what the weight of a frozen product is net of ice glaze (i.e. the weight of the product without the glaze). Only then can you compare pricing effectively.
Oh, and watch out for the porters with their trolleys - if you're lucky you'll get a shout, if not you'll be face first in the fishy water!
HTH and enjoy your visit!
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff