Ask our guests what they love most about North Sea and the answer usually involves one of two things: the freshness of the fish, or the batter.
Often both, in the same breath.
We have spent time on this blog talking about where our fish comes from. Today we want to talk about what our kitchen does with it — because the finest, freshest fish in London can still be let down by poor cooking.
Nearly fifty years of refining this method have taught us a few things.
The crack and the shatter
The sound of our batter is the first sign that something is right. There is a specific crack — sharp and immediate — when a fork breaks through a properly fried piece of fish. The batter shatters. It does not bend or peel. Then, beneath it, the fish: moist, white, still steaming, in large sweet flakes.
That contrast — the shatter of the crust and the tenderness of the fish beneath — is what we have been working towards every service for forty-seven years.
It does not happen by accident.
Why ground nut oil makes the difference
We fry in ground nut oil — also known as peanut oil — and we do so deliberately.
Ground nut oil has a high smoke point, which means it can be heated to the temperature needed for proper deep frying without breaking down. The result is a fry that is genuinely crisp on the outside, perfectly cooked inside, without the heavy, greasy quality that lower-grade oils produce.
It has a clean, neutral flavour that does not compete with the fish. You taste the fish. Not the fat it was cooked in. That, in our view, is exactly as it should be.
Most restaurants use cheaper alternatives. We do not.
Allergy note: we can fry in an alternative oil for guests with a nut allergy. Please let your server know on arrival.
Three ways to have your fish
Our classic batter is what most people come for. But we also offer every dish grilled — cleaner, lighter, letting the quality of the fish lead — and we fry in egg and matzo meal on request.
Matzo-fried fish has a coarser, more textured crust with a distinct savoury depth. It is part of the great Jewish fish-frying tradition that is woven into the history of this dish and this city. We are proud to offer it, and it has devoted followers among our regulars.
Everything is cooked to order. We do not hold fish under heat lamps. When your plate arrives, it has just come out of the fryer or off the grill. In a busy London restaurant, that discipline is harder to maintain than it sounds.
The dishes that show it best
Our cod fillet is the benchmark — a large piece of fresh North Atlantic cod, fried until the batter is deep golden and the fish is just cooked through. Our haddock is leaner, with a more pronounced flavour.
Our Wholetail Scampi — twelve whole langoustine tails, not the compressed paste served elsewhere — is the dish that most clearly separates us from inferior alternatives. Once you have had the real thing you will not go back.
