Tasting Britain
TastingBritain.co.uk - Sutton And Sons, Essex Road, Islington, London
The origins of Sutton and Sons date back to 1998, when Danny Sutton opened a fishmongers (formerly âThe Fishery') on Stoke Newington high street. Things must have worked out rather well as, in 2010, Danny and his wife Hana decided to open a fish and chip restaurant just up the road. As you can probably imagine, this is no ordinary fish and chip shop and, although they're much beloved for their traditional takeaway, this place is more a (small) fish restaurant that puts some emphasis on takeaway fish and chips and traditional British food. After all, when was the last time you saw a chippie doing an offer on half a dozen oysters and a bottle of prosecco? Or an actual wine menu at a chippie? Yes indeed! I didnât get a trad fish and chips but the portion sizes looked immense if what anyone else was eating was anything to go by.
Sutton & Sonâs non piscine offerings include traditional english fare like steak and kidney pie, and the atmosphere is very much that of your local chip shop, though I guess with a few âcontemporaryâ touches. That said, there are the obvious nods to the traditional chippie such as tiled walls and one of those things at the counter where you can watch freshly made fish under those oddly coloured heat lamps that keep the food warm. Whilst Danny oversees the running of the business, Hana produced a range of desserts and pickles for the restaurant. There's a chalkboard which shows (presumably) what she has created on the day. We had her vanilla cheesecake, which was absolutely and exactly what a cheesecake should be :3
It's not just the desserts that change regularly. Asides from the regular a-la carte, the 'Catch of the Day' - which, as far as I can tell, the stuff they got in earlier in the day from the fishmonger side of the business. On the day this included quite a few delicious fishes but we tried mackerel (for me) and a pint of prawns (yeah, by the pint! for my friend). What we got was representative of a good fish restaurant - unpretentious and good quality seafood, prepared simply. Nothing particularly mindblowing, but at the level of quality you would expect, fresh from a fishmonger. Another thing worth mentioning is that they have definitely got the recipe for chips right. As you probably know, a lot of the time, when a fishmonger fries a wedge of potato, the result can be quiteâ¦limp and oily. Not so here - the chips are just just delicious crispy and lightly salted. And, lest we forget: deep fried Mars Bars are also a thing, and also on the menu.
If youâre interested in putting these guys to the test for yourself, thereâs now two more Sutton & Sons restaurants - one in Islington, and one in Shoreditchâs Boxpark (which I assume is more temporary). Iâll sum this up with the thoughts of âChris bâ, a TripAdvisor commentator: â...there has been such a decline in fish and chip shops, and many today are kebab and chicken places with perhaps an old bit of fried fish lying about. But not so here.â. Also can we make takeaway mackerel a thing? I would love to live in a world where takeaway mackerel was a thing...
TastingBritain.co.uk - Sutton And Sons, Essex Road, Islington, London
The origins of Sutton and Sons date back to 1998, when Danny Sutton opened a fishmongers (formerly âThe Fishery') on Stoke Newington high street. Things must have worked out rather well as, in 2010, Danny and his wife Hana decided to open a fish and chip restaurant just up the road. As you can probably imagine, this is no ordinary fish and chip shop and, although they're much beloved for their traditional takeaway, this place is more a (small) fish restaurant that puts some emphasis on takeaway fish and chips and traditional British food. After all, when was the last time you saw a chippie doing an offer on half a dozen oysters and a bottle of prosecco? Or an actual wine menu at a chippie? Yes indeed! I didnât get a trad fish and chips but the portion sizes looked immense if what anyone else was eating was anything to go by.
Sutton & Sonâs non piscine offerings include traditional english fare like steak and kidney pie, and the atmosphere is very much that of your local chip shop, though I guess with a few âcontemporaryâ touches. That said, there are the obvious nods to the traditional chippie such as tiled walls and one of those things at the counter where you can watch freshly made fish under those oddly coloured heat lamps that keep the food warm. Whilst Danny oversees the running of the business, Hana produced a range of desserts and pickles for the restaurant. There's a chalkboard which shows (presumably) what she has created on the day. We had her vanilla cheesecake, which was absolutely and exactly what a cheesecake should be :3
It's not just the desserts that change regularly. Asides from the regular a-la carte, the 'Catch of the Day' - which, as far as I can tell, the stuff they got in earlier in the day from the fishmonger side of the business. On the day this included quite a few delicious fishes but we tried mackerel (for me) and a pint of prawns (yeah, by the pint! for my friend). What we got was representative of a good fish restaurant - unpretentious and good quality seafood, prepared simply. Nothing particularly mindblowing, but at the level of quality you would expect, fresh from a fishmonger. Another thing worth mentioning is that they have definitely got the recipe for chips right. As you probably know, a lot of the time, when a fishmonger fries a wedge of potato, the result can be quiteâ¦limp and oily. Not so here - the chips are just just delicious crispy and lightly salted. And, lest we forget: deep fried Mars Bars are also a thing, and also on the menu.
If youâre interested in putting these guys to the test for yourself, thereâs now two more Sutton & Sons restaurants - one in Islington, and one in Shoreditchâs Boxpark (which I assume is more temporary). Iâll sum this up with the thoughts of âChris bâ, a TripAdvisor commentator: â...there has been such a decline in fish and chip shops, and many today are kebab and chicken places with perhaps an old bit of fried fish lying about. But not so here.â. Also can we make takeaway mackerel a thing? I would love to live in a world where takeaway mackerel was a thing...