London is getting battered: forget the burger, get to grips with some fast fish

From lobster dogs to crispy oysters and deep-fried catch of the day sandwiches, London's got a deep-fry fetish, says Susannah Butter
17 October 2013

The food reeling in the crowds this autumn is coated in a crisp golden crust. In restaurants all over London, oysters, crabs, prawns and mussels are being deep-fried — and they are all the better for a bit of batter. Why should this be reserved for cod and haddock?

This is about making a high-end foodstuff a little bit trashy and fun. It can be one way to persuade unconverted (fussy) diners to eat fish. Josh Stevens, of the Josh+Johnnie fish pop-up, says: “The majority of people say they hate oysters because of the texture. So why not use batter as a disguise, as well as a flavour?”

Stevens is serving his Chip Shop Oysters at the Bell pub on Middlesex Street, E1, tonight. They are marinated in lemon juice for 12 hours before being battered. “This gives the oyster a fresh feel when you bite through the batter,” he says.

At Kensington Place they’ve put lightly battered scallops in a hot dog. It comes covered in zingy shrimp and cucumber. The batter and bun are perfect for soaking up the juicy fish.

In fact, most types of shellfish suit the batter treatment. Etta’s Seafood Kitchen in Brixton does mussel fritters and crabmeat trapped in an incredible batter that almost upstages the fish. It features chives with a hint of cayenne, has a deep yellow colour and a great texture.

For Carl Clarke, of Disco Bistro and Rock Lobsta at Mahiki, it comes down to us being “a nation of fish and chip lovers”. He fries smoked oysters and serves them with salt and vinegar powder but his most popular dish is the lobster corndog. His frying tips are that “white fish works great in batter. So do oysters and shrimp. The Japanese love fried scallops. Fried fish takes things to the next level.”

Chotto Matte, the three-floor Japanese/Peruvian restaurant on Frith Street, offers both tempura crab and prawns. Although they’ve been dunked in oil they taste light and airy. The prawn dish includes extra jalapeños and lentils.

HIX Oyster & Chop House serves scrumpy-fried oysters. Pure battered oysters also feature in its beef burger. At Wright Brothers’ Oyster & Porter House in Borough Market, deep-fried oysters come with a piquant tartare sauce.

For something less delicate, try a fried crab sandwich at Psychic Burger, Dalston, or Shrimpy’s in King’s Cross, where the soft-shell crab burger is the most popular dish. Executive chef David Gingell says: “It’s a playful take on classic fish soup with rouille and Gruyère, a combination of tempura-fried soft-shell crab, rouille packed with harissa, olive oil, saffron and garlic, plus crispy streaky bacon and melted provolone cheese.”

Psychic Burger’s comes with an onion ring on top while at Shrimpy’s, battered crab’s leg sticks out of a brioche bun. Or there’s Lady Gaga’s fave takeaway, Sea Shell in Lisson Grove, which serves Greenland prawns in batter.

At Newman Street Tavern in the West End the menu changes according to the catch of the day. It does a great job transforming sand eels — the silvery fish are floured and then deep-fried, with mayonnaise or aïoli mixed with capers or dusted in chilli flakes.

The chaps at MEATliquor have been so sold on battered shellfish that they have expanded their London burger business to Brighton to be close to the sea. Their new menu features shrimp fried every way imaginable — coconut-fried with a mango and pineapple dip; also, the gunpowder variety — fried, cajun spiced and served with chilli and blue cheese sauce. The catch of the day has got a lot more exciting.

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