A Trip to Billingsgate Fish Market

At 4am on Tuesday morning with my alarm ringing in my ears I hopped out of bed ready and raring to take on Billingsgate Fish Market.  This historic destination has been operating for hundreds of years supplying London’s restaurants, fishmongers and citizens with beautifully fresh fish from all over the world.    I was met at the market by Adam, a living and breathing maritime encyclopaedia whose sheer passion for fish was not only infectious but starkly apparent when he tenderly picked up angry crabs and became wide eyes upon spying the largest Red Snapper he had ever seen. 

There was an incredible variety of fish on the market with stalls specialising in produce from the Mediterranean to the North Atlantic.  However, my nose naturally drew me to the smoked fish counter where I sampled the most deliciously succulent hot smoked mackerel that fell off the bone.  All that was needed was a piece of toasted sourdough and I would be in foodie heaven!

Interestingly, the freshness of the produce meant that the market had the salty fragrance of the sea, evoking memories of the wild Cornish coastline.