205 Upper Street in Islington is no stranger to fish goings on, for the past fifty years it has housed a fish and chip shop. This time around it’s home to Trawler Trash, a restaurant that champions the less celebrated fish of the sea.
With no freezers on site, Trawler Trash will only be serving fish delivered on the day, which is why it’s closed on Mondays – a day of rest for the trawler men.
On arrival, I tried their take on a G&T (Gin, home-made pickle juice, cynar, lemon, sugar syrup and lemon) refreshing in both taste and concept, I’ve now added pickle to the list of garnishes for a G&T.
Taking in the feel of the place – it’s very polished (think marble tables and colourful textured walls) but welcoming, which I put in part down to the open kitchen.
To get a flavour of the menu, I tried bite-size pieces of: crunchy seaweed tempura, hake pate on baby lettuce leaves, a mini bun filled with fish fingers and a mini fish and chip. All equally delicious, but the salted hake pate did it for me.
The main menu will have a focus on sustainability which means diners might tuck into dishes such as: kipper carbonara, beer-battered coley with chips or chargrilled gurnard.
Open six days a week, Tuesday – Sunday.
Trawler Trash, 205 Upper Street, London, N1 1RQ
