Nordsee - fast food fish in Germany and Austria

We were in Vienna last week, where I discovered a new idea (to me at any rate) - fast food fish. The Nordsee chain is very well-established in the German-speaking countries of Europe and has 355 outlets in Germany alone. Founded in 1896, they offer fish and seafood in a fast food format, but not at all the same as fish and chips! We found salmon and other white fish served with sauces, along with shrimps, mussels and even lobster tails. The ambience is somewhat reminiscent of an upmarket Macdonalds - a place to grab a bite and get on with your day rather than somewhere to go for a special occasion. However, the prices are pretty good (salmon with potatoes and salad for Euro 7.95, for example), and we had platters of lobster tail, shrimps and mussels for around Euro 25. Special offers at the moment include hake with arctic shrimps, dill sauce and potatoes for 7.95 amd a shrimps-and-chicken roll for 2.95. They also have a thriving take-away service.

I think that anything that gets fish and seafood back onto the everyday eating agenda is good news. While this is not a particularly gourmet experience, it's worth trying if you are in Germany. The company has a website with an English language section at http://www.nordsee.de/en/. And you can even find out about how to become a franchisee... might be an opportunity for somebody.

BBC Radio 4's Food Programme features British oysters

The popular Radio 4 weekly Food Programme today 23 March 2008) focused on British Oysters. Here's the blurb for the programme:

Oysters are truly a taste of the sea, and reflect the terroir, or perhaps merroir, of the area where they are grown. Native or Pacific, farmed or wild, from Colchester, Cornwall or Carlingford they all have their own unique character. Oyster enthusiast Hardeep Singh Kholi puts his taste buds to the test sampling some of the best oysters available, and finds out whether the native oyster’s recent decline might be on the brink of being reversed.

Hardeep Singh Kohli visits Wright Brothers Restaurant at Borough Market, London’s biggest oyster wholesaler, and now producers of their own in the river Fal, to taste some oysters and talks to co- owner Robin Hancock and Dr. Tom Pickerel from the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, about the state of oyster fisheries.

Reporter Dilly Barlow visits Richard Haward (pictured above), a traditional oyster fisherman in the creeks around the river Blackwater in Essex and discusses the history of oysters, how they are cultivated, the disease bonamia, and the emergence of the newly naturalised “wild” pacific oyster. Dr Lawrence Hawkins, National Oceanography Centre University of Southampton explains the impact on the native population of the disease bonamia.

Hardeep Singh Kohli talks to Rob Blyth-Skyrme, Senior Marine Fisheries Specialist for Natural England about the nature conservation threat of the naturalised pacific oysters.

You can listen to the programme for at least the next week at the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme.shtml. I note that programmes seem to be available for about three months at the moment. Well worth a listen, particularly for the discussion of the differences between Rock oysters (crassostrea gigas, native to the Pacific and now grown worldwide) and native Flat oysters (ostrea edulis).

Furness Fish, Flookburgh - Morecambe Bay shrimps

Furness Fish is located in Flookburgh near Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. They make and sell delicious Morecambe Bay shrimps - the very best way to eat toast! Locally caught by men with tractors, their shrimps have won awards, and they also supply Scottish salmon and many other fish and meat products. Order some shrimps from the website at http://www.morecambebayshrimps.com./

Port of Lancaster Smokehouse

The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse, situated in the little and out-of-the-way village of Glasson near Lancaster, is a real seafood shack. Not only does it look exactly like a shack (see the picture), they also make and sell some of the finest smoked salmon (including wild Lune salmon), kippers and mackerel, and potted Morecambe Bay Shrimps (not smoked). Absolutely delicious and well worth a visit. Their website is http://www.polsco.co.uk.

Welcome to SeafoodShack

Welcome to SeafoodShack, the place to discover the very best of British seafood on the web.

You know those little places serving fresh crab, delicious shrimps or even delectable oysters? Here at SeafoodShack we aim to find them, visit them, eat their food and report on it all - right here online. If you know a place - from the poshest restaurant to the smallest hole-in-the-wall, let us know!

We'll also be listing great places to buy seafood and fish, and the places where they make, farm and catch it too. And also a smattering of our favourite places around the world.


So, get reading, get eating and let us know your favourite places to go eat seafood in the UK.