Fascination Food: Fishy Fishy, Kinsale

I find it a bit bizarre but I think it’s true to say that, for many Irish people, fish is still something to be wary of, or something almost foreign. I am a midlands girl and have always liked fish. When I’m by the sea, I’m actually at my happiest, and always eager to see and taste the fishy pleasures that are available. Whether you adore fish and seafood or are inquisitive and eager to try some, Fishy Fishy in Kinsale, County Cork, is a very safe bet.

The restaurant/café is bright, buzzing, airy and chilled. You can wear a dress, jeans, a shirt, a t-shirt, even “golfing chic”! To me, it seems that anything goes and this is certainly part of its appeal. It puts you right at ease, from first entering the restaurant. The menu focuses a lot on daily specials, implying to me that what is freshly caught is what they work around on a daily basis.

Both my husband and I went all out and had three courses each. I am a dessert lady generally, but the starters could not be neglected, and I am in no way regretful for having chosen the delicious Asian style crab claws. They were truly succulent and tasty. OH chose the chilli seafood salad. Wow! That was impressive. It included really mouth-watering monkfish and the portion size was very generous. It is also the only course I didn’t manage to photograph – someone was a little hungry! For main course, I tried lobster thermidor for the first time ever. This, I was looking forward to! As a child, we visited County Mayo most summers on holidays and I have very fond memories of the trip out to beautiful Achill Island, for a day by the beach, plus the end of day trip to a local fish shop, where my parents would hand-pick a lobster for their dinner. Witnessing the cooking of said lobster gave me a shock I must admit, but it always intrigued me. It represented for me a special, grownup treat, and I was very eager to try it for myself. It was delicious, luxurious and it definitely had grownup treat written all over it. OH chose the surf and turf of black pudding and scallops. He loves scallops and they were devoured with great enthusiasm, however, he would have preferred some form of steak as the turf element. Our desserts, which we managed (just!), were a real high point and very reasonably priced I felt. I went for Rosscarbery strawberries with vanilla ice-cream, topped with chocolate mousse and my OH chose a classic crème brûlée. Both of these were delightful and the perfect finish to a fantastic meal. We chose a crisp and dry Muscadet wine. Truthfully, I’m not a white wine person, but I asked for the waiter’s advice and it complemented all our dishes very nicely. It was a particularly busy evening when we dined at Fishy Fishy, and service was exceptionally fast from one course to the next. I was a little surprised when we were politely asked if we could vacate our table after an hour and a half. Truth be told, I thought this was rather quick, an apology was given and we were told to take a seat at the bar area and we would be looked after. True to their word, we were served two extra drinks each, without any charge. The courteousness shown by the friendly staff compensated for the shorter than average time over our meal.

Now for some photos. Unfortunately due lack of light, it being a wet and dreary Irish evening, the photos may not look as good as the food certainly tasted, but I can guarantee you, tasty it unquestionably was!