Eleanor Crow’s East End Fish Shops
Victoria Fish Bar, Roman Rd
I try to eat fresh fish at least once a week and so, as I travel around the East End, I tend to navigate in relation to the fish shops. Illustrator Eleanor Crow shares a similar passion, witnessed by these loving portraits of top destinations for fish, whether jellied eels, fish & chips or fresh on the slab. “These places are a reminder of our river-dependent history,” Eleanor informed me, “I love the look of London’s famous eel shops with their ornate lettering and wooden partitions. Nothing beats having a proper fishmongers’ shop or market stall in the neighbourhood – not only do the shops look good, but these guys really know about fish.”
F.Cooke, Broadway Market
The Fishery, Stoke Newington High St
George’s Place, Roman Rd
G. Kelly, Bethnal Green Rd
Mike’s Quality Fish Bar, Essex Rd
Davies & Sons, Hoe St
The Fish Plaice, Cambridge Heath Rd
Mersin Fish, Morning Lane
Dennis Chippy, Lea Bridge Rd
Kingfisher, Homerton High St
Mersin 2, Lower Clapton Rd
Golden Fish Bar, Farringdon Rd
Tubby Isaacs, formerly in Aldgate
L. Manze, Walthamstow High St
Sea Food & Fresh Fish, Chatsworth Rd
G. Kelly, Roman Rd
Steve Hatt, Essex Rd
Jonathan Norris, Victoria Park Rd
Downey Brothers, Globe Town Market Sq
Barneys Seafood, Chambers St
Billingsgate Market
Illustrations copyright © Eleanor Crow
You may also like to see Eleanor Crow’s other East End illustrations
Eleanor Crow’s East End Bakers
and read these other fish stories
Davies & Sons Hoe St are my local supplier
Absolutely brilliant ( & I don’t go there often enough, either … )
I love your pictures
Also they remind me of Mr Benn and David McKee is my favourite illustrator ever
x
Great to see more lovely drawings by Eleanor.
It has been said by Caroline nice pics of fish & chips shops. They are a trad British meal and always will be. However there is an ever ending menu now to cater for the variation in population & taste. They are not wrapped in old newspapers any more but in nice takeaway boxes or clean new wraps. I prefer to eat in the shop this means a quick transfer from oil to plate – nice. Thanks to GA & Eleanor’s stunning pics. Poet John
Very nostalgic, my Mum took me down Roman Road (Bow end) every week for pie & mash at Kelly’s, sometimes when she couldn’t afford it we only had mash & likker (sic). Just up thed road from us was Malin’s at the beginning of Old Ford Road, where we got our fish & chips, I didn’t realise at the time that it was the oldest fish & chip shop in the world, of course its long gone now along with the Lady Franklin opposite. Barney & Tubby Isaacs were brothers, reputedly, although they had stalls opposite each other down the lane, never spoke for years. My late friend, Eddie Button employed Barney for many years in Chamber street and also acquired the Tubby Isaacs name, if you bought eels from him you could use the name, hence they had, maybe still do, a Tubby Isaacs in Clacton. I believe Eddie’s son Mark still runs the business. I do enjoy these brief forays into the past…thanks GA.
Eddie Johnson
Wonderful paintings, I would like to eat my way through all those shops! Valerie
After shopping with my mum in Dalston market, a special treat was the pie & mash shop. I’d poke the live eels, very gently because the had teeth, just to see them wake up and slither a bit.
Greetings from Boston,
GA, thanks for sharing Eleanor Crow’s delightful array of popular London fish shops. Just hope they do not go the way of so many neighborhood pubs.
Nice memories shared above by those who really remember these establishments “back in the day” …
Beautiful pictures. They would make an excellent book with a small amount of text about each shop.
Sadly the Golden fish bar on Farringdon Road is no more.
I like the “Fresh Frozen Fish “shop in Merlin Lane; nothing like a nice bit of fresh frozen fish, straight from the freezer 🙂