I did a last-minute race down to The Fish Shop in Union Hall this morning to check it out. It’s as good as they say! Great selection of fish, shellfish, gourmet seafood products and wine. Well worth travelling to.

So my lazy ass didn’t get up early enough and I left Bandon at 12 knowing they shut at 1pm on a Saturday. I made it to Union Hall by 12:45 after spending the journey as far as Rosscarbery behind someone who averaged 35 MPH. The three younger squirts came with me and were just as impressed by the foggy views in Glandore as I was. The whole area is just lovely.

The shop was hopping when I arrived and lots of empty trays told me I’d left it too late. The guy serving confirmed that it had been a really busy morning. Given the horrible weather I decided to do a fish pie and I bought hake, smoked haddock, prawns (frozen since they were sold-out of fresh) and mussels. Add 6 scallops for tomorrows dinner and the total came to a very reasonable €38.

You just know you are getting ultra fresh produce in a fishing village and there is something for everyone. I particularly liked the look of the John Dory, Sea Bream and Sea Bass. They have a lots of live crab, lobster and oysters too. The display cabinet had some very interesting products like smoked tuna and they also have lots of the ususal frozen shellfish. I didn’t get a chance to check out the wine but I will on the next visit.

The perfect fish shop?