The Bib Gourmand award is our way of recognising restaurants that offer good food at a great price. While all Bib Gourmands are unique in style and approach, they share the same spirit of generosity and a commitment to quality cooking. That’s why, in this series, we’re highlighting the MICHELIN Guide Inspectors' Bib of the Month. These restaurants are the bedrock of our selection, providing an affordable dining option that doesn’t skimp on precision, skill or flavour. From cosy pubs to buzzing counters, we’ve got a Bib for you.
This month, we’re heading to Scotland to shine a spotlight on Fish Shop in Ballater. This appropriately named operation combines a fishmonger’s and an immediately likeable seafood restaurant. Below, a MICHELIN Guide Inspector explains why they love it.
“Visiting Fish Shop is just such a lovely experience. The actual fish shop itself gets the anticipation building with its array of tantalising fresh produce; the bright, stylishly decorated dining room provides a terrific setting; and most importantly the cooking is a joy. Simple yet skilful, as so many Bib Gourmands are, the dishes here spotlight superb seafood that has been sourced with care and dedication. The chefs show similar care, cooking the ingredients with excellent timing and accompanying them with perfectly complementary flavours. It’s simply everything you could want in a seafood restaurant.”
A lot of Fish Shop’s success is down to the chef-manager duo of Marcus and Jasmine Sherry, the latter of whom won the MICHELIN Guide Service Award earlier this year. We caught up with Marcus to find out what makes the restaurant tick.
What was the idea behind Fish Shop? How would you describe your approach to food and cooking?
The idea behind Fish Shop was to bring something to the local and surrounding community that was not here and we felt was needed; that was the case for both the fishmonger’s and the restaurant. My approach is simple: try to buy the best possible raw ingredients and treat them simply to showcase them. The biggest part of this is of course the fish, but it’s the same philosophy for the vegetables, the berries, the meat etc.
What price range can customers expect and how are you able to keep your prices affordable?
It was our vision (Jasmine and I) to have a place where you could come and sit at the bar, have a few snacks, an oyster and a glass of wine, and leave with change from £20 – but equally come for a special meal and go all out on a whole lobster or a turbot tranche, for example. We also offer a set lunch menu that I feel is very good value for money; two courses for £21.50 or three courses for £26. We try to keep things affordable by limiting waste and using some cheaper, lesser-used fish.
How important are Scotland and Scottish produce to what you do here?
Local produce is the key to the Fish Shop. I am in contact daily with Scottish fishermen trying to arrange what amazing fresh produce will be coming in. We have our own refrigerated van so we can head out to these smaller producers and pick up or meet halfway. Again, it’s not just the fish we are championing; it’s been Scottish berries recently and we are planning on getting some game back on the menu from our local estate very shortly.
How does the business operating as a fishmonger’s and a restaurant side-by-side affect you in the kitchen?
It can be hard sometimes. As there is fish leaving the building from different outlets, I need to stay on top of that. But it’s also beneficial because the restaurant uses a lot of byproducts from the shop. We also get people coming to the shop that ate in the restaurant the night before and want to try recreating what they had at home.
What’s the secret to great seafood cookery?
Buy the best quality you can, keep it very simple and undercook your fish then let it rest just as you would a piece of meat.
What is the dish to order at Fish Shop?
Crab crumpets to start, then either lobster tagliarini or something from the chalkboard.
Hero Image: One of the brilliantly affordable seafood dishes from Fish Shop in Ballater. © Alex Macleod
