Ellis & Jones Greenwich Fishmonger: Saturday From 7:30 am

Ellis & Jones opens earliest on Saturday, at 7:30 am, which is the slot to know if you want the pick of the counter at this Greenwich fishmonger. The shop sits at 26 Royal Hill, Greenwich, London SE10 8RT, and trades Tuesday to Friday from 8 am until 5 pm and Saturday from 7:30 am until 4:30 pm. It is closed on Monday and closed on Sunday, so plan weekend fish around that early Saturday window.

Nick Ellis and Michael Jones opened the shop in March 2019, announcing it on their own blog in February that year as a new fishmonger for the community of Greenwich. The owners describe it as an independent, traditional fishmonger, and they lean on more than ten years of experience in the fish trade. That background shows in the range, which goes well beyond the cod and salmon that most supermarket counters stop at.

Finding it is easy once you know the neighbours. The website places the shop next to Drings Butchers and Karen Woolven Flowers, so the stretch of Royal Hill works as a small food street: meat on one side, flowers on the other, fish in the middle. Walk in and the people behind the counter are Simon, the manager, and Shamir, the assistant manager, with the two owners named alongside them on the team page.

The fresh fish list published by the shop reads like a proper British counter: cod, haddock, hake, mackerel, Dover sole, lemon sole, skate, rock salmon, sea bass, monkfish, halibut, swordfish, tuna, sardines, red snapper, trout and Irish brown trout, wild salmon and black cod. There is octopus for anyone braising Greek or Spanish style, and cod roe for people who like to cure or smoke their own. Most of it comes from suppliers on the south and south west coast of England.

The shellfish page is just as long. Expect clams, razor clams, mussels, cockles, oysters, whelks and winkles, plus whole crab, dressed crab, crab claws and crab meat. For bigger dinners there is lobster, and for weeknights there are Madagascan tiger prawns and cooked North Atlantic prawns. If you are hosting, a dressed crab and a bag of cooked prawns make a starter that needs no cooking at all.

One detail makes this counter different from a smart West London fish shop: live eels and jellied eels are both on the list. Jellied eels are the old East End and South East London snack, sold for generations at pie and mash shops, and finding them at a neighbourhood fishmonger in Greenwich is a nod to that river history. If you have never tried them, buy a small pot first, because the cold, set jelly divides people quickly.

The same goes for whelks, winkles and cockles. The shop calls them popular seaside snacks now in your town, and that is how to treat them: a little vinegar, white pepper and a slice of buttered bread, eaten on a bench rather than turned into a complicated recipe. They are the cheapest way to taste the counter if you are not ready to commit to a whole fish.

The service is the real reason to come here instead of a supermarket. The owners say their fishmongers will prepare any fish however you want it while you wait, and that free advice and cooking tips are always on offer. Ask for a sea bass scaled, gutted and scored for the oven, a monkfish tail skinned and trimmed of its membrane, or mackerel butterflied for the grill. Say how many people you are feeding, and let them suggest the portion.

This matters most for the awkward species. Dover sole is easier to cook skinned, a whole crab is far less daunting once someone shows you where the dead man's fingers are, and razor clams need a quick rinse and a hot pan rather than a long recipe. The shop also says it welcomes complete beginners, so asking a basic question here is not awkward. Tell Simon or Shamir what pan and oven you have and they can match the fish to it.

Saturday is the busiest day on Royal Hill, because it is the one weekend day the shop is open and the butcher next door draws its own crowd. Arriving at 7:30 am gets you first choice of the shellfish and any whole fish you have your eye on. Weekday mornings after 8 am are quieter, and they suit anyone who wants a long chat about how to cook something new.

My honest advice is to skip the late Saturday afternoon visit if you want something specific like lobster or Dover sole. A small independent counter does not restock in the afternoon the way a big store does, and the best pieces tend to go first. If you need fish on a Sunday, this shop cannot help, and the closest specialist option on that day is Moxon's in East Dulwich, which opens on Sunday from 10 am until 4 pm.

The shop's own notes are practical rather than fancy. For monkfish they suggest salting the flesh or soaking it in brine for an hour, then patting it dry before cooking, and serving it with black olives and lemon. For sea bass they point to baking, grilling or pan frying, which makes it a good choice for a dinner party and an easy weeknight supper at the same time. Trout can be pan fried, grilled or cooked whole.

A simple Greenwich weekend plan works well here: buy mussels and a couple of mackerel on Saturday morning, pick up a loaf on the walk home, and steam the mussels with white wine while the mackerel go under a hot grill. Lobster, by contrast, is the shop's own pick for a treat, and it is worth ordering in advance with a phone call if you are cooking for a special occasion.

Royal Hill is a short walk from Greenwich station, which has both National Rail and DLR services, and from the river at Cutty Sark. Buy flowers next door, then walk up towards Greenwich Park, where the slope up to the Royal Observatory gives you one of the best free views across the Thames to Canary Wharf. With a cool bag, you can safely do the park loop before heading home with your fish.

If you want more food shopping on the same trip, Greenwich Market in the town centre is a few minutes away, with street food and craft stalls. Do the market first and the fishmonger last, so the fish spends as little time out of the fridge as possible. A cool bag with an ice pack is worth bringing in summer, when a Royal Hill to riverside loop can easily take a couple of hours.

The full opening times are Tuesday 8 am to 5 pm, Wednesday 8 am to 5 pm, Thursday 8 am to 5 pm, Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Monday and Sunday are closed. The shop does not publish a price list online, so prices are given at the counter.

Stock changes with the boats and the seasons, so treat the published fish list as a guide to the range rather than a promise that every species is in on the day. Bring your own bag, ask for the fish to be wrapped flat if you are walking any distance, and ask for the trimmings if you plan to make stock. With a mild Greenwich morning and a short walk home, a Saturday fish supper bought on Royal Hill is about as local as South East London cooking gets.