Stoke Newington Fishmonger Sutton and Sons: 50 Fish, 6 Days

Sutton and Sons Fishmongers sells more than fifty kinds of fish and shellfish from 111 Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0PH, and it trades six days a week. The counter is open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm, a few minutes' walk from the family's fish and chip restaurant on the same road.

Most people in Hackney know the Sutton and Sons name from the fish and chips first. The family opened its first restaurant in Stoke Newington and later added branches in Islington and Hackney Central, and the website describes the business as family-run with almost twenty years of sourcing fish behind it. The fishmonger exists partly because the restaurants needed a reliable supply, and it is the same buying that fills both the fryers and the retail slab.

The firm says its relationships at the fish markets and directly with fishermen are what give it variety, freshness and value. It buys daily and often goes straight to the boats, and the restaurant page names specialities beyond cod and haddock, including monkfish, Cromer crab and Maldon oysters. Those are good clues to what you may find on the counter when the season is right, though the exact line-up changes daily.

The shop advertises over fifty varieties of fresh fish and shellfish, which is a lot for a single high-street unit. The practical way to handle that range is to arrive with a cooking method in mind rather than a species. Tell the fishmonger you want something for a quick weeknight pan, a whole fish for the oven or a mix for a stew, and let them point to what is in best condition that morning.

Preparation is part of the service, and the website is plain about it: cleaned, skinned, boned, however you want it, you only have to ask. That matters for cooks who are nervous about bones or who do not own a decent filleting knife. A whole fish scaled and gutted keeps its moisture in the oven, while skinned and pin-boned fillets are the safest choice for children and for anyone who wants dinner on the table in fifteen minutes.

Ask questions freely. The shop says its staff are always on hand to answer them and to give advice on the best way to cook what you buy. If you are trying a species for the first time, ask how long it needs per side and whether it suits a hot grill or a gentle poach, and write it down before you leave.

If you cannot get to the High Street before 6 pm, the fishmonger delivers. The website describes a same-day delivery service with a minimum order of £30, free within a three-mile radius covering much of North East London, using temperature-controlled scooters so fish arrives as cold as it left the counter. Phone the shop to check that your postcode falls inside the radius before you plan a dinner around it.

The shop is also on Deliveroo, which suits a smaller order such as a couple of fillets for tonight. Restaurants, schools and businesses can arrange one-off or regular orders too, and the website mentions supplying schools with small, skinned and completely deboned portions. That gives you a fair idea of how precise the knife work can be when you ask for it at the counter.

The Sutton and Sons restaurant sits at 90 Stoke Newington High Street and opens Monday to Thursday from 12 to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 12 to 10:30 pm and Sunday from 12 to 10 pm. It is the obvious place to taste the fish before you buy it raw. The chips are peeled and cut by hand, the batter is a house recipe, and the condiments include Mrs Sutton's pickled quail eggs, red onion rings and balsamic baby shallots.

Here is the honest trade-off. If you only want a plate of battered cod tonight, skip the fishmonger and go straight to the restaurant, which also serves grilled fish and is licensed for craft beer, wine and mini bottles of prosecco. If you want to cook, buy at the counter on a weekday morning, when you have the full choice and nobody behind you is waiting for their order to be filleted.

Sunday is the gap in the timetable. The fishmonger does not list Sunday hours, but the restaurant opens at noon, so a Sunday visitor craving fish is better off eating in than walking to a locked shop. A second Sutton and Sons fishmonger has opened at 60 Seven Sisters Road in N7 if you live closer to Holloway.

Stoke Newington High Street is a working street with buses, grocers and takeaways rather than a polished food hall, and the fishmonger reflects that. Expect local cooks buying for the week, people picking up an order for a dinner party, and restaurant staff collecting a box. Keep your order clear and be ready to say how many people you are feeding, because portion size is the first question the fishmonger will ask.

Bring a bag that can take a little drip. Fish is wrapped well, but a tote with a plastic liner keeps the rest of your shopping clean on the walk to Church Street or the bus home.

The shop is close to the junction of Stoke Newington High Street and Stoke Newington Church Street, which is the best place to extend the trip. Church Street is lined with independent cafés, bookshops and bakeries, and it leads west towards Clissold Park, a large green space with a café in its old house and a pair of ponds.

For a quieter detour, Abney Park, the Victorian garden cemetery turned woodland nature reserve, has its main gates on Stoke Newington High Street. It is a shaded loop on a hot day. Buy the fish last, after the walk, so it spends as little time as possible out of the cold.

Address: Sutton and Sons Fishmongers N16, 111 Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0PH. Hours: Monday to Saturday 9 am to 6 pm. Email: n16fishmongers@gmail.com. Same-day delivery needs a £30 minimum order and covers a three-mile radius.

Ask the Karpo APP to plan a Saturday in N16 with a Church Street coffee, a walk through Clissold Park and a stop at the fish counter before 6 pm.