The overnight landing from nine Welsh boats, on ice by eight, with the board on this website saying what is in and what has gone
The counter
Twenty-odd lines on the slab on a normal day: cod, haddock, hake and pollock from the Milford day boats, plaice, sole and turbot when they land, bass and bream in season, mackerel and herring, sardines in summer, and whatever the night brought that we did not expect. Whole or filleted while you wait, priced per kilo or each, the boat on the ticket.
A fish counter is only as good as the night before it. Ours starts at half past four at Milford Haven market, where Gethin buys from nine boats he knows by the skipper's first name, and ends at eight on Holton Road with the slab laid out on crushed ice. What is on it changes with the weather, the tide and the season; the board on this website is kept to the hour so you know before you come.
The regulars: cod, haddock, hake, pollock and whiting from the day boats, which are the fish for the pan and the fryer; plaice, lemon sole, Dover sole and turbot when the flat-fish boats land, which is most weeks; bass and bream through the summer and autumn; mackerel, herring and sardines in their seasons, cheap and better than anything dearer; monkfish tails, gurnard, and the odd John Dory the chefs fight over. Scottish salmon from one farm we have visited, because the Welsh boats do not catch salmon. Shellfish on its own page: crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, scallops and prawns.
Everything is prepared while you wait, for nothing: filleted, skinned, pin-boned, portioned to a weight, butterflied for the barbecue, the frame and head bagged for stock. Say what you are cooking and we will say which fish; say how many are eating and we will size it. Prices are per kilo for most fish and each for the small whole ones, the crab and the lobster; the ticket carries the boat and the day it landed. Orders by phone, email or the order page, collected from the counter or delivered within five miles on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
What you get
- The overnight landing from nine Welsh boats, on the slab by 8am
- The board on this website, with gone lines marked within the hour
- Filleted, skinned and pin-boned while you wait, no charge
- The boat and the landing day on every ticket
- Frames and heads bagged for stock; stock by the litre
- Delivery within five miles, £4, free over £50
What it costs
Cod fillet £24.50 a kilo, haddock £19.50, hake £22, mackerel £9.50, plaice £16, bass from £26, a dressed crab £7.50. The whole board, with what has gone, is on the board page. Today’s board has every line with its price and whether it has gone; the order page takes a Friday box, a counter order or a seat at fish school.
Questions about the counter
Is the fish fresh or frozen?
Fresh, landed the night before at Milford Haven or that morning off the Gower, on ice, sold within two days or smoked. The only frozen thing in the shop is the prawns, which are frozen at sea on the boat, and we say so on the ticket.
What is the best day to come?
Tuesday to Friday after eight for the fullest slab; Saturday by nine before the best of it goes. Sunday morning is Saturday's landing at the Sunday price, which is honest and cheap.
Fish and chips at home this Friday, from this morning's boat.
A box for two, four or six: haddock or cod landed that morning, batter mix, blanched chips, mushy peas, tartare, a lemon and the card. Order by Thursday 6pm, collect Friday four till seven or have it delivered within five miles. The same form takes a counter order, a lobster, or a seat at fish school.