Bourne's Fishmongers - Belsize Village — Local services in London

This place doesn’t need glowing reviews to prosper ( word of mouth means it already has a dedicated and growing customer base) …but Im going to write one anyway ! Brilliant ambience ( this cosy place converts from shop to dining in the evenings ) and we arrived to a delightful candlelit scene reminiscent of a French cafe, an ice table with abundant fresh fish laid out, check tablecloths and charming and attentive staff. We were offered two wines to try before ordering a bottle and advised about the food. I hit the jackpot with chilli and garlic prawns ( a fairly common dish but cooked uncommonly well- and genuinely the best ever prawns- tasty and sizeable) it was so good that 2 of the party asked if we could order them as a main and Bournes were super flexible and happy to oblige. This is bespoke dining ! My only reservation was that the “fish and chips” main didn't quite live up to its ‘best in London’ billing. The waitress insisted it was cod but it lacked the more steak like texture of a good fillet But the accompanying chips were first class snd the starter so generous in both quality and quantity that this was less of an issue. Those that had scallops to start , followed by the prawns did best . We finished with a little plate of 4 homemade chocolates. At £10 they were a ‘little rich’ in both the wrong and the right sense ! I think we spent the best part of three hours here and the whole experience was wonderful . We will...

I was really happy to discover this beautiful fishmonger in Belsize. I noticed on the hottest of days, this place has no foul odours, just beautifully presented fish on ice. I came to buy prawns for making cocktails, which seems straight forward enough. They only had frozen ones with shell and heads on, which I accepted, begrudgingly at the price of £13 for 350g. After sampling them at home, I was very disappointed in the texture and flavour. They were so rubbery and overly salty, I had to bin them.

The gentleman who helped me suggested that I thaw the prawns by just leaving them on the countertop, which is an awful way to thaw any seafood or meat, and would easily let bacteria fester. On a separate note, he was one of the least friendly people I’ve ever met in a shop. While I don’t expect to make friends with everyone I meet, I find it difficult to support small local businesses when their attitude is off. The charm completely dissipates when someone can’t break out of a frown, and I wonder why I don’t just go to a supermarket to minimise...

Slight changes at this place over time - I probably would have rated this place 5 stars years ago but unfortunately not anymore:

— They used to put prices on the board but not in a while. You’ll have to ask the staff for the prices, but sometimes even the staff need to check the system because they don’t know. It would be a quicker shopping experience if prices were indicated next to the items, or at least have it listed on the board. Otherwise, you may be in for a surprise with the bill after everything is already prepared.

-- The variety/selection seems more limited now; they stock mostly the same items every day. Oftentimes you can’t even find fairly common fish like sardines or trout.

-- The staff at the shop can be friendlier. The staff used to be nicer, but now it’s very transactional.

Honestly I get a better experience at some other shops these days with price transparency, variety and customer service. But I’d be happy to go back if things...