So Tubby Isaacs has closed. Jellied eels are not my cup of tea but those stalls used to be a tradition.
Interesting article about The Piccolo Bar in Gresham Street. I had used this for decades. I used to work in the same street. A quick cheese and onion roll at lunch, or in the evening - but I only recently ate in and only recently discovered the upstairs. It is handy because it does not close in the late afternoon. 90 per cent cabbie customers. The rank is outside.
http://www.oldschoollondon.com/
There was a whole art industry devoted to archiving the demise of Scottie Road in Liverpool in the 80s, looks like London has now caught up.
Loved reading through that site, Mr. Kingstonian. A jolly good find. Ta !
I remember going to that Spanish bar in Hanway Street a few years ago after a Christmas meal. It had an excellent juke box and - like many good pubs - really dreadful toilets downstairs.
The Smithfield market pub is also worth a shout. More snack bar than pub in the morning, with more tea and breakfast evidence than pints but at least the clientele were market workers, unlike the Fox and Anchor where there were only a couple who went there(and they disappeared over the years). The Hope was full of postmen in the mornings.
Fox & Anchor used to big on breakfasts. The cartoonist from the Evening Standard - Frank Dickens of 'Bristow' fame - used to drink there. Beaujolais Nouveau morning used to be a big event and lots of military types on leave used to meet there. It got revamped a few years ago and was never the same.
I do remember always seeing one bloke from my building in there. I did not know him to speak to, but I did think he must be very fond of a drink. He may have thought the same about me of course.
Like many the demise of Tubby Isaacs was a bit of a blow for me. Used to get cockles out of there when I was passing, occasionally a lobster tail too if I was feeling flush. Never the best eels though. To my knowledge the only seafood stalls left are at the St James pub in Bermondsey and on the way to Shooter's Hill (haven't been up there in a while though, so it may well have gone too). Any others?
Permanent stall outside The Beehive in Brentford. I am not really a seafood eater though. You used to get vendors coming in to other pubs as well.
If you like shellfish, cockles and whitebait then the best place to go is to the source at Old Leigh, Leigh on Sea, Essex. As fresh as you can get and a nice day out, when the sun is shining. There is a fishmongers on the beach where you can buy fish in the morning and they keep it in the fridge for you to collect on your way home.
Out in Essex you can still find seafood stalls in pub car parks, but I never trust them quality wise.
Tubby Isaacs for me was a Sunday lunchtime treat at one time.
As anyone seen the the late 60's Norman Cohen film: The London Nobody Knows?
There is a newish, award-winning fish and chip shop on the beach at Littlehampton
http://www.eastbeachcafe.co.uk/
It might be heresy, but I enjoy my local chippies more - especially the Superfish chain.
Last edited by Kingston1an (2013-07-18 02:29:58)
I live about 200 yards from a local chippy but I haven't been in there for many years. (I used to travel 1/2 mile away to chippy no.2 when it was run by Italians). Ownership seems to change on a regular basis. Funny enough a neighbour told me yesterday that it was again under new ownership and that it was now pretty good. I might give it a try but I am old school and it has to be a Friday for fish and chips.
Worth saying that Fish and Chips were brought to England by the Jewish community ?
^ No.
Italians have a claim anyway.
I'm still going to say that they were !
Last edited by Dudley Clarke (2013-07-20 07:14:19)
Hi, thanks for stumbling onto my oldschoollondon website! Am currently out of the country for a few months hence no updates since April but if any of you guys have any suggestions for places to feature let me know. Thanks!