Goldie Bouncing Back In A Rocky Old Year. New Fish Shop And More!

Goldie Bouncing Back In A Rocky Old Year.

New Fish Shop And More!

The Goldie voyage started so well last September. Praise poured in from customers and critics alike as the Cork city centre fish restaurant cast off. Along with a high tide of critical acclaim came the "Best Chef of the Year 2020" award for Aisling Moore. Then came the Covid storm. 

Now, two lockdowns later, Aisling is fed up of Covid 19 but told me last week she'll never be fed up of fish. The restaurant, a shining example of sustainability and ethical sourcing, may not be able to offer you table service these days but Aisling and fellow proprietor Stephen Moore are hooking customers with their new fish shop, along with some of their signature dishes (pre-prepared to cook at home) and you can also get some hot stuff. Indeed, as I write, I note their tasty Bhan Mi Sando is sold out but don't worry, they'll have more in a couple of hours. Bouncing back for sure!

Ready to cook

The fish shop will be open only when the day-boats from East Cork sail (usually Wednesday – Saturday) so fish lovers can join the restaurant’s mailing list to get alerts about when the shop will be open and what will be on offer. This new venture will directly support the fishermen who have supplied them from the beginning.  

See www.goldie.ie.

As with the restaurant, Goldie Fish Shop will also take a ‘whole catch’ approach.  This means that it will take whatever is caught on the day, regardless of the quantity and species, ensuring a daily changing menu featuring the freshest produce available and a guaranteed livelihood for the fisherman.  The restaurant is committed to ordering in the same quantities as before lockdown. You won't see a menu for the take-out option as it depends on what the boats bring in but do sign up for their newsletter and that will keep you in the know.

In addition to pin-boned fish, portioned with the utmost care, some of the restaurant’s signature dishes will also be pre-prepared to cook at home.  These include ‘tarragon, chervil and parmesan crumbed pollock’, ‘tandoori spiced monkfish’, ‘squid ragu’ ( just reheat and add to spaghetti), it's signature salt fish brandade with seaweed crackers, fresh boxes of Panko fish fingers for kids and lots of the restaurant’s favourite sauces, which work so well with fish.  The variety will grow as the restaurant adapts. 

Back when I was a young teenager, I used to catch pollack (with the aid of my cousins and some eel as bait) on the north coast of Mayo and many a delicious meal we had late at night cooked over an open turf fire.

Ready to eat!

Delighted then to get two portions of perfectly prepared pollack when we called to Goldie last week. Two small cartons of Tarragon and Parmesan Crust delivered a magnificent crown to the superb fish, white and moist. And another bonus was the Café de Paris Butter. Spoiled! 

And if its fresh fish you're looking for, study the up-to-date info on the window. On the day we called, Monkfish, Langoustines, Crab Claws, Cod, Hake, Brill, Dover Sole, Ling, Pollack, and John Dory were all available. The Ban Mi Sando was available from the hot counter with an option of Sea Salt Shoestring Chips.

Ban Mi. Note the fish boxes

Moore and Keogh see the shop as a natural progression for the restaurant, (known for its gill to tail cooking), particularly in the current environment.  “We have used the time in lockdown to really learn about drying, salting, pickling and storing every part of the fish, as well as how best to use the seaweed and sea vegetables readily available on our coastline” says Moore.  

“We feel that this knowledge will bring something totally new to Goldie going forward and means that we will be in complete control of our output.  We look forward to the fish shop becoming a permanent feature of our business.” And I look forward to calling there more often in the future.

Keep Going Cork. Just like Goldie.