Fishmonger | Brasserie & Bistro
The waters of Loch Fyne are famously rich in plankton, hence the fame of the fat and juicy herring for the Loch Fyne kippers. The best time for herring is between August and November when they are caught down loch, heading out to sea. They are split and brined and then smoked for 4-5 hours.
Loch Fyne Oysters buy in the spats or seeds and lay them in sacks on the loch's shore. Depending whether the tides are spring or neap, they will be out of the water for 4 to 8 hours day. This hardens them off, so they learn to close properly and can survive in the air. The oysters take two summers to reach their proper size. Once harvested, they are passed through a purification tank, wrapped and despatched in seaweed to keep them moist.
They also dry-cure salmon from Freedom Food approved farms in salt and soft brown sugar for about 4-6 hours, then cold smoke it for 4-8 hours. They also smoke mussels, cods' roe, trout, cure gravalax and hot smoke salmon.
The smokehouse, shop and oyster bar at the head of Loch Fyne, is a perfect place to stop for oysters and a glass of wine. As well as oysters and smoked fish, you can buy langoustines, own–grown mussels, velvet crabs, scallops and clams. Although the smokehouse is not open to the public, there are some open-views from the shop to see the salmon filleting area.
