Fin-to-tail dining has long been practised in Asia, where fish heads, livers and even eyeballs are considered delicacies in many cultures. But the concept, which entails eating just about each and every part of the fish, is relatively unheard of in the West – at least till now.
Enter Lyon’s Seafood & Wine Bar, a new North London restaurant that champions the fin-to-tail approach. Here, head chef Talia Prince utilises underused cuts and offal in dishes such as charcoal-grilled fish belly skewers with soy and ginger, and miso hake collars with seaweed mayo.
Lyon’s joins a small but growing list of fin-to-tail restaurants outside of Asia. Among its fish dishes, Michelin-starred Elkano, near Bilbao in Spain, serves up kokotxas (cod throats) three ways: grilled, confit and al pil pil (in a traditional Basque sauce of olive oil, garlic and chilli).
And at Saint Peter in Sydney, an award-winning seafood restaurant helmed by talented young Aussie chef Josh Niland, dishes such as barbecue Murrumbidgee Murray cod head, and Terrigal wild king fish stomach on an XO crumpet steal the show.
It’s not just seafood restaurants getting in on the trend. In San Antonio (located three hours from Houston), Texan restaurant and microbrewery Southerleigh is renowned for its fried snapper throats, served with a Creole mustard remoulade.
The question ultimately is: will diners be hooked?
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This article was originally published in the April 2020 issue of SilverKris magazine
