Friday Fish Fry

The small town (or large village) of Oistins is to the south of the island, between St. Lawrence Gap and the airport. It supports an active fishing industry and market, but it is more famous to us visitors for its fish fries. Kiosks grill or fry fresh fish there every day, and sell boxes to order with various sides, with beer or sodas for people to eat at large picnic tables.

But Friday (especially) and Saturday nights are particularly busy, with loud music playing in two places, and stands set up selling ceramics, jewellery, tee-shirts – all the things one might expect from a place that attracts tourists and locals in the hundreds.

We had been advised to get there early, as it gets too crowded by 7pm, so we boarded a local bus and arrived just as the sun was setting at 6pm. Uncle George’s was a kiosk we were recommended to look for and we were immediately ushered to a table shared with four travelling friends from the UK. There were lots of fish options, but we steered clear of marlin as it is being overfished. Swordfish for Martin and barracuda for me, served in neat paper boxes with salad and potatoes.

I was quite thrilled to see they had two local drinks on offer, besides the ubiquitous Banks lager and it’s slightly lighter competitor Deputy. Sorrel (made from which) is quite sweet, purple and really refreshing when cold. Mauby is dark brown and tastes a lot like a dry, less sweet version of cream soda, but with a slightly bitter aftertaste which I find very pleasant. It is made of the bark of the Soldierwood tree and can be bought as a syrup. Apparently, Mauby bark is good for joints, blood pressure and digestion. Alas, we are travelling carryon only so cannot bring back anything beyond 100ml per bottle, but at least I can drink my fill of it here.

We ate up our dinner in the cacophony of music and chatter, then escaped to walk to the end of the pier, looking back at the lights reflected in the dark water. We even had a bit of a dance, but as the music was not live (would it be live later in the night we wondered?) We couldn’t wait, as we must pack in preparation for our grand ocean voyage tomorrow, so left the heaving masses to their evening and bussed back, where we sat on our deck and listened to the waves whooshing on the beach in the dark.

Fish in the box, Banks beer in the bottle and mauby in the beaker