I was lucky enough to be taken away by my partner to Mersea Island, Essex. A place well know for its oysters and award winning English wines, sounds like a perfect combination to me! The island is pretty small the west side being the village and where things “happen” and the east almost completely farming land. The island does benefit from long sand and shingle beaches gently lapped by the calm waters of the Thames estuary. Some parts of the beaches are lined with beautifully kept traditional beach huts which looked stunning in the bright early spring sunshine.

Oysters maybe the speciality here, but there’s so much more fresh fish and shellfish which rolls in off the boats I am really feeling spoilt for choice.

The first place I went for a seafood fix was at the West Mersea Oyster Bar, which was conveniently located right opposite the place I was staying, The Victory.

To start I had a mix of oysters Colchester Natives and Mersea Rocks. Both of which were delicious, I tried them “naked” first with no dressing or sauce, both were creamy and clean tasting it was hard to make a choice between them. Then I dressed some with the supplied shallot and vinegar mix and finally had the last ones with Tabasco (one of my favourite ways of eating them…as you know I love spice!).

Then it was for a bowl of their crab chowder (well the wind was a little chilly that day!) it was very good being rich, satisfying with plenty of crab and big chunks of potato. In fact it could have easily been a main course. But as I was here to try the food  I needed to carry on and move down the menu and select my next fishy delight. I need something to match those traditional beach huts, something which screams seaside.

There was only one thing to fit the bill -classic British fish ‘n’ chips. The fish I chose was skate wing over my usual chip shop choice of haddock. I haven’t had skate in a while and had almost forgotten how soft and wonderfully flavoured this fish is. It had an excellent crispy batter coating to counter the soft flesh inside. Served with a homemade tartar sauce and hand cut chips it really hit the spot.

The next day and hungry for more I went to the famous Company Shed. This is the most well known seafood bar on the island and has been well covered in the national press, so I arrived with high hopes.

Again I felt obliged to  start with oysters but unfortunately as it was near to the end of the day they only had the Natives left, which was fine but I was hoping to try there Gigas oysters. Oh well must make a note to get there early next time! The natives were again delicious but no vinegar and shallot mix was served with them this time, which I did miss. But they did have a bottle of Tabasco on the table which made mine an easy choice.

My main course was their seafood platter, which included dressed crab, prawns, crevette, both plain and  smoked mackerel, a large mussel and smoked salmon. Served with some nice fresh bread it was a bit of a feast as you can see. The prawns really stood out as they were so sweet and moreish.

In France on the opposite side of the channel I have had the equivalent dish – Fruits de Mer. From my experience the French would never pair delicate fresh seafood with strong flavoured smoked fish or indeed foreign imports. I think I prefer the version Français, but vive la difference I guess!

As The Company Shed is a “bring your own” I took a bottle of local wine I had bought earlier that day from Mersea Island Vineyard. It was a medium dry and the perfect foil for the huge plate of seafood. English wines have come on so much in recent years it’s a pleasure to be able to recommend them!

Strange that in both of these places they include non-local or imported products in their seafood platters. Even though mussel shells scatter the beach and seem to be available locally the restaurants on the island lean towards the larger green lipped variety imported from New Zealand. I does make me wonder why. I mean with all that fresh local fish why fly more in from around the world?

I had a fantastic time and my thanks go out to everyone on the island who made my stay so enjoyable. Especially to our hosts at The Victory for an amazing room, attention to detail and for spoiling me on my birthday!

Remember to share your memories below if you have been to Mersea Island or any other place in the world that combines great local seafood and wine.

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The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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