I recently posted about trying Pacific Dover sole, as well as listing true Dover sole on my seafood wish list. The only real sole I’ve ever tried was in Portugal, where my wife and I enjoyed small grilled soles that I believe are called Senegal sole. But I want to try the real deal, the so-called “Rolls-Royce” of fish. However on this side of the Atlantic it is hard to find outside of big city restaurants, I wouldn’t know where to look if I wanted to buy some to prepare at home.

So imagine my surprise when I am contacted by Alistair Blair of The Fish Society, a fish dealer based in the UK that sells an impressive array of fish and other seafood online. After taking a tour of their website I was amazed at not only their variety, but the fact they can ship to the US! Which then led to this friendly email:

Hi Justin

Further to our conversation, I want you to experience our UK to US frozen fish delivery service which is a marvel! US fish lovers need to know about it! And about us!

So I’m going to send you a pair of your favourite fish – Dover soles – by DHL for delivery next Wednesday.

These will arrive free of charge.

Fingers X’d the delivery does AOK, you like the soles, you write a great review and we get loads of orders!

Then we might send you a turbot.

I guess that, if for some reason you can’t give us a wholesome review, the only thing I would ask you to leave out is this email!

All the best

Alistair Blair

What an offer! Besides getting to sample one of the most prestigious fish on the market, I also get to experience ordering fish online. Ordering seafood online has been one my goals here at Buying Seafood, but I’ve been apprehensive about shelling out a lot of money for something that may be sub-par. The Fish Sociey assured me that not only will the fish be perfectly frozen, but will be at my door a mere two days after it ships. And true to their word, it shipped on a Monday and was in my hands by early Wednesday afternoon.

Review: Whole Dover Sole from The Fish Society

The Packaging

The Product

The Recipe: Dover Sole Meunière

Being new to this fish I went to The Fish Society website where I found a video by Rick Stein on how to prepare sole meunière. I followed it pretty much exactly as shown, except the sauce, which I made separately so I could serve everything and feed my son without it going cold.

The Verdict: How Was Dover Sole From The Fish Society?

What a treat! I made a butter/herb/lemon sauce for it but it was very tasty on its own. The flavor is mild and buttery and the texture is different from the various flounders I’m used to, firm enough that the whole fish stays together even fully cooked. Familiar in some ways but different enough to be a deliciously unique experience. Mine still had some roe that I missed and it was milder than the other fish roes I’ve tried. My wife and I ate every bite, even my 6-year-old demanded a few more bites and I honestly could’ve eaten a little more… it was that good.

Besides the great taste of the sole, you can tell that the fish were of the highest quality to start with. Throughout the whole process I was remarking about how good the fish looked.

So what more can I say? The Fish Society has exceeded my expectations and gets my endorsement as a top-notch online seafood retailer. I am very interested in comparing this great experience against some of our domestic online seafood suppliers to see how they stack up. Right at the start, The Fish Society has set the bar pretty high.

Thank you to Alistair and the staff for an opportunity I won’t soon forget!