Partners in life and business, The Fish Basket’s owners, Peter and Elaine Shanahan, are celebrating eight successful years at this popular coastal location. What started out as a humble food truck serving fish and chips at the side of the road in Rosscarbery is now a thriving all-year-round business with summer opening hours – 9am-6pm seven days a week – kicking off at the end of June.
While Peter and Elaine are hands-on in the business, they credit their team with the smooth running of this operation. “We’ve a great team who have been with us a long time,” says Peter. The couple run a tight ship and when Peter’s not prepping fish or chipping potatoes, he is managing front-of-house, while chef and baker Elaine keeps the kitchen running smoothly and is responsible for all the delicious home-baked goods on display. Their three children also help out.
Serving breakfast, lunch and West Cork Coffee, The Fish Basket offers a small but consistent great value menu using quality, seasonal and local ingredients wherever possible: The fish comes from Glenmar in UnionHall and the organic salad leaves are grown in Bantry by Radical Roots.
While fish and chips is a firm favourite, the scampi and fish tacos also rank very favourably with customers.
Inside you’ll find a warm inviting space with a quirky collection of memorabilia and vintage furniture, all with a story to tell. Signs like ‘Swimsuits are optional beyond this point’ induce the occasional double take on the way to the toilet and you might just find yourself eating fish and chips on a tailor’s table salvaged from Savile Row. The large mirror on the wall has travelled all the way from a train station in Russia while the old phone once belonged to Limerick Prison. “There’s a story to the story in this place,” says Peter laughing.
Out front the covered seating area offers the best view of the ocean and dogs (and their owners) are welcome to enjoy the space.
While Peter and Elaine aren’t afraid to dream big, with the current economic climate bringing a myriad of challenges, they don’t want to rock the boat for now. “We’re happy just to keep our standard high and customers happy,” says Peter. Looking to the future, he says their hope would be to open seven days a week all year round.
The Fish Basket is currently open Thursday-Monday, 9am-5pm. Summer hours kick in at the end of June. Keep an eye on their Socials – updated regularly by Liz of Coffee House Creative – for more details.
Check out the menu at www.thefishbasket.ie.
