First the eye: clear and domed means it came in this morning. Flat and grey means someone else had it first. Second the gill: red to pink, never brown at the edges. Third the belly, pressed with a thumb. It should push back.
Then the smell, which is a hand smell: sea water and cucumber, not fish. When a fish smells like fish, it is already a sauce, not a fillet.
We buy twice a week from one boat. If the catch is wrong, we change the menu, not the standard.
Atelier Sobhy, Amman
