Prawns by the Pint

The Perfect Pint (of Prawns)

How do you usually order your prawns? In pubs or at food stalls around the UK, it might well be by the pint. The tradition – perhaps a British answer to a prawn cocktail – goes back long before the 1970s trend, reportedly originating in the East End of London. 

Prawns, as well as cockles, winkles and whelks, are a British seaside favourite, bought from beach-side food trucks and eaten as you stroll the promenade. They’re also popular in pubs, where they were traditionally sold by vendors who, in the absence of scales, apparently used a pint glass as a measure. 

From Cockney Tradition to Trendy Treat

A cockney favourite, prawns have been sold by the pint ever since (even after the UK moved to the metric system) and a pint of prawns is one of those quirks of eating that has spread from Mary Poppins who talks of heading to the fishmongers for ‘a nice Dover sole and a pint of prawns’ to Instagram-friendly gastropubs and sustainability focused initiatives such as Café Mor in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where regenerative sea farming comes together with trendy foods and a massive focus on seaweed (including seaweed ketchup!). 

Today, cockles and whelks are slightly more of a niche snack appealing to a more old-fashioned taste perhaps. But the classic pint of prawns offers a quirky take on one of the UK’s top-five seafood choices and shows how, if appealing enough, a humble favourite can gain broad appeal and even achieve trend status.

It’s not an easy feat however, especially when some ‘poorer’ items leave a lot to be desired. Jellied eels anyone?