French Names for Fish

Food/Drink/Culinaria
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French Fish Names](https://tasteofsavoie.com/2020/05/13/french-fish-names/)
What’s that fish called in French?

Deciphering a French fish and seafood menu. Do you know your Églefin from your Espadon?
This is a question I have been asked many times when going through a french menu trying to identify the fish dish. So I thought I’d put together a glossary of some of the more popular french fish names and common vocabulary associated with fish and seafood with the translation into English. Scroll down to find the English fish name translated into French. Hope you find this useful next time you shop for fish or eat out in France.

Do let me know if you know of any other fish I’ve missed off - thank you

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I feel I should add that “fingers” seems to translate as “batonnets”…in a fish context

Just in case, there’s no picture on the packet

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I bought fish and chips in Falmouth earlier in the year. My choice was called Colin the Cod on the menu. My joke that Colin wasn’t cod wasn’t understood or appreciated.

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:rofl: :joy: Love it!!

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:joy: :fish: yes i guess they didn’t get the pun!

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Recently we’ve had Mostelle, which doesn’t turn up at fishmongers often.

Also Julienne, which is I think ling, and saumon de fontaine which is not the same as fera or omble but I think also a char rather than a trout.

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‘Colin d’Alaska’ always makes me smile - a character from Monty Python?

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:joy: :joy: :joy:

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Interesting I don’t think Mostelle translates to an English fish I just did a google and it seems to be Spanish? Yes Julienne is Ling. I’ll check out the char , thank you

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Mostelle is a Mediterranean fish related to cod etc, so it isn’t surprising it doesn’t have an English name. It is a gadiform. Phycis phycis is its Latin name.
I grew up between the Côte d’Azur and Scotland and it was a nightmare getting the names of plants, insects, fish etc in the other language because often they just didn’t exist in the other country.

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Being able to fall back on latin helps! (Also in doctors’ surgery…).

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Should’ve asked them whether his name wasn’t really Panga, instead :wink:

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Well I just wanted to record my enormous gratitude. I’m lucky enough to be practically bilingual but I’ve always had a complete blank spot about fish. Between coleys and colin, merlus, merlans and merlins, I needed just such help to stop myself looking a complete fool in fishy company. Thank you.

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That’s great Ben, thank you for taking the time to say that! It took ages to put together so lovely to know it’s useful.

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Thank you very much, that is extremely useful. Also, nice to have a pleasant helpful post in this group.

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Brilliant guide, thank you very much! I am rubbish at fish names in both languages so this will be really useful!

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One I’ve often seen in fishmongers’ and markets in the south is rascasse which the dictionary translates as scorpion fish. I wondered if there was another, less off-putting term for this delicious species, an ingredient of bouillabaisse.

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Back in the day, I was wreck diving in India and the wreck was teeming with them, very venomous and well camouflaged . Apparently they are good to eat…looked a bit small though

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I have just seen Rouget on a restaurant menu. I cannot see it in your wonderful resource, so I checked it out.
Red Mullet - Rouget

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We eat Red Mullet without knowing what it was… it simply arrived within a menu du jour.
After we had licked our plates clean :wink: I asked what it was - “rouget”… and I muttered that word (roger/rouger/rouget) until I could get home and find it on google… :relaxed: :relaxed:

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