1 October 2026

Grill Thing

The Forgotten King

How the trend in the grill saved its life.

The swordfish in our banner wears a crown made of geometry, marble and gold. At the table, it needs less ceremony. A clearly cut steak, a little acidity and a plate that leaves room for the fish are a more persuasive starting point than an elaborate tower of garnishes. The forgotten king is a way of looking at an ingredient, not a ranking of seafood.

The grill gives that ingredient an intelligible role: the fish remains the centre of the plate, with vegetables, herbs or a simple dressing doing supporting work. Our preference is for a meal whose decisions you can taste. If the sauce supplies every strong flavour, the expensive centrepiece has become scenery. Restraint is not an absence of cooking; it is a decision about what deserves attention.

There is a limit to the headline's metaphor. A revival on the menu does not establish that a species has been saved. ICCAT maintains a record of vessels authorised to catch Mediterranean swordfish under its multi-annual recovery plan. That is a fisheries-management framework, not a certificate attached to every restaurant portion. We have no evidence that enthusiasm for grilling has restored a stock.

For an island dinner, the useful conversation starts before the order: what fish is being offered, where was it caught, and can the kitchen explain its sourcing? A familiar name alone answers none of those questions. Nor does a decorative banner identify an actual catch or restaurant. Choose the dish for what the kitchen can explain as well as what it can present.

Giving the king a second life should mean recovering attention, rather than increasing the spectacle. Let the fish remain recognisable, let the accompaniments earn their place, and let provenance be part of the pleasure. The most interesting grill is the one that has something clear to say.