Garfish in Olive Oil from Lata

I love garfish (Belone belone). The spicy version from Ati Manel has for years held a solid spot in my Top 5 Tins. But I’d not previously tucked into this offering from Lata, so I was excited to see what was in store.

Perfectly grand garfish. Not ground-breaking, but a solid entry to the competition. Beautiful, silvery skin. Firm flesh, as expected. Meaty, satisfying chew.

How to compare the texture if you’ve not tried gar yet? Well, way more solid than pilchard sardinillas of similar size; slightly more solid than most white anchovies (although pretty similar bite to Patagonia’s).

I reached for this can, because we were down to the last good beefsteak tomatoes for the season, and slab cuts of a purple heirloom, with herbed feta, and these slender gar seemed like a perfect supper. Yup, it was.

Lata do a good job with the things they import and give their own branding. This can is, I believe, priced on their site at $9.99. With the Ati Manel spicy needlefish on offer at Caputo’s for 7.49, I’ll probably not reach for this plain olive oil Lata version often. If Lata tees up a sister tin with some distinctive flavor options, though, I’ll likely hand over me money with a smile.