Go with the Flow: The Top 5 Fish Restaurants in London

In a country surrounded by sea and a national dish that is—ok, was—a plate of good old fish and chips, you know that London is going to provide well with it’s selection of fish restaurants. From oysters to shellfish and not forgetting some of the finer fish and chip establishments, Marie Teather has found the top five fish restaurants.

Scott’s

As with any restaurant that is to provide to Mayfair’s exclusive diners, Scott’s seafood restaurant offers only the finest oysters, fish, and crustacea. The restaurant won the BMW Square Meal Restaurant of the Year Award in 2008, and since then has become a star-studded favorite with fish-eating diners

Tables look on to the elegant oyster and Champagne bar with the full à la carte menu being served throughout the day from 12 noon. For those who can’t wait until dinner, an oyster and Champagne menu can be enjoyed from 3:30pm each day, while the seasonal dishes are sourced from the British Isles to create daily, weekly, and monthly specials.

20 Mount Street,
London, W1K 2HE

020 7495 7309

www.scotts-restaurant.com

Two Brothers Fish Restaurant

Although out of the way in Finchley Park, Leon and Tony Manzi’s fish and chip restaurant has become something of a landmark since opening almost 20 years ago. Showing that fish and chips can indeed have class, the prestigious cars parked outside hint at the clientele who make the effort to come over to the restaurant or maybe it’s the yacht-like interior that is drawing them in. Either way, it’s a dedicated following.

Supplies of fish arrive daily from Billingsgate; oysters and mussels are flown in from Ireland; while only the best Maris Piper potatoes are used for their legendary chips fried in groundnut oil. Cod, haddock, skate, and rock are the staples, with halibut, mackerel, and other species showing up on the specials board.

In true English snobbery that could only by applied to fish and chips by a certain kind of restaurateur, tartar sauce and mushy peas are informed to be the real thing. Quite simply, if you’re going to have fish and chips: you’d be wise to eat it here.

297-303 Regent Park Road, Finchley, London N3 1DP

020 8343 1209

www.twobrothers.co.uk

J Sheekey

In the heart of Covent Garden, J Sheekey is a fish and seafood restaurant offering the finest fish, oysters, shellfish, and other fruits de mer. Discreetly tucked away on St Martin’s Court, the eatery is a stone’s throw from many of the West End’s theatres making a great spot for pre- and post-theatre star spotting.

Sheekey’s rich & creamy fish pie has always been a favorite with regulars; the lobster thermidor is touted as ‘the best in London,’ and the fishcakes ‘the best in the world.’ There is a reason that J Sheeky has long topped fish lover’s favorites restaurant in London: great food, great service, and great fish. Simply does it.

28-32 St Martin’s Court, London, WC2N 4Al

020 7240 2565

www.j-sheekey.co.uk

One-O-One

Head Chef Pascol Proyart has been leading the way to make this one of London’s best fish restaurant for ten years and nearly every detail has been through out from shoreline, where the oysters are caught, through the menu, and even the design of One-O-One.

The menu offers a choice of ‘petits plats’ – beautifully presented mini dishes which are customized to diners preference including delights such as crab pastilla with an apple jelly and sorbet, a lobster and fennel salad, or risotto with asparagus, quails’ eggs and morels. The interior has been inspired by the symmetry of a shucked oyster with the focal point the pearl-white bar near the centre of shell.

101 William St, Westminster, London, SW1X 7RN

020 7290 7101

www.oneoonerestaurant.com

fish!

Celebrity restaurateur Tony Allan started the fish! empire ten years ago when he opened his first restaurant fish! in Borough market, the food produce mecca of London. fish! restaurant soon became a huge hit in the heart of Borough, serving businessmen and tourists alike, drawing them in plates of top quality, ‘posh’ fish and chips.

The restaurant prides itself on using sustainable raw ingredients from trusted suppliers like its own fishmonger, Jarvis. At the core of the menu is a long list of fish – organic salmon, skate, tuna, lemon sole, Icelandic cod, plaice, and more, with seasonal specials too – which you can have steamed or grilled and served with a choice of dressing.

Cathedral Street, Borough Market, London, SE1 9AL

020 7407 3801

www.fishkitchen.com