The best fish restaurants in London
There's nothing fishy about these restaurants...
Here's a dining tip: always order fish.
You're paying for this meal, so don't let the chef get off lightly by just chucking a steak on the hotplate. Make him work for it. Make him scale the blighter, make him fillet it, make him live with the fishy aromas in his kitchen for days... make him do all the things you can't be bothered to do in your own kitchen.
Add to this already compelling list, the fact that fish is good for you, the fact that it's (in our list below, anyway) sustainably and ethically sourced... but more than any of that, just order it because it tastes so darned good.
Haven't eaten fish for a while? Then try some of these top fish restaurants...
Run by the same people as <a href="http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-447.php">Le Caprice</a> and <a href="http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-605.php">the Ivy</a>, J. Sheekey is known for having a similarly A-list clientele. The menu has a vast array of fantastically fresh shellfish and fish, with a thoughtful wine list to boot.
Sweetings has been serving simple, expertly prepared fish and seafood since 1889. Rather than let trends influence them they’ve stuck to classics like fish pie, lobster bisque and turbot with mustard sauce. They are only open at lunchtimes and bookings are not taken.
Located atop the swish South Place Hotel, Angler’s menu of British seafood and fish earned it a Michelin star within the first year of opening. The menu changes daily, but you can expect things like Cornish cod paired with crisp chicken thigh and turbot with a ragout of squid.
Chef Pascal Proyart will not serve fish during their breeding season, ensuring stocks are fully sustainable. This restaurant, highly rated in the Good Food Guide and Harden’s, is located within the Sheraton Park Tower hotel.
Wilton’s first opened in 1742, and both the décor and the seamless, ultra-attentive service seem to have changed little since the 18th century. The food is an ode to the cooking of yesteryear, with dishes like lobster thermidor and sole meunière and snacks like Welsh rarebit and anchovies on toast. Expensive, but the ultimate in fine dining.
This fishmonger’s and café situated within Borough Market has a competent menu (monkfish with truffle oil, seafood risotto), in addition the chefs will prepare any fish from the counter to the customer’s specifications.
This award-winning mini chain sell fresh fish, seafood, soups and fish stock on the premises. Their menu includes Devon ray, yellow fin tuna and Madagascan prawns. In 2009 they almost went out of business when six of their branches closed down, but the Marylebone and <a href="http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-11422.php">Piccadilly Circus</a> locations soldier on.
Scott’s opened in 1851; in the noughties it was taken over by Caprice Holdings (the Ivy, J. Sheekey) and given a costly refurb. It’s opulent, pricey and a hit with celebs.
This smart, buzzy restaurant was once a butcher’s shop. Much of the original décor remains, along with a counter for fish and seafood where the meat was once on display. Chef Ed Baines, famed for TV shows Ready Steady Cook and Britain’s Best Dish, serves popular seafood and fish dishes like salmon gravadlax, crab cakes and breaded lemon sole.
