The Best Fish and Seafood Restaurants in London
- Daniel Weizman
- Aug 13
- 6 min read
London is a fantastic city for fish and seafood. Whole grilled turbot, buttery Dover sole, soft lobster rolls, giant prawns cooked with garlic and white wine - there is no shortage of places serving excellent fish and seriously fresh seafood. London knows how to treat ingredients from the sea, whether that means cooking fish and prawns over charcoal or keeping things beautifully simple with oysters and ceviche.
There is also an extraordinary variety. Alongside familiar favourites such as salmon and sea bass, London restaurants serve species that are much harder to come across elsewhere, as well as oysters, scallops, lobster, crab, mussels and prawns landed around the British coast.
Whether you are planning a special dinner or simply want an excellent seafood lunch, these are some of the best places to try. The list ranges from old London institutions to small neighbourhood restaurants and some of the city’s more creative modern kitchens. All of them offer a good choice of both fish and seafood.
Wright Brothers - Various Locations
Wright Brothers has been part of London’s seafood scene for more than two decades, supplying fish and shellfish to restaurants around the city as well as running its own restaurants in Borough Market, Battersea and South Kensington.
Oysters are one of the main reasons to come. Their Oyster Happy Hour offers oysters for £1 each on weekday afternoons and on Sunday evenings. There is caviar too, if you feel like taking things up a level, alongside a strong selection of fish dishes such as cod and sea bream with salsa verde.
The Borough Market branch is particularly well placed for a seafood lunch while exploring the market, while Battersea and South Kensington feel a little more relaxed.
Borough Market: Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Battersea: The Power Station, 26 Circus West Village, London SW11 8EZ
South Kensington: 56 Old Brompton Road
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-10pm
Seabird - South Bank
Sitting on the rooftop of The Hoxton, Seabird is one of those restaurants where the setting is almost as important as the food. There are panoramic views over London, very good cocktails and an unusually extensive oyster menu.
The food has a Mediterranean feel, with seafood at the centre. Expect dishes such as Atlantic trout, grilled octopus with olive oil and lemon, smoked sardines and lobster.
It is especially good for a date, a celebration, or simply an evening of seafood, white wine and London views as the sun goes down.
Address: 40 Blackfriars Road
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-10pm
J. Sheekey - Covent Garden
J. Sheekey is probably the grandest old name on this list. It has been serving fish and seafood since 1896 and has long been a favourite with actors, artists and theatre-goers.
The atmosphere is classic London rather than fashionable-for-the-moment, and that is part of its charm. Oysters and shellfish are obvious choices, but the kitchen is equally good with fish.
Its late post-theatre menu is particularly useful in a part of London where finding somewhere genuinely good to eat after a show is not always easy. There are also plenty of options for anyone in your group who does not eat seafood, including a separate vegan menu.
Address: 28 St Martin's Court
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-10:45pm
Parsons - Covent Garden
Parsons is a small, intimate fish restaurant that proves seafood does not need much decoration when the ingredients are good enough.
The menu changes regularly depending on what is available, and the cooking tends to be simple and confident. You might find a rich fish pie, excellent oysters, beautifully cooked fish and a plate of crisp golden chips.
It works equally well for an easy lunch or an unhurried dinner for two, and despite being close to Covent Garden, it still feels like a proper little London neighbourhood restaurant.
Address: 33 Endell Street
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 12pm-10:30pm. Closed Sunday.
The Sea, The Sea - Chelsea
Small, fashionable and much more experimental, The Sea, The Sea takes seafood in a very different direction.
Guests sit around the counter while the kitchen sends out inventive dishes that might pair scallops with apricot and fig leaf, mussels with melon, or carefully prepared fish with unexpected sauces and techniques.
This is a good choice if you are interested not just in eating excellent seafood but in seeing what a creative kitchen can do with it. The Chelsea site also has a fish shop selling fresh seafood and carefully sourced products.
Address: 174 Pavilion Road
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9am-9:30pm, with restaurant service from 12pm; Sunday, 12pm-3:30pm. Closed Monday.
Scott's - Mayfair
Scott's is one of London's great seafood institutions and very much looks the part. The Mayfair dining room is polished and glamorous, with a gleaming oyster bar and seafood displayed over ice at the centre of the restaurant.
This is the place for the classics: oysters, caviar, lobster, large prawns and Dover sole cooked in brown butter are all exactly the sort of thing Scott's does well.
The service is formal without feeling stiff, and the whole restaurant has the sense of a London tradition that has been carefully preserved. It is expensive, of course, but for a classic Mayfair seafood dinner, few places do it better.
Address: 20 Mount Street
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-9:30pm
Angler - The City
For something more refined, Angler is a Michelin-starred seafood restaurant known for its precise, elegant cooking.
The menu might include scallops with artichoke and truffle, lobster ravioli and beautifully prepared seasonal fish. Everything is polished, from the presentation to the service, without losing sight of the ingredients themselves.
It is the sort of place to choose for a birthday, anniversary or special dinner rather than a casual seafood craving.
Address: 3 South Place
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, 12pm-2:15pm and 6pm-9:15pm; Saturday, 6pm-9:15pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Prawn on the Lawn - Islington
Away from the main tourist areas, Prawn on the Lawn is one of London's most enjoyable neighbourhood seafood restaurants.
The cooking takes familiar ingredients and gives them a subtle twist. Monkfish might come with North African flavours, lightly seared scallops with a sharp Thai-style sauce and fresh basil, and a whole Cornish lobster with lime and coriander butter.
You may also find steaming pots of Cornish mussels and squid cooked with sherry, garlic and herbs, with sourdough on the side for soaking up the sauce.
It is relaxed, lively and well worth the short trip north if you want seafood somewhere that feels more local than central London.
Address: 294 St Paul's Road
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 5pm-11pm; Friday and Saturday, 12pm-11pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Randall & Aubin - Soho
Randall & Aubin is a lively Soho brasserie with dim lighting, music, Champagne and impressive towers of shellfish.
There is plenty of fish too, including grilled tuna, Atlantic cod and skate, a fish that appears surprisingly often on British seafood menus. But this is really a place for anyone who wants to go all in on shellfish: oysters, lobster, crab, calamari and plenty more.
The atmosphere is part of the appeal. It feels fun rather than formal, making it one of the better central London choices for a seafood dinner that still has plenty of energy.
Address: 16 Brewer Street
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-10:30pm
Westerns Laundry - Islington
Westerns Laundry is another excellent neighbourhood restaurant that regularly appears on lists of London's best places for fish and seafood.
The menu changes constantly, but dishes might include grilled sea bass with artichokes, a warming fish stew, whole lobster with hazelnut and orange butter, or oysters with salsa verde.
There are excellent vegetable and meat dishes too, which makes it an especially good choice for mixed groups. The cooking is relaxed but extremely assured, and very little leaves the kitchen without being worth ordering.
Address: 34 Drayton Park
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, 5:30pm-10pm; Saturday and Sunday, 12pm-2:30pm and 5:30pm-10pm. Closed Monday.
The Summerhouse - Little Venice
The Summerhouse sits beside the Grand Union Canal in west London and is worth visiting as much for the waterside setting as for the seafood.
The menu might include soft-shell crab with pickled beetroot, strongly flavoured mackerel, prawn popcorn, seared scallops with Jerusalem artichoke and fresh oysters.
Prices are generally more approachable than at the big-name Mayfair seafood restaurants, and on a warm day the canal-side location makes it feel like a small escape from the city.
Address: Blomfield Road, London W9 2PA
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-11pm
Santo Mare - Marylebone
Santo Mare brings an Italian approach to seafood in the heart of Marylebone.
The menu is extensive, moving from raw fish and shellfish, such as prawn tartare and langoustine carpaccio, through oysters and chilled seafood to salads, fresh pasta and larger grilled dishes.
One of the highlights is the mixed grill, piled with prawns, langoustines, fish and octopus. There are also seafood pastas and risottos, as well as a changing selection of fish brought in fresh from the market.
It is a very different experience from a traditional British fish restaurant and a particularly good choice if you like Italian cooking but want seafood to be the main event.
Address: 87-89 George Street, London W1U 8AQ
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm-10:45pm
London is an excellent city for anyone who loves fish and seafood. The range is enormous, from British coastal classics and immaculate oysters to Italian-style raw seafood, Mediterranean grilling and far more experimental cooking.
For classic old-school London, J. Sheekey and Scott's are hard to beat. For somewhere more relaxed and contemporary, Parsons, Prawn on the Lawn and Westerns Laundry are excellent choices. And if you want seafood with a view, Seabird and The Summerhouse turn dinner into a bit more of an occasion.
