Fish & Seafood Restaurants in Banstead
1. Bellamy’s
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
18-18a Bruton Place - W1
“If it was good enough for Queen Elizabeth II, it’s good enough for the rest of us!” – Gavin Rankin’s “very civilised, old school” brasserie in a cute Mayfair mews has a “lovely old-fashioned vibe” (and was one of the few restaurants in the UK in which the late Queen ever ate out). “Peaceful and very enjoyable”, it’s one of those rare dining rooms where jacket and tie are still the norm (although the dress code is an unwritten one). Staff are “utterly professional” and “predictably discreet”. “Start an evening with cocktails at the bar (next to the restaurant)” and then move next door for “classic French cuisine” that’s “lovely” but won‘t scare the horses. Top Tip – “the counter bar is also a great spot in which to have a posh fish finger sandwich!”
2. Bentley’s
Fish & seafood restaurant in Piccadilly
11-15 Swallow St - W1
“I love Bentley’s!” – “You always come away happy and well fed” from Richard Corrigan’s carefully nurtured institution, which has a “lovely, old school feel that’s not too formal”; and which celebrates its 108th year in 2024. “Choose upstairs or down depending on your preferred level of formality”: “downstairs is jollier” – “the Oyster bar is an absolute favourite” – while “upstairs is more calm and quiet”. In both locations, you can enjoy “consistently great” fish and seafood prepared in a traditional style. And in summer, the “gorgeous”, big, heated terrace on the pavement outside comes into its own. Personable service is “attentive”, but “you are left in peace” when required and this is a “great and reliable central London business choice”. Top Menu Tip – “the dressed crab here is the best in town”; “wonderful oysters, and the specials are always worth checking out”.
3. Ormer Mayfair by Sofian, Flemings Mayfair Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
7-12 Half Moon Street - W1
“Well worth a visit” – this “sympathetically restored” Mayfair hotel is originally Victorian (from the 1850s), although the wood panelling and square cornices of this basement dining room owe their looks to the 1930s. It continues to perform extremely consistently under chef Sofian Mstefi, who provides a seven-course menu for £122 per person (and there’s also a five-course option for £85 per person served Tuesday-Friday). We received nothing but all-round praise this year, with it winning nominations as both a business and romantic venue; and with many reporters enjoying their best meals of the year here.
4. The Melusine
Fish & seafood restaurant in St. Katharine Dock
Unit K, Ivory House, St. Katharine Dock - E1W
This “relaxed” and “rather good” seafood specialist is “one of the best offerings in St Katharine Dock”, offering a “delightful menu” – “we had cod cheeks and ravioli, oysters, brill and octopus followed by different and interesting ice creams” – alongside a “decent selection of Greek white wine”. Co-founder Theodore Kyriakou was behind Livebait and The Real Greek in the ’90s.
5. Tom Brown at The Capital
Fish & seafood restaurant in Kensington and Chelsea
22 - 24 Basil Street - SW3
Welcome to Tom Brown at the Capital, where you will find our British menu with an emphasis on seafood using the finest seasonal ingredients. Pairing the best ingredients with our extensive wine menu curated by our passionate team. We take pride in giving you the best experienc...
6. Wiltons
British, Traditional restaurant in St James's
55 Jermyn St - SW1
“Nowhere else like it!” – for “sheer class, history and pedigree” it is hard to match London’s oldest restaurant in St James’s (est. 1742, on this site since the 1980s). If you are a traditionalist, it is “perfect, perfect, perfect” – “a quintessentially British restaurant specialising in premium-quality fish and seafood – plus also game and meats” – whose discreet and comfortable old-world surroundings are typical of nearby clubland, complete with booths and well-spaced tables; and all orchestrated by “impeccable staff”. It’s best enjoyed if your Wealth Manager is treating you, obviously, although complaints about its notoriously terrifying prices were quite muted this year. Top Menu Tip – “Start with a dozen wonderful, plump oysters and a sharp red onion and red wine vinegar sauce. Then call over the carving trolley for several slices of perfectly rare meat from the large roast sirloin of beef”. Or take your pick of the caviar, lobster or twice baked Stilton souflé and “it’s a case of lunchtime heaven”.
7. Chez Lindsay
French restaurant in Richmond
11 Hill Rise - TW10
This “excellent, family-friendly creperie” “overlooking the river” built a solid local following for its Breton cuisine under Lindsay Wotton, who sold up last year to retire after 35 years. Thus far, the new owners have maintained standards and changed little, with “good-value lunch specials, especially strong on the fish dishes” still getting the nod.
8. Rick Stein
Fish & seafood restaurant in Richmond upon Thames
Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High St - SW14
A “brilliant location on the Thames” near Barnes Bridge can’t mask the reality that this venue from the high-profile TV chef “doesn’t live up to his reputation”. Some reporters do hail it as a “go-to” for “imaginative” fish cooking, but for far too many diners it’s “living on the Stein name” with “overpriced” food that “lacks edge” and whose “relatively high score for ambience only truly applies if you get one of the tables by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river (fabulous on a nice day)”. In summer 2024, it was announced that the family are seeking a central London site for the brand – to cut the mustard in the West End it will need to be a step up from this one.
9. Big Easy
American restaurant in Chelsea
332-334 King’s Road - SW3
Giant nachos, a bucket of beer and a platter of jumbo shrimp – if that sounds, good head off to these “large and vibrant” US-style ‘Bar.B.Q & Crabshacks’, which have multiplied in recent years from their age-old Chelsea home to colonise Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford. They are the kind of places you can make a reservation for 20 and they won’t blink. Top Menu Tip – “great lunch and weekend deals”: e.g. “lobster, salad and chips with a glass of Prosecco for £15 in WC2 – what more could you ask for!”
10. Wright Brothers
Fish & seafood restaurant in Wandsworth
26 Circus Road West - SW8
“A very good fish selection with great daily offerings” and “excellent seafood” win very many nominations for these ever-popular fish-and-seafood bistros in Borough Market, Battersea Power Station and South Kensington. All offer a “pleasant experience”, with an appealing “casual” ambience, “friendly” staff and very “reliable” standards. In particular, SW8 has a “terrific location – right by the Power Station and the boat landing! – Step off and step straight inside!”
11. Wild Tavern
Italian restaurant in Kensington and Chelsea
2 Elystan Street - SW3
With its alpine-themed interior, this Italian-ish Chelsea haunt from the team behind Goodman and Burger & Lobster opened to rave reviews just before lockdown. This year, though, its offering – combining a raw bar, with prime cuts of steak or fish from the grill and a selection of pasta – received little but opprobrium in our diners’ poll for “ridiculously overpriced and average meals” (“you don’t have a value-for-money category. If you did, this would score 0/10!”).
12. Wright Brothers
Fish & seafood restaurant in South Kensington
56 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
“A very good fish selection with great daily offerings” and “excellent seafood” win very many nominations for these ever-popular fish-and-seafood bistros in Borough Market, Battersea Power Station and South Kensington. All offer a “pleasant experience”, with an appealing “casual” ambience, “friendly” staff and very “reliable” standards. In particular, SW8 has a “terrific location – right by the Power Station and the boat landing! – Step off and step straight inside!”
13. Bibendum Oyster Bar
Fish & seafood restaurant in Chelsea
Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road - SW3
Claude Bosi’s “casual chic” alternative to his flagship upstairs occupies the foyer of the iconic Michelin Building on Brompton Cross and also aims to provide “superb food and the very best service”, but in a more dressed-down manner to the mothership upstairs. Under Claude, the offering has expanded considerably from the old days when it only provided cold oysters, crab and other ‘fruits de mer’ – there’s now an extensive menu incorporating hot fish mains and they’ll even grill you a steak. Top Tip – “it’s particularly enjoyable amongst the lush floral display in the front courtyard in warmer weather”.
14. The Sea, The Sea
Fish & seafood restaurant in Kensington and Chelsea
174 Pavilion Road - SW3
“Lots of the fish is aged in-house and the flavours are second to none” at this chic fishmongers and seafood bar in a bougie backstreet off Sloane Street; and “sitting at the counter being served by the chef feels special”. Sadly, though, its dazzlingly brilliant Haggerston sibling closed in March, leaving this Chelsea branch, which is primarily an amenity for the local ladies-who-lunch rather than a major magnet for serious foodies (as was the case in the East End, where the ambition was off the charts).
15. Seafresh
Fish & chips restaurant in Pimlico
80-81 Wilton Rd - SW1
“Where every visitor to this country might usefully try our traditional national dish” – this 60-year-old Pimlico veteran a short stroll from Victoria station serves “excellent fish, good chips and mushy peas”, and service is “pleasant” too. Not compulsory, but you can stray beyond cod ’n’ chips if you want to: be it with fritto misto, lobster thermidor, sea bass cooked on the bone…
16. Olivomare
Fish & seafood restaurant in Belgravia
10 Lower Belgrave Street - SW1
“Superb” cooking from a “precise seafood menu” means Mauro Sanno’s “busy” Sardinian spot is, to its many fans, “just perfect” – “you can go for business and pleasure”. “My favourite affordable Italian restaurant” may be the claim of a regular used to Belgravia prices, but “the house wine can’t be faulted at £25 a bottle”. “People criticise the decor, the table spacing and noise levels but I like the vibe, and it’s always busy!”
17. Burger & Lobster, Harvey Nichols
Burgers, etc restaurant in Knightsbridge
109-125 Knightsbridge - SW1
A “great concept, expertly delivered” – the two headline dishes are served up in posh, comfortable diner style at this nine-strong London group (with another dozen branches around the world). As a gimmick it doesn’t generate the buzz it once did, but both of the main dishes receive a good rep in feedback, in particular the “excellent and good-sized lobster” (and “for lobster it’s not that expensive”).
18. Portobello Ristorante Pizzeria
Italian restaurant in Notting Hill
7 Ladbroke Road - W11
“Very good pizzas” are the pick of the broad Italian menu (also with seafood on display) at this Notting Hill Gate fixture, where the best seats in summer are on the large outside terrace. With a “great family atmosphere”, it’s “very much a local restaurant, and all the better for that!”.
19. Burger & Lobster Mayfair
Burgers, etc restaurant in Mayfair
29 Clarges Street - W1
A “great concept, expertly delivered” – the two headline dishes are served up in posh, comfortable diner style at this nine-strong London group (with another dozen branches around the world). As a gimmick it doesn’t generate the buzz it once did, but both of the main dishes receive a good rep in feedback, in particular the “excellent and good-sized lobster” (and “for lobster it’s not that expensive”).
20. Mandarin Kitchen
Chinese restaurant in Bayswater
14-16 Queensway - W2
“Just love this authentic busy Chinese!” – Since 1978, this “bustling” linchpin of Queensway has won a huge following and is a “favourite Chinese” for many Londoners. Despite its grungy, ’70s-tastic interior and brusque service, it’s actually known for high-quality seafood: in particular, lobster and noodles with ginger. That said, its ratings were more middling this year, on the back of some who say “the positivity this resto attracts continues to puzzle me”; or who find dishes “solid but uninspiring”. Top Menu Tip – “We always eat exactly the same things: salt and pepper asparagus, lobster with ginger and spring onions, Peking duck, chicken with dry chilli and ginger… because they’re so damned delicious; and fantastic value!”
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