Fish & Seafood Restaurants in Banstead
1. Bentley’s
Fish & seafood restaurant in Piccadilly
11-15 Swallow St - W1
“Owner Richard Corrigan is often around and the food is always good” at this “iconic” fish and seafood “classic” – 107 years old (est. 1916) – which is to be found in a side street, near Piccadilly Circus. It offers two distinct experiences: “upstairs for very elegant fine dining, or in the bar downstairs for top-notch seafood with less formality – both excellent” (although the latter gets many people’s vote, as “there is always a good buzz in the bar area with a few famous faces sometimes”). “Possibly the best oysters in town (and the best shuckers too)” number alongside “top crab” and “the notably good fish pie” as its best menu options, all in a “reassuringly good-but-expensive” mould (“comfort seafood at West End prices”). Service that’s “very attentive and kind” from long-serving staff is intrinsic to the performance.
2. The Melusine
Fish & seafood restaurant in St. Katharine Dock
Unit K, Ivory House, St. Katharine Dock - E1W
“Consistently delicious seafood” and a “lovely location” by St Katharine Dock have put this three-year-old securely on the map. The interesting wine list is strong on “Greek offerings” – thanks no doubt to co-founder Theodore Kyriakou, a veteran of Livebait and The Real Greek in the ’90s. Top Tip – “go on Wednesdays for the half-price wine”.
3. Bellamy’s
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
18-18a Bruton Place - W1
“A haven of calm in an ever-changing world”: “they cater for the most conservative of palates (and the deepest pockets)” at Gavin Rankin’s “old-school, brasserie-style restaurant in Mayfair” (which had the rare privilege of hosting the late Queen Elizabeth on a couple of occasions). Its Anglo-French fare is “super reliable, if not exciting” and service “immaculate”. “If you like the kind of place where you still need to dress up a bit, this is it”, but “the ambience is set by its older, quietly-spoken crowd: don’t visit if you are planning a loud-laughing night!”. Top Menu Tip – “good value lunch menu; and staples such as iced lobster soufflé, smoked eel mousse and steak tartare”.
4. Ormer Mayfair by Sofian, Flemings Mayfair Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
7-12 Half Moon Street - W1
Although this luxurious Mayfair hotel dates from the 1850s, its swish basement dining room owes its looks to the 1930s. Under chef Sofian Msetfi, the “fabulous” cuisine (choose either a 5 or 7-course ‘tasting’ option) continues to achieve high ratings with a recently awarded Michelin star and even the weakest report this year awarded “full marks for presentation and service”. “A friend of mine who swears not to visit hotel dining rooms granted it high praise after our dinner there!”
5. London Shell Co.
Fish & seafood restaurant in Paddington
The Prince Regent, Sheldon Square - W2
“Stunningly fresh fish, brilliant service and a jolly super wine list” ensure that a dining cruise along the Grand Union canal aboard the barge Prince Regent is “a fabulous part of the London restaurant scene” – while “tucking into a lobster roll with a beer on the Grand Duchess, permanently docked in Paddington basin, is just as good”. The company’s third venue – its first on dry land – is a combined fishmonger and seafood bar in Swains Lane, near Parliament Hill Fields in Highgate, where late-afternoon oyster-and-wine deals are a special draw.
6. Wiltons
British, Traditional restaurant in St James's
55 Jermyn St - SW1
“A last redoubt of traditional gastronomy” – London’s oldest restaurant in St James’s (est. 1742, but on this site since the 1980s) maintains its “quiet” and “calm” style, with “understated but excellent service” and “booths that make a superb place to do business”. Classic fish dishes – for example “very good Dover sole off the bone” – are the speciality and “ever-reliable”. A less welcome constant are its “eye-watering prices”: “everything was as I hoped it would be… apart from the bill!”
7. London Shell Co. (The Grand Duchess)
Fish & seafood restaurant in Westminster
Sheldon Square - W2
A permanently-moored big sister boat for the London Shell Co's moving vessel, with room for 40 covers plus some al fresco tables in summer and a private Captain's Table (expect lots of fishy / nautical jokes - their strapline is "have your hake and eat it") and a focus on British cooking, especially Cornish fish and seafood.
8. fish! Kitchen
Fish & chips restaurant in Kingston upon Thames
56-58 Coombe Road - KT2
2021 Review: An “incredible selection of fresh fish” from its in-house fishmonger, Jarvis, next door is the draw to this offshoot of a Borough Market stalwart of two decades standing. “Everything can be grilled for you to order” – and there are “very good specials”.
9. Sea Garden & Grill
Fish & seafood restaurant in Wandsworth
99-101 Broadway Market, 29 Tooting High Street - SW17
2021 Review: Helping make Tooting’s Broadway Market a foodie destination, this “very affordable” three-year-old seafood specialist wins praise for its “fabulous food, great service and big smiles”. The “really inventive” approach extends to drinks, which include an “amazing gin cocktail” flavoured with oysters. Antiques trade veteran Jimmy Luttman is an “excellent” host.
10. Chez Lindsay
French restaurant in Richmond
11 Hill Rise - TW10
This “friendly family bistro serving classic” Breton galettes, seafood and cider has been a fixture near Richmond Bridge for 35 years, and is for many local reporters “a go-to restaurant for lunch or dinner” – whether at one of the “far tables which overlook the Thames” or in the “private room upstairs, ideal for parties”. In early 2023 founder Lindsay Wotton put the business up for sale so she could retire.
11. Rick Stein
Fish & seafood restaurant in Richmond upon Thames
Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High St - SW14
A “lovely location on the river” with “vistas over the Thames” is an uncontested attraction of the London outpost of the famous TV chef, near Barnes Bridge. It’s not a huge advertisement for choosing a place according to the celebrity name over the door, as results are “hit and miss” to the extent that many diners view it as “consistently disappointing”, “especially given the elevated prices”.
12. Le Querce
Italian restaurant in Brockley
66-68 Brockley Rise - SE23
Diminishing feedback in recent years makes it hard to recommend this “noisy and fun”, family-run Sardinian on Brockley Rise quite as resoundingly as we used to. Fans, though, still say it’s “a super, local Italian trattoria, with a great menu: especially the quirky ice cream and sorbet flavours”.
13. Big Easy
American restaurant in Chelsea
332-334 King’s Road - SW3
“BBQ, live music, decent cocktails and craft beer” channel the spirit of the American South at this “buzzy”, long-running spot in Chelsea and its more recent spin-offs in Covent Garden and Canary Wharf. The food is “more about quantity than quality”, although the “great-value lunch deals” are popular: “£10 meat taster is unbeatable”.
14. Wright Brothers
Fish & seafood restaurant in Wandsworth
26 Circus Road West - SW8
“Crowded… slightly crazy-busy… top oysters supported by a changing menu of fish and crustacea” – that’s the package at this trio of “busy” bistros in Borough Market, Battersea Power Station and South Kensington. “You come here for the seafood, not to be fawned over. The decor’s a little rough and ready but the food’s so fresh and delicious”.
15. Wild Tavern
Italian restaurant in Kensington and Chelsea
2 Elystan Street - SW3
This Chelsea four-year-old (by Chelsea Green) with an Alpine-themed interior is from a duo involved in Beast and Burger & Lobster; and offers a raw bar along with prime cuts of steak and fish from the grill, sold per 100g – all of which attracts little commentary from reporters beyond the consistent complaint that it’s “way over-priced”. In September 2023, a new offshoot – Wild Notting Hill – will open on the site that was formerly 202 (RIP).
16. Wright Brothers
Fish & seafood restaurant in South Kensington
56 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
“Crowded… slightly crazy-busy… top oysters supported by a changing menu of fish and crustacea” – that’s the package at this trio of “busy” bistros in Borough Market, Battersea Power Station and South Kensington. “You come here for the seafood, not to be fawned over. The decor’s a little rough and ready but the food’s so fresh and delicious”.
17. Bibendum Oyster Bar
Fish & seafood restaurant in Chelsea
Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road - SW3
The “plateau de fruits de mer takes some beating” at Claude Bosi’s oyster bar, downstairs from his grand – and rather more expensive – flagship restaurant, in the foyer of Chelsea’s iconic Michelin building. (Some hot alternatives to the cold luxurious seafood bites were introduced a couple of years ago.)
18. The Sea, The Sea
Fish & seafood restaurant in Kensington and Chelsea
174 Pavilion Road - SW3
“Incredible seafood in the most unique of settings” inspires outstanding feedback on chef Leandro Carreira and restaurateur Alex Hunter’s “amazing and inventive” 14-seater chef’s table experience under Haggerston railway arches, where the moodily-lit counter looks onto the gleaming open kitchen. A 12-course tasting menu involving every type of sustainable sea creature is presented at £150 per person. (Very good all-round ratings too for the original branch – a simpler and cheaper seafood bar in the bouji backstreets, off Sloane Street).
19. San Pietro
Italian restaurant in Kensington
7 Stratford Road - W8
“A wonderful display of fresh fish on ice” (“including the biggest scallops with the coral attached”) greets diners arriving at this “unique Italian” in a quiet corner of Kensington, whose “cooking is precise with a light touch”.
20. Olivomare
Fish & seafood restaurant in Belgravia
10 Lower Belgrave Street - SW1
“Reliable Sardinian shellfish and pasta” win consistent high marks for this seafood specialist in Mauro Sanno’s smart Belgravia group, which has been feeding well-heeled locals for 15 years. The pavement seating in the summer is a better bet than the sleek but stark modern interior.
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