Brighton, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

One of England’s oldest restaurants: the Leigh-Jones family’s seafood period-piece, in the Lanes – run by the clan since 1945, but established in the 1890s – has a “huge number of things to recommend”, not least its “lovely fresh local oysters and mussels” and an outside terrace for sunny days.

“Overall just a fantastic experience” – a Lanes oyster bar, with a spinoff on the promenade (“both are very popular”), which wins numerous raves for “the most amazing seafood”, combined with “brilliant” service and a pleasingly “informal” set-up (communal tables) whereby “you might easily find yourself sharing a tall table with strangers”.

“Just off the front in a charming maze of streets in Hove”, Duncan Ray’s small 20-seater is “a cute spot with no fine dining trappings to make you feel awkward”. He is at the stoves alone, creating an ever-changing five-course menu of sustainable seafood: “just gorgeous fish cookery from raw to grilled – not hugely fancy, just brilliantly conceived and executed”.

“Fabulous, reasonably priced seafood” is the focus at this smart corner gastroboozer with stripped wooden floors. A “great range of beers” (some brewed on-site) complements “always innovative shellfish dishes and specials”.

With its “basic, unpretentious interior and bustle”, this “traditional chippie in a seafront setting” serves “still probably the best fish ’n’ chips in town” of the conventional, un-gastro variety. Both hot and cold seafood come on “exceptionally large platters”, and “it’s the perfect place for a Sunday lunch on a stormy day looking out over the Channel”.