Warlingham, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: 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”.

“Sit at the counter in crowded seafood heaven” for “fabulous oysters” (both raw and cooked) and “always the freshest fish”, say fans of the “buzzy” original branch at Borough Market, which elicits the bulk of the large volumes of enthusiastic feedback in our annual diners’ poll (the Battersea outlet seems “soulless” by comparison). Service can be “somewhat chaotic”, but is “friendly”, and although the interior is not in its first flush of youth the overall vibe is upbeat.

2023 Review: One of the bright sparks near Elephant & Castle – this attractive haunt (with cocktail bar) majors in breakfast and brunch options, but also offers a small, eclectic selection of impactful bites (the Bobo Burger, truffle pasta, Thai curry, steak, fish ’n’ chips…). We’ve rated it on limited feedback.

“Old established fish ’n’ chip restaurant” in the backstreets near Victoria station, whose long menu includes “a variety of great fish and seafood” (oysters, scallops, lobster, sea bream on the bone) alongside more obvious chippy classics. “Popular with regular locals”, the interior is fine but not why it’s survived since 1965.

These “huge American-style diners” win solid ratings for their rock’n’roll (and blues and country) delivery of a “meat-heavy menu”, washed down by bucket-loads of ice-cold beers or two-pint jugs of ‘slushy’ cocktails, designed for raucous partying. The “great-value surf ’n’ turf” and lunch deals go down well, too. The original Chelsea venue opened 35 years ago, and has been joined more recently by spinoffs in Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford.

2022 Review: Italian seafood and wine (available by the glass) is the simple but high-quality format of this November 2019 opening – a bar, restaurant and shop next door to the area’s long-established ‘Pizarro’. Ex-Four Seasons chef Moreno Polverini presides over an offering ranging from a conventional if modernised Italian à la carte to a five-course ‘seafood feast’ for £85. It’s rated on limited early feedback, all of it positive.

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!”).

“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).

This “elegant-looking restaurant” on Wapping High Street “oozes class, its big, bright dining room opening to views of Tower Bridge”. The London offshoot of Essex institution Smith’s of Ongar, it provides “a wide choice of fish served simply, with an emphasis on freshness and quality”; plus a level of “service which is becoming increasingly hard to find in the post-pandemic and Brexit era”. A good number of best meals of the year are reported here from diners in our annual poll.

“The fish never disappoints” at this “true neighbourhood restaurant” from Mauro Sanna’s smart Sardinian group – although it is “a bit on the expensive side”, as might be expected from the Belgravia location. Top Tip – “book a table on the small elevated section at the back, where the acoustics are better: the late Dame Maggie Smith always sat there”.

“Gorgeous food from a great chef” is served in the foyer of the iconic Michelin Building on Brompton Cross, which has expanded in recent years from the original oyster bar concept to become a more casual alternative to Claude’s flagship upstairs, Bibendum. As part of the change, hot food is now a staple alongside its longstanding focus of luxurious, cold fruits de mer (“I always go there meaning to try something different but always end up with the Dover sole… expensive but worth it!”).

“Fish cooked to perfection and some of the best chunky chips ever” (alongside brimming hot and cold seafood platters) have won a large and loyal fan club over the years for this “friendly” family-run stalwart, which has long been a “buzzy” (if “slightly cramped and noisy”) linchpin of the Borough Market area (having originally traded as a fishmonger). In February 2025, they celebrated 25 years with a redesign (with an extended seating area overlooking a bespoke live-fire grill) and relaunch under ex-Atherton group chef Frankie van Loo, with a Himalayan pink salt chamber for dry-aging fish; and a new menu incorporating British-style Bouillabaisse and Sunday fish roasts (Salmon en croute or a whole Turbot).

“Sit at the counter in crowded seafood heaven” for “fabulous oysters” (both raw and cooked) and “always the freshest fish”, say fans of the “buzzy” original branch at Borough Market, which elicits the bulk of the large volumes of enthusiastic feedback in our annual diners’ poll (the Battersea outlet seems “soulless” by comparison). Service can be “somewhat chaotic”, but is “friendly”, and although the interior is not in its first flush of youth the overall vibe is upbeat.

This glass-fronted fish and seafood specialist was the first restaurant to open in Borough Market 27 years ago, and remains a “solid if unexciting option” for its straightforward treatment of fresh ingredients. There’s a view that it “should be better” which may result from the high expectations of visitors to London’s foodie hub, but most reporters are well satisfied with their meal.