Chelsea, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

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!”).

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.

“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!”).