When it comes to seriously the best seafood restaurant in London, we’re spoilt for choice. From the City to Notting Hill and Covent Garden to Mayfair, we’ve got the best oyster bars, sushi rolls, prawn cocktails and grilled soles covered. From the capital’s well-known classics to some secret foodie gems, read on to discover the best Chinese, Indian, Greek, Mexican and British restaurants in London serving up the most talked-about fish dishes in town…

Fish & Bubbles, Notting Hill

Images: Lateef Photography

The first of its kind in London, Fish & Bubbles – a modern Italian seafood restaurant and aperitivo bar – recently opened on Notting Hill’s Kensington Park Road, with a concept by the brothers behind Stanley Tucci favourite, La Mia Mamma. The restaurant captures the essence of life on the Italian seaside, transporting you to the beachside tavernas of Sicily, Puglia, Sardinia and the Amalfi coast with fresh dishes. The ‘panino di mare‘ menu features traditional Italian rosetta buns stuffed with seafood fillings, such as the Polp Fiction – octopus in a rustic Apulian tomato and basil sauce, fried crisps, n’duja and mascarpone mayo – and the Sicilian Spadino, with swordfish cutlet, marinated courgettes, pork neck, roasted pepper cream, ricotta and lemon mousse.

Elsewhere, dine on generous sharing boards such as the fritto misto al metro, featuring an impressive selection of fried seafood and fish on a metre-long wooden board, and a combination of Italian fish tapas, such as cod with smoked mozzarella in tempura batter, marinated anchovies and Italian takes on the poké bowl. Also don’t miss the £7 negronis and Aperol spritzes. Chin chin!

192 Kensington Park Road, W11 2ES, visit fishandbubbles.uk

Kima, Marylebone

Kima, a lively seafood restaurant from chefs and restaurateurs Andreas Labridis and Nikos Roussos opened in Marylebone last summer and soon became a hit with London’s fishy followers. Taking fin-to-gill cooking to a new level, Kima – meaning wave in Greek – features a stylish 30-cover space with an impressive fish counter, displaying the catch of the day, whole turbots, freshly-caught langoustines and hand-dived scallops before Chef Nikos takes diners through the different ways each fish or crustacean can be prepared – raw, cured or cooked – to create a memorable dining experience.

Dishes will change daily according to availability with sample starters including charred langoustines, aromatic ceviche and tartars, alongside elevated Greek staples such as soutzoukakia – grilled meatballs with an eel gremolata Athenian salad – and homemade fisherman’s pie made with octopus topped with fava puree au gratin. Kima’s ‘waste not, use all’ philosophy also means you can expect to see lesser-used parts on the menu, including grilled fish heads grilled, lightly fried tails served with aioli, and charred fish collars drizzled with fine Greek olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon. 

57 Paddington Street, W1U 4JA, visit kimarestaurant.com

Faber, Hammersmith

Faber is the latest sustainability-focused neighbourhood restaurant from co-founders Matt Ward and Anthony Pender, who grew the concept during lockdown while delivering shellfish, seafood, and cocktails on their bikes, before transforming The Victoria Mile End into an East London boozer big on fish. Food at Faber is overseen by executive chef Ollie Bass – previously of Quo Vadis and Sessions Arts Club – serving a daily market blackboard menu of British-caught seafood. Menus change regularly based on the fishmongers’ haul, but current seafood dishes include grilled Cornish cod cheek skewer with tartar sauce and butterflied Devon mackerel in parsley and anchovy, while vegetarian plates feature produce sourced from British coastal farms to create stuffed cabbage with leek and celeriac, and burrata with sea vegetable salad. 

Championing affordability and fresh fish for all, Faber also offers a £15 workers’ lunch special and house oysters at £2 a pop Monday-Thursday, 4pm-6pm, served with lemon, shallot vinegar and tabasco. Sustainability is also at the forefront of every aspect of the restaurant including energy supply and waste management, as well as discarding bottled water in favour of a filter system with a cover charge of 75p introduced for this water to fund the planting of more seaweed beds in Pembrokeshire.

Welbeck Mansions, 206-208 Hammersmith Road, W6 7DH, visit faberrestaurants.co.uk

Scott’s, Richmond and Mayfair

Scott's Richmond

Scott's Mayfair

A leading member of the Old Guard, and one of the capital’s longest-standing restaurants, Mayfair’s Scott’s still reigns supreme when it comes to the best fish and seafood in London. The perfect place to meet the parents, or butter up an important client, nowhere screams inherent elegance quite like Scott's. Famed for its oysters, choose Jersey Rocks if you’re feeling patriotic, or go the whole hake with the plateau de fruits de mer for two. It’s a quintessential taste of the sea. The sautéed monkfish cheeks and snails, served with bacon and Bordelaise sauce, should also get a look in, followed by Dover sole on the bone or a nostalgic lobster thermidor. Dust off that dinner jacket to really feel the part.

The second Scott's outpost followed in 2022 as the brand took over a huge riverside residence in Richmond. Helmed by head chef Tom Fraser – who worked in the Mayfair kitchen since 2008 – the menu takes cues from its sister, serving classics such as the signature fruits de mer, featuring oysters, dressed crab, Atlantic prawns, mussels, clams, ceviche and whelks, and the aforementioned lobster thermidor. Also don't miss Fraser's new dishes of blackened miso salmon, monkfish and tiger prawn masala and roasted shellfish for two.

Visit scotts-mayfair.com and scotts-richmond.com

Burger & Lobster, across London

Now a big fish among the capital’s best seafood restaurants, with outposts from the West End to the City and Knightsbridge to Soho, Burger & Lobster started off with just three signature dishes – burger, lobster or lobster brioche roll – but has since expanded its catchment to cover a number of crustaceous delicacies. The lobster cocktail roll is chilled to perfection in a retro Marie Rose sauce with cos lettuce, avocado and cucumber, or opt for the several iterations of the wild-caught Canadian lobster and shellfish linguine. We just wish that menu calorie counts weren’t mandatory.

Visit burgerandlobster.com

Sumi, Westbourne Grove

While the capital is awash with top, all-guns-blazing sushi restaurants (we love Roka, Zuma, Sushisamba and Nobu, if you want to be seen with your sashimi), Sumi offers a more authentic taste of Japan, served in a refined but low-key setting. ‘Less is more’ is the message here, so forget truffle foams and gratings of unicorn dust. We recommend a selection of nigiri – akami (lean red tuna), otoro (fatty unctuous tuna), ikura (salmon fish roe) and suzuki (sea bass) – to start while you peruse the extensive menu. The seafood gohan, which is a Japanese rice dish in which short-grain rice is cooked with the seafood and Japanese stock (dashi) and soy sauce, is our go to followed by the robata fish of the day in all its ponzu-y glory.

157 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RS, visit sushisumi.com

Hovarda, Soho

Known for its unique Aegean hospitality, there’s a lot more to Soho’s Hovarda than a really good taramasalata (although there is that, too). Scallop in shell with lemon oil, truffle, bone marrow is our standout cold mezze dish, while the hot plates lobster paccheri and stonebass fillet in yellow pepper sauce are also irresistible. Opt for the butterflied sea bass, weighing in at a whopping 1.2kg, and pair with truffle chips, Tenderstem broccoli and baby gem salad dressed in mint, dill and mustard.

36-40 Rupert Street, W1D 7ES, visit hovarda.london

Jamavar, Mayfair

This opulent restaurant in Mayfair is one of the best Indian restaurants in London, and nothing like your local curry house (which occupies an entirely different place in our hearts, and bellies). Having recently earned a Michelin star under culinary director Surender Mohan, the menu showcases his love of dishes from both the royal kitchens of northern India and the coastal cuisine of the southern states, exploring pan-Indian flavours and authentic cooking techniques to mouth-on-fire perfection. We love the bhatti ka octopus with black pepper, coriander seeds, Kashmiri red chilli, and southern corn salad, and Leela’s lobster neeruli, with southern spiced coconut milk, pearly onions and kale dosa. You also won’t want to miss the Malai stone bass tikka with green cardamom, avocado and mint chutney. There’s naan fishy about that.

8 Mount Street, W1K, visit jamavarrestaurants.com

MiMi Mei Fair, Mayfair

It’s not often that you walk into a restaurant and genuinely picture yourself living there. MiMi Mei Fair, however, promises to transport you to old-world China within an unassuming Georgian townhouse, which has been transformed into the ‘secret London residence of Empress MiMi’. The menu leans on traditional techniques to create contemporary Chinese dishes including wasabi prawns, crispy soft-shelled crab with chilli and garlic milk crumbs, and steamed Atlantic seabass. Also, don’t miss the chef special of live native lobster, served either steamed with homemade pickled chilli, braised with noodles, or wok-baked with garlic and honey. MiMi Mei Fair isn’t just one of the best Chinese restaurants in London, but a truly magical experience, perfect for a first date – or just a bit of roe-mance…

55 Curzon Street, W1J 8PG, visit mimimeifair.com

Mazi, Notting Hill

Jars of cod roe mousse, sea bass tartare and crispy calamari instantly transport you to summer holidays in Greece at this refined Hellenic haunt. Sit on the terrace and soak up the spring sunshine but be sure to bring a friend or two – the signature dishes won’t eat themselves. Don’t miss grilled octopus with fava purée, fennel and onion relish, the exquisite wild cod with mussels and Brussel sprouts fricassé, and tiger prawn risotto with lobster head bisque. Although it's been open in Notting Hill for more than 10 years, it remains one of the capital’s hidden foodie gems for innovative, tasty and refined Greek cuisine.

12 Hillgate Street, W8 7SR, visit mazi.co.uk

Los Mochis, Notting Hill

The more-ish Los Mochis is all about pan-Pacific pairings, combining Mexican spirit and bold flavours with Japanese elegance and techniques. Order the guacamole with either grilled shrimp or snow crab, followed by the crispy California tostaditos (crab, avocado, cucumber and spicy aioli in a sweet potato shell) or tuna poke (a fresh yellowfin tuna crudo with yuzu-shiso truffle, avocado, jalapeño, sesame and spring onion) for a taste combination to remember. Poached lobster, miso cod and grilled octopus all headline their very own tacos, dripping with a mixture of Japanese and Mexican condiments. For every meal you purchase, Los Mochis provides one for the homeless and less fortunate, plus all dishes are gluten-free, and none contain any tree nuts: the most woke taco of your life.

2-4 Farmer Street, W8 7SN, visit losmochis.co.uk

J Sheekey, Covent Garden

Caprice Holdings happens to be the lucky owner of not one, but two, of the capital’s best seafood restaurants: J Sheekey and Sexy Fish. We’ll come to the latter in a moment but first, head over to Covent Garden and be wowed by the central crustacean raw bar at J Sheekey as soon as you enter the red-fronted doors. Caviar, oysters, and ceviche are all top-notch (and top-dollar), while fillets of haddock, trout, cod and halibut are all cooked to perfection. Pair with lashings of champagne for the full experience.

28-31 St Martin’s Court, WC2N 4AL, visit j-sheekey.co.uk

Sexy Fish, Mayfair

Feeling prawny? Sexy Fish won’t disappoint. The menu here is Asian-inspired, so you can expect sushi and sashimi on tap. Caramelised black cod, scallop skewers, grilled sea bream or choose the Sexy Fruit de Mer platter featuring oyster sashimi, maki and tartare. Also renowned for its Martin Brudnizki Design Studio interiors and Damien Hirst, Frank Gehry and Michael Roberts artworks, it’s also home to a chic cocktail bar that makes for the most impressive of dates.

Berkeley Square House, W1J 6BR, visit sexyfish.com

Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, St James’s

The grand dame of Swallow Street for more than 100 years, iconic fish and seafood restaurant Bentley’s shucks more than 1,000 oyster shells a day. Rock, native, dressed rocks, hot rocks – it’s true oyster heaven (duh) – but the caviar and raw bar also draw the crowds. The English shellfish cocktail is a refined twist on the classic: a tantalising combination of lobster, crab, prawn and brown shrimp. While lobster bisque, crab and mussel soup and smoked salmon with potato blinis will all hit the spot when it comes to the first course. As for mains? Your Insta followers will never forgive you for not ordering the signature fish pie and sharing online.

11-15 Swallow Street, W1B 4DG, visit bentleys.org

Read more: The must-know London restaurant institutions