Rickmansworth, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “Great fish ’n’ chips” are the hallmark of the Andreou family's fixture (also with a Bushey Heath offshoot) which marked its thirtieth birthday with an expansion not too long ago. Nowadays, they do gluten-free Mondays too.

“The fish is always fresh and the staff are friendly” at this “good local fish ’n’ chip place” that has been a fixture in Finchley for three decades. “Best fish and chips in London?” – probably not, but just what you want in your neighbourhood.

This family-run chippy in Finchley Central is known for its “reliable food” and is “very busy at weekends”. Founded in 1998, its menu features Turkish small plates alongside a choice of fish delivered fresh from Grimsby.

Simon & Jacinta Bradley’s “reliable neighbourhood restaurant” near Swiss Cottage station is one of the capital’s stalwart local champions, offering an unfailing combination of “well-presented dishes, friendly service and well chosen wines” for 32 years and counting. “Rarely busy at lunchtime”, it’s also a “very useful pre-theatre restaurant” for those heading to the Hampstead Theatre around the corner. Ratings, though, remain capped by those who view it as “a venue that’s convenient but dull”.

A photo of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s visit is “proudly displayed on the wall” of this Muswell Hill institution, and fans say “the best player ever to pick up a snooker cue is bang-on with his choice of North London fish restaurant!”, acclaiming “fish ’n chips that goes down a treat”, and has done for more than half a century. It was sold by its family owners in March 2024 to a national group with plans to spin it out as a brand – fingers crossed its appeal survives!

This “excellent, family-friendly creperie” “overlooking the river” built a solid local following for its Breton cuisine under Lindsay Wotton, who sold up last year to retire after 35 years. Thus far, the new owners have maintained standards and changed little, with “good-value lunch specials, especially strong on the fish dishes” still getting the nod.

Tom Conran’s lively Bayswater favourite celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and remains “a wonderful spot for a long lunch, starting with Guinness and oysters”. There has been no need to update the Irish pub theme, which is as fashionable as ever (as witnessed in the recent launch of The Devonshire off Piccadilly Circus). The artless cooking is “foodie” but straightforward, with seafood (oysters, whelks, cockles, crab or a pint-of-prawns) the top pick. Top Tip – tiny, cute first-floor dining room, with a separate menu.

“Watch the barges and ducks slip by as you eat a decent dinner” at this “lovely location on the canal” in Little Venice. It’s a “romantic choice” without doubt, especially in the summer, and a reasonably gourmet one too, praised in particular for its “well-prepared fish”.

2021 Review: Mussels, prawns, calamari and other seafood by the, er, bucket-load is the promise at this “lovely local” yearling on the Bayswater/Notting Hill border – a “comfortable” modern bistro with simple-but-effective decor, serving “a wide selection of very fresh fish and seafood” (in small metal pails) that’s “very good value”. Top Tip – oyster happy hour 4pm-7pm weekdays and 4pm-6pm on weekends, when oysters are £1 each with any bottle, jug, cocktail or bucket of beers.

“Very good pizzas” are the pick of the broad Italian menu (also with seafood on display) at this Notting Hill Gate fixture, where the best seats in summer are on the large outside terrace. With a “great family atmosphere”, it’s “very much a local restaurant, and all the better for that!”.

A “brilliant location on the Thames” near Barnes Bridge can’t mask the reality that this venue from the high-profile TV chef “doesn’t live up to his reputation”. Some reporters do hail it as a “go-to” for “imaginative” fish cooking, but for far too many diners it’s “living on the Stein name” with “overpriced” food that “lacks edge” and whose “relatively high score for ambience only truly applies if you get one of the tables by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river (fabulous on a nice day)”. In summer 2024, it was announced that the family are seeking a central London site for the brand – to cut the mustard in the West End it will need to be a step up from this one.

“A long-missing top-class option in Richmond” – one can quibble about whether or not Richard Caring’s yearling fully lives up to its long-established Mayfair sibling, but no-one denies its “very special setting” with “elegant decor and beautiful riverside location;” and as it entered its second year of operation, it put in a much more rounded all-round performance in general. OK, service in particular can still dip, and on occasion results are “ordinary”, but its ratings improved palpably this year and acclaim for fish and seafood that’s “simply presented but perfectly cooked” was much closer to the level one might hope for. The overall verdict – a little “overpriced”, “but as a treat, it’s worth it”.

“What a great restaurant to land in Hammersmith!” – this seafood newcomer has immediately won a big local fanclub. “Worth seeking out, even though it’s in an odd spot just off the Broadway roundabout”, it has a “smart” and surprisingly “glamorous” dining room and provides “excellent-quality fish and seafood”. “Dishes are well-priced and everything is prepared to a good standard”. It’s from the team behind The Victoria seafood pub in Mile End, and they hope it’s the first of a small chain across London.

“Very good seafood and the unusual setting of travelling along the canal as the swans glide by” is a winning formula, which has helped siblings Leah & Harry Lobek grow this business from a narrow boat (‘The Prince Regent’) on the Grand Union Canal to include a permanently docked barge in Paddington basin (‘The Grand Duchess’) and – since last year – a “local restaurant in lovely Swains Lane just by Hampstead Heath”, which is “also a very good fishmonger”. The odd meal includes “mixed results” – and seating on the boats can be “cramped” – but “prices are reasonable” and the best reports are of “delicious and simple roasted fish” and “amazing platters of cold dishes, from oysters to crab”. “Delightful staff” boost the vibe in all locations. Top Tip – in N6, there’s also a “huge choice of wines”.