Meriden, 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.

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!

First-time guests are “massively surprised” to find “really inventive and tasty cooking” – especially “seafood with a twist” – at this family-run Crouch End local. It’s a “lovely, romantic spot”, too – although “it can feel cramped and noisy when busy”.

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”.

This modern fish ’n’ chip shop in Dartmouth Park is “a nice, healthy (and non-smelly) alternative” to the classic old-school chippy, with “good-quality” fresh fish.

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!”.

“Just love this authentic busy Chinese!” – Since 1978, this “bustling” linchpin of Queensway has won a huge following and is a “favourite Chinese” for many Londoners. Despite its grungy, ’70s-tastic interior and brusque service, it’s actually known for high-quality seafood: in particular, lobster and noodles with ginger. That said, its ratings were more middling this year, on the back of some who say “the positivity this resto attracts continues to puzzle me”; or who find dishes “solid but uninspiring”. Top Menu Tip – “We always eat exactly the same things: salt and pepper asparagus, lobster with ginger and spring onions, Peking duck, chicken with dry chilli and ginger… because they’re so damned delicious; and fantastic value!”

“You know that you’ll get a decent meal” at these “unpretentious” ‘Fishmongers & Restaurants’ in Covent Garden, Marylebone and off Piccadilly, where you can buy retail from the wet counter or proceed to eat in at the adjoining dining room. “A wide variety of fish and seafood can be cooked to your specification” and “it’s the perfect place for some nice, simple cooking”. Any drawbacks? The food is “good but rather unimaginative”; “ambience is a little lacking; and the service level is not as good as could be”.

“The food is always good” at the Marylebone flagship of the Royal China group, while the “well-spaced tables, attractive presentation and attentive service” contribute to a somewhat more stately atmosphere than at other branches. It is, though, “pricey”: “it feels like the same food as Royal China but costing 30% more”.

“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”.

“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.

Fish is shipped directly from Italy to fill the plates of Andrea Reitano’s upscale Marylebone six-year-old, north of Portman Square. The odd gripe that it’s “extremely expensive” recurs this year, but no report rates it as anything less than “very good all-round”.