Aldo Zilli

Wright Brothers

Ben Wright and his brother-in-law Robin Hancock are on a mission to make oysters as popular in London as they are in France. Their original wholesale oyster company, supplying London's top chefs, has developed into Wright Brothers Oyster and Porter House in Borough market. It's a no-nonsense, unpretentious restaurant where you can guzzle many types of freshly-shucked oysters from France, the waters around the UK, and soon from their own oyster beds in Cornwall. You sit at a high tables or the 28-seater counter and choose from the blackboard menu which includes other simple fish dishes. The atmosphere is pure theatre with the open kitchen, corks popping and the click of oysters being expertly opened. Wright (a former corporate lawyer) and Hancock (a music producer) despair at the English habit of drowning oysters in vinegar or Tabasco, especially with delicate flavours of the Pousse en Claire, though they admit that the meaty Colchester can hold its own. "In Paris, you're lucky if you get a lemon" they say. But single-handedly, they are making oysters an everyday experience - and great fun. 11 Stoney Street, Borough Market, London SE1, 020 7403 9554 www.wrightbros.eu.com

 

Sweetings

Defiantly traditional in the face of busy City life, Sweetings is a unique London landmark that has been operating on this site since 1889. It is open only for weekday lunch, from 11.30 am - 3pm. There are no table reservations and it's first come, first served. You may get a seat at one of the counters in the central area, or at the long table in the back room, and while you're waiting, and trying to attract the manager's eye, order a silver tankard of black velvet (Guinness and Champagne). The menu is deliciously old-fashioned and almost entirely fishy: oysters, roll mop herrings, Dover sole, poached turbot, smoked eel, dressed crab and fish cakes. Dickensian desserts like steamed syrup pudding and baked jam roll, as well as traditional savouries so rare on today's menus: buck rarebit, roes on toast. Sweetings should be saved for the nation. 39 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4, 020 7248 3062

 

The Lobster Pot

Who would expect to find a world-class fish restaurant on a busy road junction in Elephant and Castle? The Lobster Pot is now 15 years old and as quirky as ever. Owners Hervé and Nathalie Régent have created a whacky piscine paradise, complete with portholes, fishing nets, marine frescoes, seashells on the stairs and a soundtrack of seabird cries. The menu features bouillabaisse, moules, lobster, grilled fish of every sort and a short list for carnivores. Unusual ciders and cider-based dessert wines on the wine list pay homage to the chef's Breton ancestry. Business-orientated at lunch, and popular with MPs for some strange reason, but crazy and boisterous for dinner especially when there is musical cabaret, opera nights or gourmet evenings. 55 Kennington Lane, London SE11, 020 7582 5556

 

Geales

Notting Hill has been sanitised with the arrival of rich investment bankers so it's good to see a bit of true bohemia returning with the revival of Geales, the ancient fish and chip shop which started up in 1939. New owners Mark Fuller and chef Garry Hollihead, who have a colourful business partnership that includes rock concerts, Michelin stars, celebrity nightclubs and the glossy Embassy restaurant in Mayfair, have made a terrific success of the place and it has been packed since opening in May. There are the FTSE 100 toffs in striped shirts and slicked-back hair, loads of luvvies (cue Tom Stoppard, Emma Freud, Richard Curtis) and two snug floors of tables with happy diners tucking into prawn cocktail, soft shell crab, scallops with delicious orange sauce, fish cakes and fish pie, lobster, oysters and crab from Devon and Cornwall, and of course superb fried fish in crispy beer batter. There are fat chips, pickled red cabbage, mushy peas, tartar sauce and curried coleslaw plus a poncey modern mixed leaf and herb salad. Chose trifle or jam roly poly for the full proletarian experience, or handmade ice-cream and chocolate tart. One of the best new restaurants in London for years. 2 Farmer Street, London W8, 020 7727 7528

 

Zilli Fish

When a chef becomes a TV star, he's accused of selling out and his restaurant(s) can suffer. But Aldo Zilli (see photograph above) avoided that trap and has broadened his career into acting, writing and presenting while keeping his two Soho businesses alive and well. Zilli Fish, 10 years ago this month, is as busy today as it was then. It occupies a bright modern corner site with huge plate glass windows, simple but elegant furniture in warm café au lait colours, wooden floors and a polished ceiling that raises the noise to deafening levels. Aldo has installed a new head chef, Franco Martinez, and the food is delicious - modern Italian fish dishes brought cleverly up to date with a touch of the East. There's a carpaccio of sea bass served with salmon sashimi, fennel and watercress; cured tuna with grapefruit and pomegranate; lobster ravioli; and angel hair pasta with seabass and olives. Oysters are presented with a choice of dressings including frozen margarita, there are skewers of scallops and rosemary with orange and cinnamon sauce and there's a dramatic dish of Pacific king prawns with mango, chilli, garlic and coriander. You can buy Aldo's cookery books, join up for his cookery courses (every Saturday at Zilli Fish and at his cookery school in Italy), and buy extra virgin olive oil from his home region of Abruzzo. He's a man who definitely hasn't let TV fame impair his love of cooking. 36-40 Brewer Street, London W1, 020 7734 8649 www.zillialdo.com

 

Tom's Place

Tom Aikens opens an upmarket fish-and-chip shop in September, his third London restaurant and once again in the chic part of Chelsea he has made his own. It will be both eat-in and take-away (wrapped in the Telegraph or FT no doubt). Aikens aims to serve fish from sustainable sources so no cod or halibut but interesting newcomers like gurnard, ling, pollock and megrim sole. There will be dishes like bouillabaisse, mussels, lobster and line-caught sea bass, and big chips cooked in beef dripping. It's on two floors with seating for 50. Open every day from 11am - 11pm. One Cale Street, Chelsea, London SW3. No phone number yet but keep your eyes peeled.

 

Molloy's

Patrick Molloy, the affable Irishman who was previously head chef and then restaurant manager at Sweetings (see above) has opened his own restaurant in the City. It's not strictly a fish restaurant but given his time with Sweetings, he deserves a place here. There's a bar on the ground floor, an uncluttered, airy dining room upstairs, and a jazz club is planned for the basement. It's already busy despite being very new. Patrick Molloy proves that customers like nice guys out front more than prima donnas in the kitchen. 48 Gresham Street, London EC2, 020 7600 4799

 

Put down those steak knives and get fishy this summer. It's delicious, healthy, and chefs love cooking it. Remember, in a restaurant YOU never have to do the washing up.

Must try...

We've cracked the excruciating pricing policy at The River Café, favourite of the media and arty crowd. Ignore hugely expensive "secondi" courses and order from starter and "primi" sections. Hand-made pasta with fresh lobster is a snip at £14. Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6, 020 736 4200

The first Friday of each month is Late at Tate, a brilliant wheeze when the gallery stays open until 10pm (with extra events and exhibitions), and you can have a slap-up meal at the Rex Whistler restaurant. The next is on 6th July and there's a five-course menu with paired wines chosen by super-sommelier, Hamish Anderson. This time his choices include Côte de Beaune, the Rhône, Argentina, Madeira and Spain. Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1. For restaurant reservations, call 020 7887 8825 tate.restauraurant
@tate.org.uk

Vivat Bacchus, the restaurant and bar that's the City's unofficial South African embassy, continues wine club fever during July with eight different events including a party on Saturday 21st with food, music and fun. 47 Farringdon Street, London EC4, 020 7353 2648 www.vivatbacchus.co.uk

Learning about wine is easy with Tom Harrow's company A Moveable Feast where fine wine is paired with delicious food in a friendly atmosphere. The programme for July culminates in an impressive Tuscan dinner in Notting Hill with hearty regional dishes and fine wines from Chianti, Montalcino and the Maremma (including Mastrojanni's 1998 Brunello Riserva, and a newly-released Super Tuscan from the joint venture between Castellare and Domaines de Rothschild). £100 per head, max. 12 people. Starts 7pm. 25th July. Email tom@amfwine.com or call 07870 384 490 to reserve your places.