Three chippies compete for top seafood restaurant title

Three fish and chip shops are in the final of the 2019 Seafood Restaurant of the Year competition.

Fish City in Belfast, Rockfish in Brixham, Devon, and The Cod's Scallops in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, are all in the running for the accolade alongside nine other restaurants, pubs and cafes from across the country.

Sponsored by Seafish, the competition sets out to find and celebrate restaurants demonstrating excellence in the cooking and serving of fish and shellfish, as well as evidence of good fish and shellfish knowledge among staff.

Over the next few weeks the shortlisted restaurants will be visited by a mystery diner, who will appraise the level of customer service provided as well as assessing the quality of dishes offered on menus. Scores from this judging round will then be combined with the initial assessments to determine a final top five shortlist which will be announced at the end of September, before the overall winner is crowned in October.

Andy Gray, trade marketing manager at Seafish, said: “We’re lucky to have a fantastic variety of seafood available to enjoy in the UK with over 100 delicious species to try. The Seafood Restaurant of the Year Competition showcases the restaurants, pubs and cafés that excel in serving up top quality fish and shellfish and we’re really pleased to announce the 12 finalists. This year’s shortlist features a great selection of innovative businesses, all of which provide stellar seafood dining experiences and deserve to be recognised for their excellent work.”

The 12 finalists are:

Coast in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire

Estbek House in Whitby, North Yorkshire

Fish City in Belfast

Hook in Broadway, Worcestershire

Lumiere in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Prawn On The Lawn in Padstow, Cornwall

Rockfish in Brixham, Devon

The Captain's Galley in Scrabster, Caithness

The Cod's Scallops in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

The Seahorse in Dartmouth, Devon

The Star Inn The Harbour in Whitby, North Yorkshire

Wright Bros, London