Mitch Tonks
The Crab Shack, Teignmouth
What I love most about this place in Devon is that it’s run by a fisherman. Rob Simmonds and his wife, Amanda, started with a tiny place selling the best crab sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. Now they’ve moved on to serving freshly caught and simply cooked whelks, crab, winkles, lobster and mussels at their little restaurant with a small terrace on the sandy beach in Teignmouth harbour. Everything is cooked simply — just how I like it — and the place is very personal, with a beautiful view. It’s great on a winter’s night or a summer’s day (mains from £10.50; crabshackonthebeach.co.uk).
Mitch Tonks is the founder of the Seahorse, in Dartmouth, and the Rockfishchain (www.mitchtonks.co.uk)
Mat Prowse
The Scallop Shell, Bath
It’s sometimes a struggle to find fresh fish in Bath, but the Scallop Shell has changed all that. It’s a fish-and-chip shop with hip decor and a small menu that changes daily and features simple dishes such as scallops and baby clams in garlic, olive oil and parsley, with Bertinet bread to dip in the juices. The fish is extraordinarily fresh — the owner, Garry Rosser, can name the fishermen who have brought in the catch. You might have a bit of a wait for a seat, but they’ll come and find you in the pub next door when a table is ready (mains from £9; thescallopshell.
co.uk).
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Mat Prowse is head chef at the Seahorse, in Dartmouth. To buy Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks’s Seahorse cookbook for £22.50, inc p&p, call 0845 271 2134 or visit thesundaytimes. co.uk/bookshop
Andrew Jones
The Company Shed, Essex
I’m from Essex, the home of culinary big hitters such as Colchester oysters and Maldon sea salt, so when I want to relax and eat great seafood, it’s always a trip back home. There’s only one place to go — the Company Shed, on Mersea Island. This family-run restaurant is a quirky little place. They don’t take bookings, and there’s always a queue, so you’ve got to show up early on Sundays, and you have to bring your own bread and butter. They sell booze, but you can also bring your own. I love how unpretentious it is, and the shellfish is always sea-fresh. There are two things you must eat: the plump, juicy oysters, which start at £1.20 each and come from the Blackwater estuary, which the Shed overlooks; the other is the seafood platter, overflowing with prawns, crab, smoked salmon and more. It costs just £16. On a sunny afternoon, you will find yourself in seafood heaven (plates from £1.70; thecompanyshed.co).
Andrew Jones is head chef at Chamberlain’s, London EC3 (chamberlainsoflondon.com)
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Derek Marshall
MacCallum’s Oyster Bar, Troon
Troon is a quaint seaside town on the west coast of Scotland, known for its golfing heritage. But I go there for the seafood. MacCallum’s is a simple dining room near the fish market, with a vaulted ceiling and walls covered in drawings of sailboats. It’s owned by the MacCallum brothers, who have worked in the industry for 30 years. It has magnificent views of the marina and the Firth of Clyde through floor-to-ceiling windows that make you feel as if you’re dining in a cabin at sea. The menu is bursting with fish that you can watch being landed from the boats in the harbour. The dishes taste even better if you eat them as you watch the crashing waves. I love the grilled lemon sole or rock oysters from Cumbrae — and don’t forget the homemade ice cream. It’s a delicious, nostalgic treat (mains from £12.95; maccallumsof
troon.co.uk).
Derek Marshall is the chef proprietor of Gamba, in Glasgow, which won Seafish’s seafood restaurant of the year 2015 award (gamba.co.uk)
Mark Sargeant
Griggs of Hythe, Kent
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Griggs is a fishing fleet and wholesaler that does a bit of food on the side. It’s right on Fisherman’s Landing Beach, in Hythe, where they prepare and sell their fresh catch out of a converted boat shed, and smoke their own mackerel and salmon. Because the sea is right there, you know the fishwill be as fresh as a daisy. They do a daily lunch menu that you can eat at picnic tables on the pebbles outside. It’s all simple, but I particularly like the fritto misto or the fisherman’s ploughman’s. If there isn’t something you fancy on the menu, they’ll cook up anything you buy from the fish counter — you pay a flat rate of £3.95 for the cooking. It’s a great way to spend a late Sunday morning (mains from £4; griggsofhytheuk.com).
Mark Sargeant is the chef proprietor of Rocksalt,in Folkestone (rocksaltfolkestone. co.uk). His latest restaurant is Morden & Lea, London W1 (mordenandlea.com)
Nathan Outlaw
The Tolcarne Inn, Newlyn
This is my best-kept seafood secret: a traditional Cornish pub where the chef Ben Tunnicliffe is quietly doing amazing things. It’s a cosy place, right on the Newlyn fish market, so the fish is super-fresh and locally caught. Of course, that also means the menu is governed by the day’s catch, but you can expect benchmark dishes such as fish soup made in the traditional way. I also like the ray and potato terrine, served with piccalilli. Ben’s food is so good, it’s hard to choose what to have. They’ve got real ales, too, and it’s all informal and friendly. What more could you ask? (Mains from £9.50; tolcarneinn.co.uk.)
Nathan Outlaw has restaurants at Port Isaac and Rock, in Cornwall, and at the Capital hotel, London SW3 (nathan-outlaw.co.uk)
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Paul Ainsworth
Chip Ahoy, Padstow
Padstow is overflowing with seafood places, but for fish and chips, I head around the corner to Chip Ahoy, where everything is served with banter and a big smile. The owner, John Doodson, does a magnificent haddock special — a whole side of beautiful fish in the crispiest, most delicious batter. It’s a meal in itself, but add cracking chips and mushy peas for a fabulous feast (fish from £2.10).
Paul Ainsworth is the chef proprietor of No 6, in Padstow (number6inpadstow.co.uk)
Interviews by Alessia Horwich