Seafood Restaurants Brighton: Where to Eat by the Sea

The Salt Room, 106 King's Road: Charcoal, Shellfish and Sea Views

The Salt Room is the modern end of Brighton seafood, built around a charcoal grill and a menu that runs from whole fish cooked on the bone to shellfish platters piled with the day's catch. It sits on the seafront at 106 King's Road, Brighton, BN1 2FU, with uninterrupted views towards the West Pier, and a weatherproof terrace that is the reason to come on a clear evening. Prime Lake District cuts and vegetable dishes share the menu, so a fish-averse companion is not stuck.

Practicalities matter here. The Salt Room takes card payments only, so do not turn up with cash as a backup. Group bookings split at nine or more people, with a separate booking route for larger parties, which is worth using if you are organising a birthday or work dinner rather than ringing the main line.

Published opening hours run from midday to late every day, with the kitchen trading later on Friday and Saturday and finishing earlier on Sunday. The Salt Room advertises a two-course lunch offer, but offers change with the season, so check the current deal and menu before budgeting around a headline price.

The Regency Restaurant: Brighton Fish and Chips Since 1963

The Regency is the opposite proposition: a seafront restaurant that has served seafood since 1963, with traditional fish and chips, indulgent lobster platters and portions generous enough to justify the trip. It also covers grilled meats, burgers and vegetarian options, which makes it an easy pick for a mixed family group where not everyone wants fish.

The kitchen's grilled whole plaice has drawn praise for its size, with the Evening Standard's Nick Foulkes noting the fish spills off the sides of the plate, and Rick Stein has called it a good all-things-to-everybody restaurant that is not expensive. Treat both as attributed remarks rather than our verdict, but they point to the same thing: this is a generous, unfussy room rather than a fine-dining one.

For a sit-down chippy meal with a sea view, the Regency is the more straightforward choice: you get the classic fish supper in a proper restaurant setting, with the West Pier in sight. Book through the restaurant's own site for evenings and weekends, when the seafront trade is heaviest.

How to Choose Between Them

Choose by what you are actually after. If the meal is the occasion, go to the Salt Room: sharing platters, grilled fish on the bone and a terrace built for a long afternoon. If you want a fish supper with chips, a seat and no ceremony, the Regency wins on ease and generosity.

On budget, the honest split is that the Regency presents itself as value for money with reasonable prices, while the Salt Room is the higher-spend option where you are paying for the room, the view and the fire-led cooking. For a low-cost fish fix instead, the cheap eats guide covers the city's lighter-spend options.

On booking, both are busy seafront addresses. Reserve ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings and for any group large enough to need a table pushed together; a wet Tuesday lunch is the moment to walk in and take your chances. Sunday lunch sits somewhere in between, so ring ahead if the meal matters.

What to Order: Whole Fish, Shellfish and Fish and Chips

Start with whole fish on the bone. The Salt Room's charcoal grill is the point of the place, and a whole fish cooked over fire tells you more about the kitchen than any starter. Ask what arrived that day and let the answer steer you, rather than ordering the dish you always order.

For a group, a shellfish platter is the shared centrepiece: it suits a celebration and spreads the cost across the table. At the Regency, the equivalent move is a lobster platter, which sits alongside the traditional fish and chips on the menu and turns a fish supper into an event.

And do not overlook fish and chips as a legitimate seafood choice rather than a fallback. The Regency's version is the sit-down, seafront model with proper service; for the takeaway version and comparisons across the city, the fish and chips Brighton guide is the place to look.

Where to Sit: Terrace or Inside

The Salt Room's terrace is the draw on a sunny weekend, with sea air and West Pier views, and it is weatherproof enough to use outside the height of summer. Inside, you get the same charcoal cooking in a room designed for a longer sitting, which is the better bet on a cold or blustery day.

At the Regency, the appeal is the seafront setting and the view of the West Pier; ask for a window table if the sea is the reason you booked. On a wet Tuesday lunch both places are calmer, and you are more likely to get the seat you want without planning.

Practicalities: Booking, Payment and Parking

The Salt Room is card-only and splits bookings at nine people, so larger groups should use the group booking route rather than the standard table form. Opening hours run from midday until late, but confirm them on the day, especially around bank holidays and Christmas.

Parking near the seafront means pay-to-park multi-storeys within a short walk: the NCP at The Brighton Centre on Russell Road, BN1 2DX, and the DoubleTree Brighton Metropole car park on St Margarets Place, BN1 2FQ. Neither is free, so factor the charge into the day if you are driving in.

Both restaurants publish their own booking pages, and that is the quickest way to check availability, kitchen times and any current set-menu offer before travelling. If you are weighing seafood against the rest of the city's cooking, Brighton food covers the wider picture of what to eat and where.

Which Seafront Table Should You Book?

Book the Salt Room if the meal is the occasion and you want charcoal-grilled fish, a shared platter and a terrace with West Pier views, and remember it is card-only with group bookings handled separately. Book the Regency if you want a generous sit-down fish supper, lobster or classic fish and chips in a room that has been at it since 1963.

Whichever you pick, confirm opening hours, the current lunch offer and your table directly with the restaurant before you travel, since seafront kitchens change with the season. To compare the named places one by one, browse Brighton pubs and food landmarks.