Brat

Brat is the restaurant that made whole grilled turbot a London institution. Tomos Parry opened it above Climpson’s Arch in Shoreditch in March 2018 with restaurateur Ben Chapman, and it has been almost impossible to book ever since.

The cooking takes its cue from the asadors of the Basque Country, where everything goes over wood and charcoal, and Parry, who is Welsh, has always been open about the overlap he sees between the two: fishing communities, independence, produce that does not need much done to it. The name is old English slang for turbot, which tells you where the priorities lie.

The turbot is the order. It comes whole, for sharing, grilled over oak until the skin blisters and the collar gives up the best meat on the fish. It is expensive and it is the entire reason the restaurant exists. Everything else on the menu, the bread, the vegetables, the meat, passes through the same fire.

It took a second Michelin star in 2025, which is unusual for a room this informal. The dining room is small, warm and loud, with an open grill you can smell from the stairs.

Our verdict: the best fish cooking in London, and the whole turbot is worth the entire bill on its own. Book for four so you can share it without regret.

Go if: you want the single most memorable thing to eat in east London. Skip if: you want a quiet room or a quick dinner.

Book weeks ahead. Redchurch Street, Shoreditch. There is a second site at Borough Yards.