Brighton restaurant crowned Seafood Restaurant of the Year

Brighton and Hove is home to the very best seafood restaurant in the UK, according to an industry competition.

The Salt Room in Brighton has been revealed as the UK winner in the 2017 Seafood Restaurant of the Year award.

The award, presented by Seafish and The Caterer, is designed to find the best restaurants cooking and serving delicious seafood dishes, and highlights creative use of seafood and businesses’ knowledge of often under-used species in all types of restaurants.

Recognised for its consistently high customer service, its 'excellent menu' and good variety of locally sourced fish species, The Salt Room was praised by judges for its innovative range of dishes and for taking steps to educate more consumers on the vast range of fish and shellfish available to diners in the UK.

The Salt Room prides itself on only sourcing seafood from certified and responsible suppliers and serving these in innovative ways, such as whole market fish cooked over charcoal, or gurnard with Romesco sauce, octopus and green olives.

A mystery dining audit undertaken by Seafish as part of the judging process also scored The Salt Room highly with regards to staff’s familiarity and knowledge of species served, with the front of house team able to offer good advice and recommendations to diners regarding the fish and shellfish on offer.

Raz Helalat, owner of The Salt Room, said: “This result was completely unexpected and makes all the hard work from the team this year so worthwhile. It’s been a real group effort and an amazing 2017.”