Hero image credits: Massalia

Seafood offers chefs plenty of opportunities to try new ingredients, experiment with different cooking methods and bring fresh ideas to familiar dishes. From premium tinned fish and grilled octopus to bold coatings and sweet and sour sauces, seafood is appearing on menus in increasingly creative ways.

Global influences, changing consumer tastes and a greater focus on reducing food waste are shaping how kitchens prepare and serve seafood. Whether you’re refreshing a restaurant menu, introducing a new special or looking for ways to make ingredients go further, here are seven ideas worth considering.

1. Make More of Smoked and Tinned Seafood

Tinned seafood has moved well beyond the traditional cupboard staple. Premium sardines, mussels, anchovies and tuna are finding their way onto restaurant menus, with chefs making the most of their rich taste, long shelf life and simple preparation.

Smoking adds another dimension, bringing depth to fish and shellfish without the need for complicated cooking techniques.

• Serve premium tinned fish as a starter. Pair sardines or mussels with toasted sourdough, pickled vegetables and a good-quality olive oil.
• Introduce smoked seafood to small plates. Try smoked mackerel pâté, smoked mussels with grilled bread or anchovies with roasted tomatoes.
• Make provenance part of the menu. Highlight where the seafood comes from, how it’s caught and the preparation methods used.

Menu inspiration: At Massalia in Amsterdam, smoked mussels are served on skewers with Kalamaki pepper, olives and sun-dried tomatoes in an escabeche broth. It’s an example of how preserved seafood can become the centrepiece of a distinctive starter.

2. Get Creative with Squid and Octopus

Squid, cuttlefish and octopus are appearing in everything from traditional Mediterranean dishes to Asian-inspired street food. Their versatility gives chefs plenty of scope to experiment with different textures, spices and serving styles.

While grilled octopus remains a popular choice, more kitchens are using these ingredients in familiar formats that make them accessible to a wider range of customers.

• Try something different with bao buns. Fill soft steamed buns with crispy calamari, pickled vegetables and a spicy mayonnaise.
• Bring Mediterranean influences to the menu. Serve chargrilled octopus with lemon, herbs and roasted potatoes, or add squid to tomato-based pasta dishes.
• Experiment with coatings and spices. Use tempura batter, chilli, garlic and fragrant spice blends to create small plates or sharing dishes.

Menu inspiration: Bao in London serves a calamari and onion ring bao, combining crispy seafood with a familiar street-food format. It’s a useful starting point for chefs looking to introduce squid without making the dish feel unfamiliar.

Image credits: 51 Cornmarket

3. Give Mussels, Oysters and Clams a Fresh Approach

Shellfish can offer value, versatility and strong visual appeal. Mussels, clams and oysters work particularly well on casual dining menus, where chefs can turn relatively simple ingredients into generous sharing dishes or smaller plates.

Traditional preparations remain popular, but bold sauces, spices and different cooking methods are opening up new possibilities.

• Put a new spin on mussels. Move beyond traditional white wine sauces with Thai red curry, garlic and chilli, or jerk-inspired broths. Serve with bread or fries.
• Introduce oysters in approachable formats. Try crispy fried oysters with hot sauce, garlic mayonnaise or a tangy dressing.
• Make shellfish part of a sharing menu. Offer steamed clams with herbs and butter, grilled scallops or mussels with a rich glaze.

Menu inspiration: 51 Cornmarket in Cork serves crispy Buffalo fried oysters with fermented chilli hot sauce, Cashel Blue mayonnaise and pickled celery. It’s a creative way to introduce oysters to customers who might be less familiar with them, using the familiar appeal of crispy coatings and bold sauces.

4. Rethink the Classic Fried Fish Dish

Fish and chips will always have a place on British menus, but fried seafood offers far more possibilities. Chefs are experimenting with different batters, breadcrumbs, seasonings and sauces to create dishes inspired by street food from around the world.

From fish burgers to crispy seafood bites, familiar ingredients can take on a new identity with a few changes to preparation and presentation.

• Refresh the fish burger. Serve crispy cod or haddock in a soft bun with pickled slaw, spicy tartare sauce or an Asian-inspired dressing.
• Experiment with different coatings. Try panko breadcrumbs, tempura batter or seasoned flour with spices and herbs.
• Think beyond fish and chips. Offer fish tacos, battered seafood skewers or fried fish bites with a choice of dipping sauces.

Menu inspiration: Bistro Freddie in London serves cod schnitzel with tartare beurre blanc. The dish takes a familiar breaded fish concept and pairs it with a rich, classic sauce for a restaurant-style main course.

Image credits: Micro Sillon

5. Give Surf and Turf a New Meaning

Surf and turf traditionally means steak and lobster, but chefs are moving beyond premium cuts to create combinations that are more varied and accessible.

Across East and Southeast Asian cooking, seafood ingredients often appear alongside meat, adding savoury depth through sauces, stocks and seasonings. This approach gives chefs the opportunity to use different cuts of meat and smaller amounts of seafood without losing impact.

• Pair seafood with slow-cooked meat. Try braised pork with clams, lamb with anchovy butter or beef with a rich shellfish sauce.
• Use seafood to add depth. Add anchovies to meat-based sauces, mussels to savoury broths or seaweed to flavoured butters.
• Create smaller sharing plates. Combine grilled meat and shellfish on skewers, or serve crisp pork with squid and a spicy dressing.

Menu inspiration: Micro Sillon in Lyon serves Galician-style octopus with Kintoa pork belly and potatoes. It’s a combination that shows how seafood and meat can work together without relying on the traditional steak-and-lobster pairing.

6. Layer Seafood for More Depth and Less Waste

Rather than building a dish around one type of seafood, chefs are combining fish, shellfish, roe and sea vegetables to create more complex flavours.

This approach also offers opportunities to reduce waste. Fish skin, bones, shells and trimmings can be put to good use in stocks, sauces, garnishes and seasonings.

• Build flavour in layers. Serve grilled fish with a shellfish sauce, seafood butter or a dressing made with anchovies.
• Make better use of seafood trimmings. Turn fish skin into crispy garnishes, use shells for rich stocks and incorporate roe into sauces.
• Experiment with preserved ingredients. Add bottarga, dried seafood powders, seaweed or cured fish to dishes for a concentrated savoury taste.

Menu inspiration: Les Enfants du Marché in Paris serves tempura lobster claws dusted with scallop roe powder, accompanied by a cep and kombu emulsion and topped with caviar. Each seafood element plays a different role, building flavour and texture throughout the dish.

Image credits: Simpsons

7. Balance Seafood with Sweet and Sour Flavours

Sweet and sour combinations are gaining attention well beyond the traditional takeaway menu. Chefs are pairing fish and shellfish with sharp citrus, fruit, vinegar and sweet glazes to create dishes with a balance of contrasting tastes.

Southeast Asian cooking provides plenty of inspiration, particularly through ingredients such as tamarind, lime, rice vinegar and palm sugar. Mediterranean preparations such as escabeche and Italian agrodolce offer other ways to bring acidity and sweetness together.

• Add a sweet and sour glaze. Try sticky tamarind prawns, honey and lime salmon or crispy cod with a sweet chilli dressing.
• Use fruit to balance rich seafood. Pair grilled mackerel with rhubarb, scallops with citrus or cured fish with sharp seasonal fruit.
• Experiment with pickles and dressings. Combine rice vinegar, ginger and a little sugar to create bright sauces for fried seafood or raw fish.

Menu inspiration: Simpsons in Birmingham serves cod beignets with a sweet and sour glaze, sesame and chives. It’s an accessible combination that brings a fresh approach to crispy fried fish.

Bring New Seafood Ideas to Your Kitchen

Bringing more seafood onto the menu doesn’t have to mean introducing expensive ingredients or complicated techniques. Small changes to familiar dishes can make a difference, whether that’s serving mussels with a new sauce, adding crispy squid to a bao bun or pairing fried fish with a sharp, sweet glaze.

The opportunities extend beyond new dishes, too. Preserved seafood can help with stock management, alternative species can bring more variety to menus, and using more of each ingredient can help reduce kitchen waste.

Start with the seafood your kitchen already uses, then consider how different cooking methods, global influences and creative pairings could give customers something new to try.