What the experts recommend

The Oystermen 32 Henrietta Street, London WC2 (020-7240 4417)

A chef who truly “respected and loved the crab would poach it to the point where the white meat just flaked, and the brown meat had the texture of barely scrambled eggs”, says Tim Hayward in the FT. Such a chef would “crack the shell judiciously, leaving you with the pleasure of the dissection”, and serve the brown meat on the side with dense brown bread, mayonnaise and a muslinwrapped half of lemon. And happily such chefs do exist, at The Oystermen. This extraordinary (and tiny) fish restaurant in Covent Garden was rammed on the day I visited, with about 20 “enthusiastic shellfish slurpers in full flow” – and not surprisingly. Here, they treat crabs “with honour”. The one I chose from the board wasn’t “‘dressed’ like it might have been in some seaside shack, it was seduced to the point that it willingly disrobed”. And not just the crab: everything had been prepared with “love and evident joy”. Trust me: you will “want to move in”.

Starters from £8.50; mains from £11.

The Old House by Shoot the Bull 5 Scale Lane, Hull (01482-210253)

When it comes to top-notch cuisine in Hull, says Jay Rayner in The Observer, there’s 1884 Dock Street Kitchen, and after that it’s slim pickings – a deficit that Chris Harrison, Dock Street Kitchen’s ex-head chef, looks determined to remedy. Harrison already has a big street food operation in the city, Shoot the Bull, which he has now brought into the charming Old House pub and combined with a high-end restaurant. Not everything succeeds perfectly, but alongside dishes that could be “really good with a little work” there are “flashes of brilliance”. Lamb shoulder and beef fillet are accurately cooked and thoughtfully presented, for example, but both arrive without any kind of “jus or gravy”. On the other hand, the whitebait is first-rate, and a dish of garden peas with smoked bacon and confit silverskin onions is “brilliant”. And nothing could improve Harrison’s slabs of long-braised then barbecued pork belly with a crisp fennel slaw, a crunchy salsa made with watermelon, and a glug of sweet, sticky sauce served on warm, fluffy flat bread.

Meal for two, incl. drinks, from £40.

8 Duke Street, Brighton (01273-917949)

I found some of the menu descriptions at Pascere a bit worrying, says Marina O’loughlin in The Guardian. And I confess I allowed myself an “evil guffaw” at the thought of “English pea custard” with “lavender brioche”. But I was denied the last laugh, for then the dish arrived: “serene and mellifluous”, the emerald “custard” more akin to hollandaise, vivid with peas both pureed and raw and with crisp little cubes of brioche lurking in its depths, the lavender “more a frisson of a memory of a scent than anything by Yardley”. The Beef cheek tortellini tasted “like that moment when summer meets autumn”: an agreeable mulch of slow-cooked meat in taut pasta, the “marshiness of mushroom puree”, and a sparkling beef consommé “teapotted on top”. And a tiny crab tartlet was “exquisite” – an example of chef Johnny Stanford’s “no messing brilliance”. This is “destination stuff”.

Around £33 a head for three courses, excluding drinks and service.