BRAT
Brat is old slang for turbot, and the whole fish, lashed into a hinged basket over live fire until its collagen emulsifies into its own sauce, is the dish that gives the restaurant its name. Tomos Parry won a Michelin star here in October 2018, months after opening, and still holds it in the 2026 guide.
Why go
Parry is from Anglesey, ran the kitchen at Kitty Fisher's, and passed through River Cafe and Noma before building his own room above Redchurch Street (The Staff Canteen). The cooking crosses Welsh ingredients with the Basque grill houses he studied, Etxebarri most obviously: everything meaningful touches wood fire, from the bread to the cheesecake. Slow heat and constant basting turn the fish's gelatin into a glossy pil-pil-style sauce with nothing added but drippings.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the whole turbot for the table, grilled bread with anchovy or cod roe to start, the smoked potatoes, and the burnt cheesecake. Spider crab when it runs. Jay Rayner's line on the fish:
a soft, lightly sticky skin that seems to melt on the tongue
(Harden's roundup). - Avoid: ordering the turbot as a couple. The kitchen prices and portions it as a table centerpiece, so at two heads order the smaller fish or cuts and keep the rest of the menu in play.
What locals & experts say
- Jay Rayner, The Observer (2018):
Tomos Parry's cooking at Brat is the culinary equivalent of a Hopkins performance,
andThe food at Brat is both seemingly effortless and utterly lovely.
2 - Time Out London (2018): the dissent, worth knowing before you over-order rich dishes:
Several things I ate flew too close to the sun; an excess of salt or oil.
3 - MICHELIN Guide (2026): one star, held since October 2018.1
Good to know
- Timing: open daily, noon to 10pm (venue site, 2026).
- Booking: book ahead online or via bookings@bratrestaurant.com; the counter takes some walk-ins.
- Branch check: this is the Shoreditch flagship at First Floor, 4 Redchurch St. Brat x Climpson's Arch in London Fields is a separate operation and a separate row.
Verdict
should-visit — Worth the detour for a single dish cooked as well as anyone in Britain cooks fish: the whole turbot, basket-grilled over live fire until its own collagen becomes the sauce. The star has held since 2018 and the room above Redchurch Street stays loud and generous. It sits below must-visit because the format now has siblings and imitators, Parry's own Mountain included, so the can't-get-it-elsewhere case is thinner than the craft case.