Zone 2 staycation

Baltic Seafood

RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table

Sometimes, however much you want it, you just can’t go on holiday. But on those days when you really need it, holiday can come to you. Enter Baltic Seafood.

A floating smorgasbord of good vibes and even better seafood, it flits up and down the River Lea and Regent’s Canal, spreading joy, unparalleled grilled fish baguettes, ambrosial paprika-flecked chips and other crispy deep-fried goodness.

It’s impossible to hit Baltic Seafood and not have a great time, in large part due to the food, but also, thanks to Captain Ali. He’ll greet you like an old friend before dishing up Turkish treats (yes, despite the name, this is Istanbul-inspired Turkish fare, rather than strictly ‘Baltic’ cooking).

The Turkish touches lift it above comparable London options – not that there’s anything directly comparable to the intoxicating tunes, casual plastic garden furniture and BYOB cans here. The punchy garlic sauce, zingy onion salad and plentiful pickles evoke that little seaside spot in Antalya you promised to return to one day.

You haven’t really lived until you’ve had perfectly grilled mackerel stuffed into a warm baguette, with all the accoutrements, and those transformative paprika chips, beside the canal on a sunny day (Baltic Seafood alternately moors between Tottenham Hale, Enfield and Hackney). Get a side of crunchy calamari, or go the whole hog with deep-fried prawns, salmon, sea bass and mussels.

Bring as many friends as you can and order as much as you can justify. Share it over a long, lazy afternoon by the canal, post up near a shop where you can keep refreshing those BYOB libations, and enjoy the best holiday Zone 2 has to offer. –David Bard

→ Baltic Seafood (check Instagram for location) • Daily 12-10p.