Chess On The Terrace | J Sheekey Atlantic Bar & Terrace, London

It’s actually quite embarrassing to admit that in the 8 ¾ years of running our blog that we’ve never been to the London seafood institution that is J Sheekey. Well in all honesty, we still haven’t – we went to J Sheekey’s more informal Atlantic Bar to play a game of chess on the terrace.

Having a (Michael) Ball game of chess. Photograph: J Sheekey Atlantic Bar & Terrace

Yes, a game of chess! Chess on the terrace coincided with the final weeks of Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’s critically acclaimed musical, ‘Chess’, showing just a lobster’s roll from J Sheekey’s Atlantic Bar at The Coliseum. The show has now finished its run but the games on the terrace are running till the end of the month (June 30th). So be quick and book a table and enjoy a match from 3pm until 6pm daily, whilst dining al fresco.

The king and queen of cocktails

The menu isn’t cheap (we would say this is a special occasion restaurant) but for the quality of food and stunning levels of service it’s actually fairly reasonable – especially compared to the ‘proper’ J Sheekey fish restaurant next door. We kicked off proceedings with a couple of cocktails, a Plymouth gin based Julep Kick (£12) for me (I was intrigued by the Japanese cherry tea) and a light, fruity Amber Condition (£11) for Saff.

We shared everything we ordered, even the main dishes – the food here is too good to keep to yourself (or maybe it is if you’re feeling shellfish – sorry!) First to hit the table were the Seared tiger prawns (£12.50) served with the most incredible ‘bang bang’ roasted peanut sauce – so good I almost asked if I could buy a jar full to take home.

Next up was a bowl of Stone bass ceviche (£12.50) from the ‘Raw’ section – drenched in tiger’s milk and served with crisp plantain chips. However nice, this was completely overshadowed by Sheekey’s classic signature dish – the Fish pie (£17.50). Huge chunks of quality fish and prawns is a thick creamy white sauce topped with mashed potato and a crisp slightly cheesy crumb, my mouth is watering just at the thought of it.

Saff was being good(ish) and ordered the Teriyaki salmon (£16.50), once again it was another fantastic sauce that really made the dish – a lot lighter and a tad sweeter than what we’re used to but the perfect summer variety to go with an expertly cooked fillet of pink salmon.

As we mentioned before, the chess on the terrace event is only running till the end of June, but don’t worry we doubt that the London institution that is J Sheekey (and its Atlantic Bar & Terrace) is going anywhere soon!

To reserve a place, please call the reservations team on 020 7420 9865.

Find out more here
33-35 St Martin’s Court, London WC2N 4AL
Telephone: 020 7420 9865

Find them on Facebook
Follow them on Twitter
Follow them on Instagram

Nearest station: Leicester Square (1 min walk)

We ate as guests of J Sheekey Atlantic Bar & Terrace, this does not affect our review in any way.
We always write with complete honesty.