8 best fish and seafood boxes for delicious shore to door deliveries

Fishbox buys fresh, sustainable fish direct from small independent boats across the Scottish waters to bring seafood direct to your door in less than 48 hours. Buying directly from the fisherman means they get a fair price for their catch, and the careful selection of boats using responsible fishing methods means less strain on fish stocks.

Along with the big names like monkfish, salmon and incredible Shetland king scallops, Fishbox also prides itself on buying species of fish the big supermarkets don’t – helping to prevent food waste and bring you more interesting and unusual fish to enjoy, seasonally.

The selection of seafood from Fishbox is one of the biggest we’ve found (70+ fish and shellfish), with everything from prized live langoustines and turbot to the lesser known (but still delicious!) varieties like Torbay sole and cod tongues – rarely seen here but enjoyed widely across the Mediterranean in sizzling garlic oil – so a Fishbox arrival is always exciting. Not feeling adventurous? Not keen on live crustaceans? No worries, you can personalise your subscription according to likes, loves and dislikes.

Select a small, medium or large Fishbox (£25, £35 and £45 respectively) and tailor it to your preferred delivery frequency, knowing you can pause at any time. We thought the Arbroath smokies were a terrific addition and there was much praise for a dressed brown crab. We liked that every Fishbox contains simple recipe cards to inspire you in the kitchen with dishes like Thai stir fried squid cooked up in just 15 minutes. Also available as a one-off gift box.

Abel & Cole has been delivering organic veg to households for 30 years before branching out to bakery, meat, deli and other items. It’s now offering a fantastic fish box of three sustainably sourced fish (they’re rated 1 to 3 in the Marine Conservation Society’s good fish guide, so you know these fish are in good health) to be delivered on a weekly basis.

The box is made up of one ready-to-eat fish and two varieties to be cooked or frozen, with two portions of each. One week this could be beautiful handpicked Cornish crab, some celtic coley and lemon sole fillets; another week could see you cooking up a storm with some delicious haddock, plaice and enjoying hand-smoked Severn and Wye mackerel – you’ll be able to view the week’s menu and next week’s when you order, though from time to time this may change to reflect the day’s catch, which is always using environmentally aware methods. We like the way they send you a surprise gift sometimes; our organic sundried tomato pesto made for an easy midweek pasta supper teamed with some fresh coley.

This family-run fishmonger has been serving the people of St Mawes and chefs such as Nathan Outlaw for more than 40 years and now you can enjoy the freshest catch of the Cornish coast wherever you are in the UK.

The Cornish Fishmonger’s online delivery service has been helping local fishermen to continue to earn a living by selling their catch directly during these uncertain times when demand from restaurants has plummeted.

Owner Rob Wing says that the crystal clear waters of Cornwall provide some of the best breeding habitats for a plethora of fish and shellfish – think lobsters, mussels, cockles and plump prawns – which can all be delivered the very next day. You can shop safe in the knowledge that all have been sourced sustainably and ethically with the Cornish fishing industry passionate about protecting fish stocks.

We tried the new summer BBQ box which provides four generous salmon fillets, two perfectly flaky plaice split into steaks, prized mackerel, fat local scallops and a box of the biggest king prawns we’ve seen in this country.

Included within the box are notes on how best to enjoy your seafood with storing and cooking tips, but everything is BBQ-ready with no fiddly filleting required, and just asking for a slick of your favourite marinade or a squeeze of lemon to make a feast fit for a Cornish king or eight. Order this exact box for your next BBQ party – you will not regret it.

As a restaurant group and wholesale seafood business, Wright Brothers has been really up against it lately. Its new Wright Brothers At Home pivot has reportedly provided a lifeline to its business, its staff and to the fishermen that rely on its survival – and happily for us, it is tremendous.

Anyone who has visited any of its five renowned London seafood restaurants will know that Wright Brothers source, prepare and serve the most delicious fish. The new venture allows you to enjoy the same restaurant quality fresh seafood to your door, either as a one-off or regular subscription. There are many, many tempting options on the site, but we tried the seafood box for two which is an ideal box for couples that love seafood, comprising some of Wright Brothers’ most popular items such as sweet white crab meat, juicy shell-on king prawns (a huge 500g of them), long cut smoked salmon and lemon sole. We enjoyed some utterly perfect tuna steak, which was a million miles away from the flabby grey or red stuff you sometimes see. It is recommended that you eat fresh, but all products can be frozen and of course, exact contents may vary due to being wild caught species. We really hope Wright Brothers continues to sell the At Home experiences even when (if?) things are back to normal.

You can’t find a holiday cottage in Padstow for love nor money this summer, but no matter as you can still enjoy the wonderful wares of Rick Stein with his new At Home menu. Featuring some of Rick’s classic seafood dishes from his restaurants, these fish-focused boxes provide the Cornish seafood and all the other ingredients you need to recreate three courses in your own home.

Choose from the hake, lobster, or Indonesian curry menu – we went for hake – and follow the incredibly easy steps to produce your own restaurant worthy dishes. No cooking knowledge is assumed or required – it’s simply a matter of assembly and heating, but anyone worried about spoiling their seafood can watch Jack Stein cook the recipes on the website.

You’ll enjoy a starter, such as Rick’s smoked mackerel pate with sourdough and leaves from the Padstow kitchen garden (this was exceptionally good), followed by Venetian hake alla carlina with rich, sweet summer tomatoes and capers, before finishing with a crowd-pleasing sticky toffee pudding and Cornish clotted cream.

We were impressed with the value of this box, which makes it all the more tempting to order up some of the matching wines picked by Charlie Stein and start at just £9.95.

As a London restaurant supplier, Henderson has had a bumpy ride lately but its new Henderson to Home nationwide delivery service means that there is light on the horizon while its usual clients (St John, Le Manoir, Barrafina, Chiltern Firehouse etc) find their feet in this new world.

Stocking a wide range of fish and shellfish, the quality is unsurprisingly exceptional with all orders boat to door in fully recyclable packaging in less than 24 hours, supporting ethical and sustainable fisherman around the British coast.

Choose to pick 'n' mix your seafood favourites (we highly recommend the scallops in their shells which can be shown off the brilliant effect on the BBQ). Or try the boneless box which comes in at an affordable £35 for a generous fish pie mix (250g of white and brown crab meat and two large fish fillets, such as hake, pollock or cod) and would suit couples or singles who enjoy cooking fish. Alternatively, go all out with the showstopping shellfish box of cooked or live lobster and crab and a kilo of mussels for £10 more.

The brand’s close links to chefs mean that you can be inspired by the recipes on the site or try out their in-demand chef collabs – the dogs pollocks burger recipe box from Great British Menu winner James Cochran of 1251 sold out fast.

At the start of lockdown, finding a supermarket delivery slot was like searching for a needle in the haystack. Luckily, some of the supermarkets upped their response and introduced no-choice essentials boxes that could be ordered and delivered safely within a day or two – keeping people in supplies during the toughest time.

Morrisons food boxes were so successful that it gradually introduced various themes (vegetarian, family meat boxes, Diwali etc.) and its seafood offering. The assorted fish box is one that we hope will continue to be available, such is its convenience and sheer value. Containing four different approachable varieties of fish to create healthy and tasty suppers, the box comprises a huge 18 portions of filleted fish to feed you and your family – or freezer. Included is six salmon fillets, four cod, four smoked haddock and four sea bass fillets, making it easy to enjoy fish on a regular basis without the fuss.

New premium grocery box service, Knock Knock, by London restaurant suppliers Smith & Brock, was conceived to give everyone at home the same access to incredible, artisanal produce as the restaurants. The current situation means that things have come full circle and now it’s delivering restaurant produce all over London (and only London for now, sorry!) straight to your door. Its latest restaurant partnership is with Soho seafood restaurant Randall & Aubin, which has been serving Ed Baines’ magnificent fish dishes for 24 years and now allows you to enjoy his signature fruits de mer (£100) or assiette de mer (£50) in the comfort of your own home.

With produce sourced directly from the British coastline, the freshest crustaceans and fish reach sea to plate in record time. Included in the box is stunning Weymouth crab, mussels from Poole, whole native lobster and the sweetest clams, cockles, whelks and more served with Randall & Aubin potato salad and trimmings – even the seaweed!

Seafood boxes are delivered Friday with order deadlines Tuesday midnight. You’ll need to provide your own disco ball and champagne, we’re afraid.