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“Where the sea meets the plate, magic happens”. Now, if you believe in this too, then you’ve got to join in and celebrate the best restaurants serving coastal cuisine in India. At the Zee Zest Unlimit Awards 2025, this category has nominees that have dared to wow their customers with their dedication to quality, innovation, and great service, all while reliably serving them seafood that is both fresh and tasty! Delicious seafood and unusual drinks inspired by India's beautiful coastlines are the specialities of these eateries.
At these five top coastal restaurants that have been nominated for the Zee Zest Unlimit Awards 2025, you can always count on the rich dishes made with seafood such as lobster, crab, prawns, and fish, along all paired with drinks that perfectly match the mood.
Restaurant Chef Pillai
Restaurant Chef Pillai is a well-known restaurant at the Le Meridien in Kochi that serves all of Chef Pillai's famous specialities. Chef Pillai showcases his signature Fish Nirvana on his carefully curated menu, a dish that epitomises the subtle elegance achieved through expert cooking and captivating plating. The meals here seem to narrate their own story, evolving from locally sourced ingredients into delectable taste explosions crowned with the finest spices. The selection of cocktails that complement the cuisine is personally designed by Chef Pillai himself!
Trishna
Trishna is a prominent seafood restaurant in Mumbai that is frequented by tourists, residents, and celebrities alike. Everything on the menu is top-notch, even though the vast selection could seem intimidating at first glance. The king prawn, for example, comes with no less than 21 sauce variations. Be sure to reserve some room for the seafood biryani, the Bombay duck (a type of fish), the fresh giant crab with plenty of butter, pepper, and garlic, and of course, the world-famous prawns. Look behind the minimalist furnishings; Trishna's legions of regulars will attest that the restaurant is all about the ocean's freshest produce.
Maaslli Seafood Restaurant
Serving genuine GSB (Gaud Saraswat Brahmin) food with influences from the Konkan area, this informal diner at Worli, Mumbai is family-run and has a homely, pleasant atmosphere. With fresh fish prepared the traditional way, the food here will help you discover the wonders of GSB cuisine.
Tirfal fish stew, Konkani ghee roast, and prawn sukke are some of the local specialities, and the refreshing glasses of sol kadi are the perfect way to wash them down, particularly during the hot and muggy summers in Mumbai. Interestingly, though this restaurant has gained popularity over the years and seen new competitors come up, a large part of its customer base has been loyal and visiting the place since it first began.
Fisherman's Wharf, Goa
The Fisherman's Wharf in Goa has been a hot favourite of many for several years. The authentic Goan food, renowned for its fusion of Indian and Portuguese flavours, has captured the hearts of both visitors and regulars. Prepared with the distinctive zeal of Goan cuisine, the meal pays tribute to the sea's bounty. Make sure you don't miss their freshly baked Bebinca, a classic Goan dessert that they cherish and is among their most sought-after delicacies.
Karavalli
For about 30 years, Karavalli has been charming clients and has become synonymous with seafood in Bengaluru. Upon entering, its allure becomes apparent. An old-fashioned bungalow with tiles and a garden serves as the restaurant's home. The dishes are either brass or black stoneware, both of which are ideal for delicacies like Calicut meen biryani. The napkins are also made of the popular Panipanche cloth, which is soft and muslin-style and loved by Kannadiga households.
You may also get a traditional brass container filled with a tiffin supper for two people. The dishes represent the coastal southwest communities of Goa, Mappila, Havyaka, Konkani, Bunt, Namboodari, Syrian Christian, and Coorgi. From Dharwad-region Byadgi chillies to Goan palm vinegar, jaggery, cardamom, and black pepper, all of the components are proudly local and organic!
The restaurants nominated in this category are trusted and beloved places that have become institutions in their respective cities. Their devotion to preserving local coastal cuisines is what keeps their popularity soaring every year, and this category celebrates this sincere yet deceptively simple display of Indian coastal cuisine.