The oceans' bounty features countless options for delicious meals, but some are definitely better choices than others. We asked a panel of culinary experts what seafood dishes they'll never be caught ordering, and their answers might make you think twice next time you go out to eat.
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00:00The ocean offers a vast array of seafood, but not every dish is worth ordering.
00:04We consulted culinary experts on which seafood dishes they always avoid, and their insights might change your dining choices.
00:11Swordfish, when cooked correctly, is a flavorful and hearty choice.
00:14However, many experts, including Stephanie Sanfrey, executive sous-chef at Jaleo Las Vegas,
00:20avoid ordering it at restaurants due to its high mercury content. As a large predatory fish, swordfish accumulates
00:27significant levels of mercury, averaging 0.995 parts per million. According to the FDA,
00:32this is higher than king mackerel 0.73 parts per million and big eye tuna 0.689 parts per million,
00:38making it one of the most mercury-laden fish available.
00:41Mercury is toxic to humans, and long-term exposure can lead to severe health risks, including an increased likelihood of cardiovascular disease.
00:48Even small amounts can be harmful over time. While some diners may still enjoy swordfish,
00:53many chefs and experts opt for safer seafood choices,
00:56but mercury isn't the only reason they steer clear of it in restaurants. Josh Copeland, owner of Camino Alto in San Francisco,
01:03laments,
01:04"'Swordfish' is a no thank you for me. Without getting too graphic,
01:08once the executive chef at Square One, almost 30 years ago, showed me why he won't eat them,
01:12I've never ordered one." When pressed for more details,
01:15Copeland pointed out that swordfish tend to have a higher incidence of parasites and tumors than other fish.
01:20He elaborated further, stating,
01:22"'Then I learned about mercury levels and their endangered status. For all those reasons, my preference is to avoid them.'"
01:29"'Is the swordfish fresh?' "'It was when you started ordering.'" The 2020 Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher showcased the remarkable
01:36intelligence and emotional depth of octopuses, leading many, including Richard Branson, to stop eating them.
01:42The business magnate shared his perspective with The Independent,
01:45"'I can assure you that I've not eaten octopus since, and can't see how anybody could ever eat octopus again after seeing it.'
01:50After watching My Octopus Teacher, Copeland stopped eating octopus entirely. Reflecting on the documentary's impact,
01:57he explained,
01:58"'Sometimes a piece of art moves one to change the way they see the world. That movie, whether 100 percent accurate or not,
02:04did that for me.'" Octopuses are remarkably intelligent, capable of solving puzzles, escaping enclosures, and even showing playful antics.
02:12However, not everyone was swayed by the documentary. Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern, while acknowledging their brilliance, confessed,
02:18"'I still eat octopus.
02:20I love the documentary, but I think octopus is still delicious to eat, and I eat it.'" Tony Ng,
02:25executive chef of Khingin Khingin, enjoys ordering octopus at restaurants, mainly because he finds preparing it himself to be a hassle.
02:32He explains,
02:33"'I hate cooking it, but I love eating it,
02:35especially when it's done right, tender on the inside and crispy charred on the surface.'"
02:40If you ever come across wild-caught tilapia at a market, chances are it's a misleading label. Native to Africa,
02:46tilapia thrives in aquaculture due to its rapid growth and tolerance for overcrowding,
02:51making it one of the most affordable and widely farmed fish globally.
02:55However, the ease of farming tilapia comes with serious concerns. Many farms, especially in China, where much of the U.S.
03:01supply originates, have been linked to poor practices, including pollution,
03:05excessive chemical use, and even contamination with animal waste. These issues have led some chefs to avoid the fish entirely.
03:12Private chef Davide D'Andrea, for one, refuses to order tilapia in restaurants. While it's known for its mild flavor,
03:19he lost his appetite for it after learning about its production conditions.
03:22As he puts it,
03:23"'Since the farms grow all the fish in the same vicinity, the fish aren't able to be raised in a clean environment.
03:28Knowing this information leaves me uneasy and is why I personally won't ever order this fish to eat.'"
03:33"'Sorry I sent back my food. See, I thought tilapia was a kind of pasta.'" "'No, it's a fish.'"
03:39"'Yeah, no, I know that now.'"
03:41Grilling a whole fish often seems like the most authentic way to enjoy seafood, allowing the fish to shine in its natural form.
03:47However, Oscar Cabezas, executive chef of Teleferic Barcelona,
03:52avoids ordering whole grilled fish in the U.S. as he believes many American chefs mishandle the preparation.
03:57He explained that the approach often doesn't do justice to the delicate flavors and texture the fish should have. As he put it,
04:03"'I think there is a culture in America of eating fish well done.
04:06This is why I usually avoid ordering whole pieces, especially grilled, within the United States.'"
04:12Cabezas reserves whole fish orders for northern Spain,
04:15particularly Catalonia and the Basque region, where the cooking style aligns with his preference for medium-rare.
04:20Sanfrey, too, refrains from ordering whole fish in the U.S., explaining that,
04:25"'Not for any particular reason,
04:26but I imagine if I went abroad and I were near the ocean and I could have grilled whole fish straight from the water,
04:31I would do that.'"
04:33Anthony Bourdain was one of the first high-profile chefs to avoid mussels in restaurants, and he's not alone. Cabezas shares a similar stance,
04:40explaining,
04:41"'I'm glad to agree with Tony. I usually don't order mussels. They are poorly cleaned and it is a mollusk that is usually quite contaminated.'"
04:48Sanfrey shares the same concern, always feeling a bit uneasy about mussels. She put it this way,
04:53"'They are a low-cost item almost always with an exorbitant cost.' Not all chefs share this perspective."
04:58Zimmern, for instance, acknowledges Bourdain's decision to skip mussels in restaurants,
05:03but points out that they appear in his own cookbook. For Zimmern, mussels serve as a barometer dish,
05:08a test to gauge a restaurant's quality and attention to detail. He explained,
05:12"'Because they're so fragile, and because they can be so bad,
05:15I can tell whether or not a restaurant knows what they're doing by ordering the mussels.
05:18Mussels should be big and heavy and plump, and the meat should fill the shell, and if you're not getting that,
05:23then the restaurant's not doing their job.'"
05:25D'Andrea agrees that fresh mussels, when sourced and prepared correctly, can be a true delicacy.
05:30The key is ensuring top-notch quality. As he put it,
05:33"'I always first ask where the mussels come from. I personally love the ones from the Mediterranean Sea.
05:38They have so much flavor. I love it paired with pasta or served with garlic, lemon, and olive oil.'"
05:44The combination of seafood and cheese has been debated for centuries, possibly dating back to Aristotle's time.
05:49He believed cheese took longer to digest,
05:52while fish spoiled quickly, and warned that mixing them could have harmful effects on the liver.
05:56Though modern dishes like tuna melts and Greek shrimp saganaki prove this fear is likely unfounded, many chefs still avoid the pairing.
06:03D'Andrea explains that cheese can easily overpower the delicate flavors of fish, making the dish unbalanced rather than enhancing it.
06:10While some seafood dishes successfully incorporate cheese, it remains a culinary debate that divides both chefs and diners.
06:17Growing up in South Italy, fish and cheese are always served separately. Cabezas draws from his Spanish heritage,
06:23emphasizing tradition in his culinary approach.
06:25"'My gastronomic tradition does not mix cheese with seafood.'
06:28This is why many chefs dismiss cheese-heavy twists on Italian classics, like shrimp fettuccine alfredo.
06:34However, some take a more flexible approach, such as Chef In, who said,
06:38"'I personally don't have an issue with it.
06:40I grew up in a predominantly American-Italian neighborhood, and honestly, we ate that quite a bit growing up.'"
06:46Copeland once followed the no-seafood-and-cheese rule strictly. However, over time,
06:50he's become more open to the pairing. In his view, given the liberties chefs make today,
06:54it would be odd to make that combo one's line in the sand.
06:58"'You can't put cheese on seafood. It breaks every culinary law.'
07:04"'I'll put cheese on anything.'"
07:06Shark contains one of the highest mercury levels among fish, averaging 0.979 parts per million.
07:12However, most experts avoid ordering it in restaurants due to serious sustainability concerns.
07:17While some U.S. shark fisheries meet Marine Stewardship Council standards, sharks remain at risk due to slow reproduction rates,
07:24habitat loss, climate change, and public misconceptions.
07:27Overfishing and shark finning, driven by demand for delicacies like shark fin soup, have further devastated populations.
07:34Chef Andrew Zimmern, who explores these issues in his 2024 PBS series Hope in the Water, remarked,
07:40"'There are a ton of fish I avoid given their lack of sustainability. If it's not from a sustainable fishery,
07:45I don't eat it. If something is not regenerative from the ocean, I do not eat it. Full stop.'
07:50Sustainability in fisheries is always shifting. Mackerel, once a model of sustainability, was downgraded to amber by the Marine Conservation
07:57Society due to rising demand. Conversely, bluefin tuna has shown signs of recovery. Michael Carell,
08:03executive chef of Roo's, shared his thoughts with Mashed.
08:06Bluefin tuna used to be the most controversial one,
08:09but as of recently, it's made a comeback, especially with the tuna farms popping up in Spain and Mexico.
08:15Salmon, especially premium varieties like king salmon, can be quite costly, yet some restaurants offer it at surprisingly low prices.
08:23For our experts, these bargains raise red flags. Copeland shared his concerns, explaining,
08:28"'If you buy salmon at a fast casual or just fast restaurant, it's likely going to be Atlantic salmon,
08:33which is probably the lowest farming standard of all salmon.
08:36Commercial salmon farming took off in the 1960s, but controversy followed. Today, nearly 70% of the world's salmon is farmed,
08:44yet concerns persist." Sanfrey notes issues like overcrowding and excessive antibiotic use,
08:49highlighting the industry's history of poor management. As she explained,
08:52"'Farmed' has been known to have poor practices which result in poor quality fish,
08:56and you can see it in the product as it arrives. Salmon farming has seen significant improvements, with better practices like
09:03relocating farms away from wild migration routes and reducing chemical treatments for disease control. Open water farming, in particular, enhances quality."
09:11Still, for D'Andrea, there's no debate. He remains unwavering in his stance. As he put it,
09:16"'Wild' always tastes better. Wild-caught salmon consistently commands a higher price,
09:21often costing three to four times more than its farmed counterpart." Copeland acknowledges this price gap,
09:26stating, "'If the price seems too good to be true, it is.'
09:30Some chefs avoid ordering certain seafood at restaurants, not due to taste,
09:34but because it's best enjoyed fresh in its native waters.
09:37Lobster is one such example, according to Zimmern, who quipped,
09:40"'Unless I'm at a lobster shack in Maine, I'm not gonna order lobster. I'd rather do it at home.'"
09:44Zimmern follows a similar approach with whelks and sea snails, refusing to order them because of the lengthy travel time. He added,
09:50"'I'm not gonna order them after they've made a 3,000-mile trek over here, because they've just made too far a schlep.
09:56But I love eating them in their countries of origin.'" Inn shares a similar view on hokke, also called Okhotsk Atka Mackerel,
10:02typically caught off Japan's Shiratoko Peninsula. He also avoids sanma, the Pacific sorrey,
10:08which is tied to Japan's autumn migrations. As he explains,
10:11"'The quality is just not up to par due to seasonality and low demands here in the U.S.'
10:16Sea urchin, once mainly found at sushi spots, is now increasingly featured on various restaurant menus.
10:22The surge in its availability can be traced back to a rise in the urchin population in California,
10:28caused by the loss of predators like sea otters. Despite its growing popularity,
10:32D'Andrea avoids ordering it in U.S. restaurants due to the frequent lack of transparency about its sourcing, explaining,
10:38"'I personally would never order that off a menu in the States because you don't know where it's coming from and the quality of the fish.'"
10:44"'Are you telling me that I got food poisoning from eating bad sea urchin?'' If you have confidence in the restaurant's sourcing,
10:50contamination risks are lower. As Copeland humorously put it,
10:53"'You earn trust by maintaining good practices on an ever-changing menu.' If a restaurant has earned my trust, I'm all in, baby.'"