Seafood is a sure-fire way to level up your martini experience and there is a literal ocean of possible dishes you could serve to accompany the silver bullet.
You can choose from fresh grilled, fried, poached, salt-baked, cured and even raw to whet your appetite as you enjoy a cold martini.
There is a multitude of fish you could choose from, including salmon, mackerel and miso cod. You could also try shellfish and crustacea, such as crab, lobster or the mighty oyster, which conjure up fresh luxury, harvested from the briny ocean and exalting your perfect drink.
You might also like sea vegetables like konbu or samphire, bringing fresh, healthy, hearty taste and texture to your drink.
If I dedicated this site purely to seafood that could accompany a martini I could be here for the rest of my (probably very happy) life, so please explore these dishes but also please share any hints, tips, recipes and experiences you have yourself. Otherwise, please read on!
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Recent Seafood Delights Paired with Martinis
A collection of delicious seafood dishes accompanying some recent elixirs of quietude.
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A Good Old Fashioned Prawn/Shrimp Cocktail
A delicious, retro but solid dish to accompany a martini or begin a meal.
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Some Recent Danish Smørrebrød Recipes as Martini Accompaniments
Danish open sandwiches, or smørrebrød, pair well with martinis, and I enjoy experimenting with various recipes – particularly dependent on whatever is available in the shop, fridge or garden at the time. These Nordic dishes are great for dinner parties and can be prepared in advance. They keep well for an hour or two and…
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A Dry Martini with Cured Fish at Bien Basar, Bergen
An unexpected martini with excellent Norwegian seafood by Bergen waterfront
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Sexy Dishes to Pair with your Porn Star Martini
While a classic martinis pair best with things like olives, pickles, nuts, meat, dairy and seafood the Porn Star Martini offers a completely different flavour and mouthfeel, opening things up to a very different array of potential food pairings. It complements dishes ranging from sushi to tacos and can really bring a satisfying AND sexy…
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A Martini with Lumpfish Caviar
A delicious and affordable black-coloured seafood to elevate everything.
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Crunchy Canapés with Onion and Taramasalata
Possibly my favourite canapé of all
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A Martini with Harðfiskur (Icelandic wind-dried fish)
An Icelandic delicacy with an acquired taste
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A Torskerogn (Cod Roe) Martini Accompaniment
A delicious Danish dish that reminds me of my childhood.
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A Martini with Octopus Carpaccio
A delicious, and possibly my favourite snack to accompany a martini at home.
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A Martini with Danish Smørrebrød
Some colourful inspiration from Danish cuisine
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Scottish Onigiri
Japanese onigiri using Scottish smoked salmon
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Crunchy Salmon Skin in the Air Fryer
This is one of the most popular recipes on my site. I’ve got two versions, the original air fryer one, plus my new go-to version which I do in the pan. Both turn out with good results, and obviously both go very well with a nice, cold martini! A lot of people don’t eat fish…
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A Martini with Kelp Chips / Crisps
This is the yin and the yang of healthy seaweed with (ahem) a slightly less healthy martini. Kelp is a super food, and very tasty. If you can (sustainably) forage it nearby, this is an easy way to enjoy it with a drink. The steps I don’t season mine. It has enough salt and iodine…
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Mini Onigiri to serve with Martinis
Onigiri are like a Japanese equivalent of a sandwich, consisting of rice, mixed with certain ingredients and then shaped, often into triangles. They can last up to three days (although this can depend on the ingredients and amount of salt and they are usually best eaten within 24 hours). They are often used in packed…
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Happy Hour at Seabird, London
A review of the fabulous oyster and martini happy hour at the rooftop establishment Seabird London.
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Sea Urchin Caviar
Caviar in almost all of its forms goes very well with a martini. Sea urchin is one example – although it’s not to everyone’s taste. It is very much a delicacy in Japan, where it is known as uni (うに) but it is not as widely consumed or farmed in the West. It is creamy…
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A Roasted Seaweed Snack
If you live somewhere around the UK coast, you may have access to gutweed (Ulva intestinalis), which you can harvest, wash and roast into a highly tasty snack. If the sea in your area is clean, head to a rocky beach and seek out rockpools, and/or areas where fresh water runs into the sea. Here…
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Chilled scallop canapés with smoked paprika, seaweed-butter and lime
These sound fancy but they were quite easy to put together and can be made in advance, so they’re easy to serve if you’re having a party. Get about one scallop per guest (or two if you want to make it a more substantial dish than just a canapé). I love scallops. My dad was…
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Fusion Food: Seaweed Butter for Martini Canapés
I recently enjoyed a discovery taster menu at the beautiful Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant in London’s Mayfair area. I didn’t have any martinis as I didn’t want to spoil my palette before the dining extravaganza but the setting was beautiful, the food utterly inspiring and the service convivial and professional; in-depth but relaxed. What a treat!…
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The Mermaid Inn, NYC 4.5/5
This is one of my favourite places in the world. Oyster happy hour is a must! I’ve previously mentioned how well seafood goes with a martini, especially the simplistically delicate oyster, so a bar/restaurant that specialises in briny goodness was always going to get me excited. However, I’ve got to focus on the martini…
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A Martini with Homemade Roasted Seaweed
I’ve previously mentioned my liking for seaweed so I thought I would make my own to go with a martini. After a fairly long walk on the Isle of Mull, I was looking around the beach for something edible to forage. The tide was fairly high but there were several rockpools containing thick gutweed, as…
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A Martini with Crushed Oyster Shell
I drifted into borough market the other day and found myself standing in front of a fishmonger’s counter staring at all the produce. I couldn’t leave empty handed and suddenly felt a craving for salty, briny oysters so I bought a handful.I’ve made a martini with oysters before (you can see the blog post here).…
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A Martini with Nori Seaweed
A tasty, healthy accompaniment for a martini
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Shime Saba (pickled mackerel sushi)
I love mackerel. You’ve got to eat it fresh, it looks beautiful, it tastes really strong and it reminds me of fun times trying to catch them in the summer from a very young age. Look at the deep colouration and beautiful patterns of their skin. I also love sashimi, or meat and seafood that…
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Martinis and Seafood
Seafood goes well with a martini. The salty freshness compliments the sharp but oily astringency of a cold martini. Seafood also has an air of simplistic luxury, thus making it a natural pairing for the drink. I’ve put together a couple of examples of things I’ve made/served or otherwise eaten with a martini over recent…
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Oysters: a Timeless Martini Accompaniment
In my opinion, one of the nicest, most simplistic nibbles to accompany a martini is the humble oyster. This mollusc has been consumed for millennia. Sometimes seen as a food for the poor, its reduction in availability over recent decades has led to its rise as a more exclusive culinary luxury. Nonetheless, whatever it’s historically…
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Salmon tartare canapés
Olives are the nibble most closely associated with martinis but I always think that seafood is one of the best matches. It’s fresh, cold and goes well with citrus, just like a good martini. Consuming seafood also brings its own element of danger (food poisoning? Mercury?), much like the danger associated with drinking a strong…
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Mini blini
Here is a highly tasty and versatile nibble from Russia; a country with a huge amount of expertise when it comes to drinking and tradition. While I would normally encourage making things at home, I saw some miniature blini for sale in the supermarket and decided just to buy them for a martini accompaniment.…
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The Tiger Milk Martini
This recipe is very much inspired by Peru. However, I was once accused of being “an evil agent” working for the Chilean government to sabotage the reputation of Peru… a little unforeseen side effect of my unusual career in the murky world of intelligence. Nonetheless, despite the attempted slander I am a firm fan of…
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The Langoustini
I’m currently visiting family in the Hebrides. This part of the world is known for its seafood, natural beauty and gargantuan drinking habits. This makes it a perfect setting for martini drinkers. Unusually, much of the seafood caught in the rich Hebridean waters is transported to Spain. However, if you know which restaurants to eat…
The Martini Socialist 