Faber

Last Updated on August 14, 2026

Shellfish platter of dreams

4.8 out of 5.0 stars

At this time of year, when the mid-summer heat and long languid evenings are in full swing, my mind turns to shellfish. A plateau de fruits de mer holds a wealth of memories from my first visits to Paris in my 20s, to a towering display in Nice when I was pregnant (and couldn’t eat much of it), to cycling holidays with the kids on Ile de Ré where we often spent our summer holidays, stopping at seaside oyster shacks to refuel with briny morsels. It is the dish of celebrations – many a birthday commencing with a visit to the fishmonger and concluding with a shellfish platter constructed back home.

It is the most convivial dish – best eaten with a group of friends or family, everyone helping themselves, minimal cooking required, something for everyone’s tastes, and lots of fun. Even better washed down with a glass of something white and crisp, a Rosé, or why not push the boat out for champagne? All these memories came flooding back when I was invited to Faber, a seafood restaurant in Hammersmith.

While exiting the underground at Hammersmith is not quite Paris, nor Nice or the French seaside, I enjoyed Faber’s relaxed and elegant space, neutral colours adding to a calm vibe. There is a glass wall overlooking the street so the restaurant is filled with natural light. It was packed on a Monday night. I was delighted to have been invited to try the Shoreline Showcase, a £500 shellfish platter. I know, I had to read that twice, too. The idea is that you bring a group of five or six people and tuck in.

Sustainability is essential to the owner’s philosophy, as is using local produce. The oysters are Maldon, while the fish is caught by their partner fishing fleet. All the other ingredients are British. Their website has a map of the UK with 33 of their suppliers. Such is the determination to use only British products that they sourced chillis from Pembrokeshire to create a spicy sauce to serve with the oysters. You will not find Tabasco here.

Shellfish is big news at Faber, where 40 000 oysters are sold annually. On the menu, you will find a sharing oyster platter where 100 oysters (£320) include dressings of crispy wild garlic and ranch dressing, apple and Chapel Down granita, and Pembrokeshire Chilli Farm hot sauce. There are also naked oysters with mignonette.  The platter includes caviar, and Digby Sparkling wine is served.

The evening kicked off with well-chilled Digby Blanc de Blanc Brut, most refreshing on a hot night. Those gathered at our table all eagerly anticipated the feast to come. And it was a feast. An enormous, tiered tray arrived, eliciting gasps and applause.

There were Maldon oysters – naked and dressed with the same outfits as described above for the oyster platter; a colourful Lynn lobster and spring onion salad with croutons was served in the tail shell; Dorset cock crab and cracked claws were plentiful and fabulously fresh and sweet; Dorset cockles were briny, and palourde clams were as plump and sweet as the St Austell mussels, Devon diver scallops were served in a shell with asparagus – a great combination, being green and vegetal with a hint of heat, horseradish and soy.

A bowl of tender and spicy Cornish octopus teriyaki skewers was glazed with miso and chilli oil. There were two types of King’s caviar (Golden Oscietra and Imperial) served with crisps. Keta roe was served in a parsley oil with crème fraiche. There was a crab tartare and salmon sashimi with horseradish cream.

We ate, slurped, and winkled out crab meat – one of my favourite activities – that was sweet and very fresh. We dipped crab into mayo that was green with wild garlic oil. All this shellfish needed good bread, and we were served a very fine Coombeshead sourdough.

By the end of the meal our plates were piled high with shells. We had enjoyed an absolute blast of a treat. Bring a group, come hungry and tuck into a feast of the sea. If you want to try the Shoreline Showcase, pre-order ahead (48 hours). The menu at Faber is not exclusively shellfish, and while I have not yet had the opportunity to sample the other items – mostly fish – I can report that the à la carte menu changes according to what has just landed, and there is a daily landings board where the morning’s catch is served. If you would like to enjoy a smaller shellfish platter, there is one on offer for two people for £95.

Faber, 206 Hammersmith Road, London W6 7DH

Tel: 0208 1619800

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