We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The Tripadvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:
Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
About
Resturants
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, After-hours
CUISINES
Seafood, Mediterranean, Sushi
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service
Reviews (407)
Filter reviews
385 results
Traveller rating
247
99
19
11
9
Traveller type
Time of year
LanguageEnglish
More languages
Traveller rating
247
99
19
11
9
Show reviews that mention
All reviews kingklip seafood prawns line fish salmon salad steak fish of the day pedro johannesburg pangasius mozambique avo
Sort and selected filters
Sort FilterEnglish
Updating list...
Reviewed 30 April 2023

My experience with this restaurant is not nice. I used to like it but few years ago on Mother’s Day I booked a particular table. We arrived on time and when we got there our table was taken and we were given all kind of...excuses. We were told to wait but after waiting for too long we left and went to another restaurant. I was actually disappointed and we did not go for a few years. Unfortunately my husband liked it then we went there quite a few times booking a particular table every time we went there our table was taken and we were given all kind of excuses. Every time we adjusted and compromised and took a table we did not book for. April is my husband’s birthday and I wanted him to enjoy his day. I booked first thing in the morning and booked a particular table. I even told the lady I was talking to I begged her not to disappoint us again cause it was my husband’s birthday and we wanted to celebrate with him not to be upset. Lo and behold my adult children were on time and they were told that the table was given to somebody else, a group of people. My husband and I came about five minutes later, I could not believe that they did the same thing again. This happened almost every time we go there. It took us a long time to realise that these excuses have some racial connotations. My husband and I met with a lady who manages the bookings at the door standing side by side with the alleged manager. This lady was arrogant, obnoxious not remorseful and had an attitude of take it or leave it. She says that the lady who booked had the same name as me, but how cause the cell numbers are different? This is not true, it was just an excuse to get rid of us. And then she said no both of us booked the same table but her alleged manager contradicted her and said it was not true. This lady obviously was very economic with the truth. But she did not care she was telling us that the lady who booked is some person’s wife meaning that the lady is more important than us. The manager equally had the I don’t care attitude and like he was saying take it or leave it. They gave us another table but after discussing the issue with my family we decided to walk out once again. We went and looked for another restaurant. On our way out the alleged manager was begging us to stay saying that he will take care of us BLA BLA BLA. He was then realising the seriousness of the situation. He never thought that we will walk out on him. He followed us up to the parking ticket machine. We told him that we will only go back if they removed the people from the table we booked he refused. We told him that it seems that the lady who took our table just dropped in there and demanded the table she got it because it was a white family. This was very sad because everytime we go there we are disappointed. We walked out before but this time is for keeps. I will never put my foot in that restaurant again. I went back because my husband liked the restaurant then but not anymore he was very upset on his birthday nogal. My adult children don’t want anything to do with that restaurant. Unfortunately it seems that I was judged on who is my husband is and that maybe I am not white. I booked as early as 9 in the morning to make sure that we are not disappointed but still the madam came late demands the table and she got it. My family and I were making a joke saying that next time if we want to spoil our mood and lose our appetite we must go to that restaurant. But jokes aside we won’t go. We had to look for another restaurant something that we did not plan for. I don’t think they will miss us anyways👎👎👎More

Date of visit: April 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 1 April 2023 via mobile

Delicious fresh fish; warm fluffy prego rolls. Highly recommended for lunch - great atmosphere; very buzzy. Only one (minor) criticism is that the staff are too keen to clear the table after each course.

Date of visit: March 2023
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 21 March 2023

The ideal spot for a lunch date. The prawns are delicious and the service is always very efficient and polite. We have had consistently good food here for years and it is a go to if you are looking for a nice quick seafood lunch.

Date of visit: February 2023
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 8 January 2023 via mobile

This restaurant is always busy and vibes and Pedro the owner is hands on and always available The who’s who if Johannesburg frequent the establishment Food is always fresh and servings are large The best seafood restaurant in town

Date of visit: October 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 30 November 2022

I recommend to anyone who loves a great sea food meal especially fish. The ambience is good and the staff quite knowledgeable and very helpful indeed

Date of visit: November 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 August 2022

We had dinner yesterday evening at the fishmonger. In one word- a superb and wonderful dinner quality and service wise. My wife and I had the snails for starters- to die for . the others (we were 7 in our party) had salads and squid,...which were all delicious. For main, I took the fish of the day, which was outstanding. The rest had fish casserole, Kingklip, , and salmon, which were, also extremely good and tasty. The service was timely, efficient and pleasant, which matched the quality of the food. We will certainly come back here when we are next in JHB. By the way, the restaurant was packed- apparently the JHB crowd know something or two on the restaurant…. Pedro, the owner, and his staff made sure all was good with usMore

Date of visit: August 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 August 2022 via mobile

Lunch for 2 Lovely restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Seafood dishes are really good and well prepared. On our previous visits everything was 5 star however on this visit service wasn’t up to standard

Date of visit: August 2022
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 8 August 2022 via mobile

Always great. Fresh, good food, great service and lovely clean classy atmosphere. The sushi is excellent.

Date of visit: August 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 6 August 2022

Food was excellent. I had the red snapper and oysters. I don't remember what my wife had. Besides the excellent food, it was also good value and atmosphere.

Date of visit: July 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 3 July 2022 via mobile

I was back in Johannesburg for a week and although seafood is second to meat for me, I feel it a crime for me not eat at least one at Fishmonger Illovo, the original and best location. Being a creature of habit, fried baby squid...heads, followed by butterflied grilled Queen prawns is a winner every time. Cooked to perfection, excellent service and great ambiance. This place never let's you down. Not the cheapest but when has quality ever been cheap, it is however value for money. If you love seafood and want a special time, then this is the place to come.More

Date of visit: May 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 June 2022

Seafood restaurant in South Africa Fish and seafood restaurant when I’m in South Africa and I’ve never been disappointed this time we had ournormal dishes that we always have. Prawns calamari line fish.We accompanied the meal with a bottle of Sauvignon blanc.

Date of visit: April 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 April 2022

I suppose the term ‘fresh fish/seafood’ is an odd one when the restaurant is a 6 hour drive from the coast but the food was delicious. The grilled calamari was cooked to perfection, the Mozambique prawn coconut curry (same as a Thai or Malaysian curry...tbh) was scrummy and the seafood casserole (a bit like seafood paella or risotto) was also great. Have never been dressed in a bib before! Fun. Oh and a large beer is 500ml...not a standard pint! 🍺 do recommend, not bad for our first night in SA. I put mid-range price but that is relative. London is expensive but I do not suppose many people from the townships can afford to eat here...wonder if they share the unsold food with people who can’t afford it?More

Date of visit: April 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 18 April 2022 via mobile

Location - easy to find , in a nice strip mall in Illovo Seating - casual , comfortable Service - friendly, efficient Food - very very very good . The avo and shrimp appetizer was amazing - the shrimp tasted very fresh and was blanched...just right . I had the seafood casserole for main - it was a wow . The sauce was tasty , all the chunks of seafood in that dish were fresh and delicious- I highly recommend this dish . My friend tried the pangasius fish which he loved. Be warned though - portions are huge - the seafood casserole could easily feed two… A must try while in Jo’burg!More

Date of visit: April 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 10 March 2022

While the seafood (prawns) at the Illovo Fishmonger was very good the steak was terrible. I know that one should not order items that are not restaurant specialities however I am allergic to all seafood and had no choice but to select a steak. The...steak aside my real beef was the bill which contained spurious items that I had to enjoyed. It was only the intervention of a manager that this was corrected. Moral of the story - at the Fishmonger check your bill carefully. It just gives one a bad taste in the mouth.More

Date of visit: March 2022
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 15 January 2022

The Salmon Cerviche was a good choice, as was the Calamari Starter. Fresh Oysters were huge, but overpriced. We had a white wine to go with the fish, but the waiter just kept pouring cold wine into the warm wine in the glass, even though...I asked them not to! We were allowed to taste the first bottle to make sure it was ok, but not the second bottle! What if it had been off?More

Date of visit: January 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
View more reviews
Best nearby
Best nearby hotelsSee all
Don Sandton I
3 reviews
.25 km away
Protea Hotel Johannesburg Wanderers
573 reviews
.63 km away
The Peech Hotel
988 reviews
1.17 km away
Premiere Classe Hotel Apartments
282 reviews
1.21 km away
Best nearby restaurantsSee all
Bellagio Illovo
224 reviews
.14 km away
Farro
30 reviews
.05 km away
Le Wine Chambre Illovo
15 reviews
.60 km away
Best nearby attractionsSee all
HintHunt
174 reviews
.03 km away
Escape Room South Africa
31 reviews
1.48 km away
Bidvest Wanderers Stadium
54 reviews
.64 km away
The Wanderers Golf Club
12 reviews
.54 km away
Questions & Answers
Ask a question
piefke2016
24 August 2017|
AnswerShow all 2 answers
Response from 858pennj | Reviewed this property |
It is in a small shopping complex, but has seating inside and outside. They've put in a lot of effort to create a lovely family atmosphere, but it isn't in a "green space" as we'd say in the UK. I hope that helps.
1
Vote
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing

Fishmonger (Illovo) - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Fishmonger (Illovo)

Fishmonger (Illovo) is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4