One of Edinburgh’s most celebrated new restaurants of 2025 has unveiled its first festive ‘Fish-mas’ menus for Christmas and Hogmanay at its waterfront venue on the Shore in Leith.
Chef Barry Bryson opened the doors to his first independent fish restaurant in February. Since then, he has quickly established ‘Barry Fish’ as one of the city’s most popular dining venues for local diners and visitors by showcasing the best fish and seafood from Scotland.
This season, Barry and his team will be serving a festive feast from the sea, taking inspiration from ‘The Feast of the Seven Fishes’, an Italian American celebration with dishes of fish and other seafood served over the festive season, but one that follows the European tradition of eating fish over Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
The restaurant staging and interiors for the Christmas period will be created by the restaurant’s interior designer, Robin Bryson Jack, Barry’s husband.
Festive touches will include selected seasonal specials and cocktails to appear from mid-December, with a new winter menu designed to be the catch of the day for Christmas shoppers, office parties and festive group bookings of up to eight people, including Loch Fyne oysters; Scottish seafood platters; hand-dived scallops and the famous fish pastrami.
A New Year’s Eve special dinner menu will be served over two sittings on Wednesday 31st December, featuring Lobster Barry Rose, scallops, neeps and tatties, and of course fish pastrami and oysters. An early sitting will be available from 6pm or those heading into the city centre for the bells. A later service will start from 9pm for guests planning to celebrate and toast the New Year with the Barry Fish team at midnight.
The restaurant will also be open for a one-off Sunday service on 28th December, serving dinner as well as lunch service only on New Year’s Day with a special greatest fish brunch menu and cocktails (Thursday 1st January 2026).
At Barry Fish, diners can enjoy views directly into the open plan working kitchen from the pass, as well as out over the Water of Leith from the comfort of the restaurant.
Chef Barry Bryson said:
“It’s been an incredible year for the Barry Fish team since launching the restaurant in Leith back in February.
“We’re already gearing up for our big finale of 2025 with a festive feast from the sea throughout December and for Hogmanay with our Barry Fish ‘Fish-mas’ menus, including Scottish seafood platters, hand-dived scallops, mussels and of course fish pastrami.
“Our focus will be on great hospitality, familiar dishes our customers know and love, as well as a celebratory atmosphere without a formal festive menu.”
Barry added:
“Our ethos is simple. The best ingredients we can get, cooked with skill and passion in a welcoming warm environment. There is no formality at Barry Fish other than the love and respect that we have for what we do.
“Our huge thanks go to all our customers for their continued support during 2025 and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Barry Fish for a very merry ‘Fish-mas’.”
The ‘Barry’ in ‘Barry Fish’ is taken from the Scottish word for ‘good’ with the website tagline – Barry, a Scottish word for good, also a man’s name.
Barry Fish will be open for normal service throughout December from Tuesday to Saturday.
A New Year’s Eve special five-course dinner menu is priced at £75 per person and will be served over two sittings on Wednesday 31st December from 6pm and 9pm.
The restaurant will also be open for a one-off Sunday service on 28th December, as well as lunch service only on New Year’s Day (Thursday 1st January 2026).
The restaurant will close its doors for a well-earned festive break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day (24th–26th December), reopening on Saturday 27th December.
Barry Fish is located at 62 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh. The Shore area of Leith is already known as Edinburgh’s foodie hotspot – home to the Michelin-starred The Kitchin by Tom Kitchin; Restaurant Martin Wishart; Heron and five-star luxury floating hotel, Fingal.
Barry Fish is also conveniently located just five minutes from The Shore and Port of Leith tram stops, which offer a direct and quick transport link between Leith, Edinburgh city centre and Edinburgh Airport.
For more information on Barry Fish, its new festive menus and to make a booking, go to www.barryfish.co.uk or call 0131 6250 000
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Follow Barry Fish on Instagram at www.instagram.com/barryfishrestaurant
Follow Chef Barry Bryson on Instagram www.instagram.com/chefbarrybryson and Facebook www.facebook.com/chef.caterer.edinburgh
