This vast fish restaurant next door to The London Palladium suffers from identity crisis. Is it a high-end, high-priced celebration of seafood, or a pit stop for tourists and families looking for meal deals? Sometimes, the confusion exists even on the same plate.

The Venue
First impressions are inauspiciously downmarket. A hawker distributes leaflets outside and there are colour photographs by the entrance for those who don’t know what fish and chips or spring rolls look like. The ground floor features a running track-shaped sushi conveyer belt and stools, plus an area for those who like their seafood cooked with a style and vibe reminiscent of T.G.I. Friday’s. The basement features more general seating and a teppanyaki table, not always open, where you can watch the chef griddle your food. It’s certainly a big venue, capable of housing 300 covers.

The Atmosphere
An obligatory water wall, exposed brickwork, an agreeably brash neon-lit bar to the rear of the ground floor and slightly clubby lighting all lend ambience. Customers are tourists, couples with kids and workmates kicking back; this is not destination, book-ahead dining. Service is friendly and generally, though not invariably, accurate.

The Food
The menu is alarmingly vast. There are fishy starters, noodle and curry sections, bento boxes, Western fish mains, meatier alternatives, fish/seafood/meat combos, plus separate sushi and teppanyaki menus.

Apart from oysters - half a dozen of which would set you back an inexplicably jaw-dropping £20.70 (more than at the legendary Scott’s of Mayfair) - starters range from £4.95 to £7.75. Six baby squid with robata sauce (£7.75) are a big hit. The squid are cooked to chewy-but-tender perfection with delicious charring, accompanied by sauce that's sweet, hot and Oriental. Prawn tempura (£6.45) features feather-light batter and flavoursome prawns, but it’s a parsimonious portion and the accompanying salad, dominated by shredded red cabbage, doesn't really make much sense.

A seabass main features too many ingredients, some of which shouldn’t share the same plate. The two beautiful fillets get along well with prawns and spinach but stand no chance against the combined onslaught of feta, tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes. At £21.45, one expects sensible ideas as well as what's, admittedly, assured cooking.

Sole spagato (£26.95), on the other hand, is a triumph; a whole, on-the-bone fish with prawns and an elegant, beurre blanc-esque, delicately garlicky sauce. It is unforgivably let down, though, by bogstandard oven chips, and both mains are garnished with that same nonsensical red cabbage salad.

A rocket and Parmesan salad (£3.95) surprises, and not pleasantly: the leaves are fine but the cheese is powdered, not shaved. Pungent red onion, the kiss of death for a delicate white fish dish, has been added. A bigger glug of fruity olive oil might bring the salad alive.

An octet of puddings ranges from ice cream with chocolate sauce at £4.45 to an expensive cheesecake at £7.75. Crème brulée features good custard and a wafer-thin, accomplished top. It would be great for a fiver but is a little overpriced at £6.45. Milk tart is a comforting, warm, cinnamon-rich egg custard in a sponge, rather than pastry, case. A scoop of vanilla ice cream provides welcome temperature contrast, but the squirty cream, every bit as naff as oven chips, just shouldn't be on a £6.45 dessert.

The Drink
Wines - wholly South African apart from the sake and Champagne - start at £15.95 for a chenin blanc or £17.95 for a cabernet sauvignon, and nothing breaches the £45 mark. Commendably, much is available by the 125, 175 or 250 ml glass. Chenin Blanc Cape Collection (£4.25/£6.25/£18.25) is crisp, clean, dry and classy. Sauvignon Blanc Boschendall 1685 (£7.45/£10.45/£31.25) is a citrussy, complex delight, and worth the money.

The Last Word
The Cape Town Fish Market doesn't seem to know whether it wants to be a rival to J. Sheekey or simply the piscatorial equivalent of a mid-range burger or pizza chain. It’s easy to spend over £50 on three courses and half a bottle of modest wine here and, for that price, a slightly more upmarket vibe and more consistent food might be expected.

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