So, people always ask me, “Where’s the absolute best seafood in the world?” Honestly, I’ve been chasing that answer myself for years. It’s not as simple as pointing to one spot on a map, believe me. My own taste buds have been on quite a journey trying to figure this out.
My journey kinda started close to home. You know, decent fish and chips, sometimes some good shrimp. Pretty standard stuff. But then I started traveling more, really getting out there. My first real “wow” moment wasn’t even fancy. It was just super fresh fish, simply grilled, somewhere by the sea. Can’t even remember the exact place now, but it made me realize freshness is absolutely king. It changes everything.
My Seafood Trail
I started hearing things, you know? Like whispers about places like Iceland, where folks supposedly eat mountains of fish, like way more than anywhere else. So, I had to check it out. Went there. And yeah, seafood is literally everywhere. It’s part of daily life, super fresh. It wasn’t complicated food, mostly just really good quality because it’s pulled right out of those cold waters. I guess that cold, clean water really does make a difference. You could taste it.
Then there was this trip, I think it was Sweden? Definitely the west coast. They were crazy about their shellfish over there. Prawns, lobsters, even those little crawly things, langoustines. Seriously good. Again, must be that cold water magic. You could taste the sea, slightly salty and super clean. The mussels they served up were amazing too, plump and flavorful.
- Felt like they were pulled straight from the water just for you.
- Cooked so simply, often just steamed with maybe some herbs.
- Totally different vibe and taste from the warm water seafood I’d had before.
Australia and New Zealand also kept popping up in conversations. Heard folks down there just catch their own fish and throw it on the barbie, real simple stuff. And yeah, when I got there, that was pretty much the vibe. Fish tasted like actual fish, not hidden under tons of heavy sauces or spices. Snapper, barramundi… usually just grilled or pan-fried with a squeeze of lemon maybe. You could really appreciate the actual flavor of the fish itself. Felt very… honest, you know?
And let’s be real, you see Norwegian salmon everywhere these days, right? Even in my local supermarket, thousands of miles away. That got me thinking. Those guys must be doing something right; they’re huge exporters. So, I visited Norway. And yeah, the salmon is definitely top-notch, especially the smoked stuff. But it also kind of showed me how global seafood has become. You can get pretty good stuff almost anywhere now, shipped from places like Norway. Though, I gotta say, it’s maybe not quite the same as eating it right there, practically dockside.
So you see, every place had its own thing going on. Iceland was all about that sheer abundance and purity. Sweden totally nailed the cold-water shellfish game. Down Under was focused on simplicity and letting the natural fish flavor shine through. Norway showed impressive quality and how they get it out to the world.
It really made me realize that chasing one single “best” was kind of a fool’s errand. What even is “best”?
- Is it the absolute freshest possible taste, straight off the boat?
- Is it having the most variety to choose from?
- Is it finding specific types, like oysters or crabs, done incredibly well?
- Or is it just sitting down to a simple, perfect plate of grilled fish right by the water?
So yeah, there isn’t one single “best seafood country” in my book. It really, really depends what you’re after at that moment. Are you craving amazing cold-water prawns? Maybe head towards Scandinavia. Want super fresh, simply cooked fish where the fish is the star? Australia or New Zealand could be your jam. Want to see a place where fish is practically woven into the fabric of life? Iceland is pretty wild for that.
For me, the hunt kind of continues, but I’m less obsessed with finding the one ultimate place now. It’s more about just enjoying the local specialty, wherever I happen to land. Honestly, the best seafood experience is often tied up with the place, the people you’re with, the whole moment. Like that one time on a tiny little boat trip, eating fish that was caught literally minutes before… wasn’t some famous seafood country, just a random spot. But man, that was unbelievably good. That’s the kind of “best” I tend to look for these days.
