Johor Bahru Seafood: Where to Eat & What to Expect

Featured image: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Quick answer: where to eat seafood in Johor Bahru

Danga Bay is our pick for a first evening, because it pairs live tanks with a zi char menu close to the city. Drivers who want a village setting should head to Kampung Simpang Arang, about 20 km west. Groups and celebrations suit a reservation-led restaurant such as The Mermaid. Convenience trades against atmosphere and price at every step, so pick the format before you pick the dish.

Johor Bahru seafood at a glance

Prices and hours below were checked November 2026 against published reports. Spring 2026 reporting puts the kampung eatery's hours at 11am–10pm daily. Budget bands are relative, not quotes, because seafood is priced by weight.

Danga Bay: the waterfront seafood market

Danga Bay's seafood market follows the live-tank format. You pick from the tanks, then the open kitchen cooks it zi char style. A 2023 visitor account lists hours of 11:30am–11pm, so check current hours before you go. Grand Bayview Seafood Restaurant is described as the neighbouring operation under the same company. Danga Bay itself is promoted on Visit Johor's tourism site. We'd go at dinner, when you can watch the kitchen work. Menus extend past seafood to chicken and other meats, which helps mixed groups. Skip it if you want a village atmosphere.

Kampung seafood in Gelang Patah

Kampung Simpang Arang is in Gelang Patah, Iskandar Puteri, roughly 20 km west of the city centre. Reporting from spring 2026 puts the drive at about 20 minutes from Tuas Checkpoint. Its name means Charcoal Junction Village, after a mangrove charcoal trade. It is one of the remaining Orang Seletar settlements in Johor, and livelihoods there still rest on the sea. Zhi Lai Hai Xian, known as Kedai Makan Simpang Arang, is a family-run eatery with tables under a wide awning beside live tanks. Its owners run it pork-free and lard-free. Spring 2026 reporting lists the prices below, which depend on weight and market rate. Rain matters here, since one visitor was held under the awning for an hour by a downpour. Build a buffer into your return drive. Warong Anjung Perintis, about 15 minutes back towards town, serves mee rebus, mutton soup and teh halia from 10am to 10pm. Skip the kampung if you have no car or no flexible afternoon.

• Sotong sambal: RM35
• Salted egg and black pepper crab: RM128
• Lala with ginger and spring onion: RM38
• Kangkong cili: RM10
• Fried mantou: RM1.50 each

Sit-down seafood restaurants

Reservation-led restaurants suit tables of six or more and special meals. The Mermaid takes reservations by WhatsApp, with the number on its official site. That site lists no prices or opening hours, so ask when you book. Expect a more polished setting and the highest budget band of the three formats. Skip it if you want to pick from tanks under an awning. Our non-seafood restaurant picks cover other sit-down options.

Johor Bahru seafood route and time trade-offs

Match the meal to your clock. Danga Bay fits an evening after a day in the city. A long lunch suits the kampung, which opens at 11am and sits about 20 km out. A sit-down restaurant fits a fixed booking time.

• Short on time: Danga Bay, nearest the city.
• Car and a free afternoon: Kampung Simpang Arang, about 20 minutes from Tuas Checkpoint.
• Celebrating with six or more: book The Mermaid by WhatsApp.

How to order seafood without overpaying

Seafood here is priced by weight at the market rate, so the total stays unknown until your pick is weighed. Ask for the price per weight, the weight of your pick and the total before the kitchen cooks. For two diners, we'd order a crab, a shellfish dish, a vegetable and rice. Add one fish or prawn dish for each two extra people. Spring 2026 prices show how vegetables balance the bill: kangkong cili cost RM10 against RM128 for the salted egg crab.

• Mistake: pointing at a crab without asking its weight.
• Mistake: accepting a verbal market price with no total.
• Mistake: ordering one large dish per person instead of sharing.
• Mistake: ignoring small extras such as fried mantou, at RM1.50 each.

Getting there from Singapore and around JB

For the kampung, the route runs over the Second Link and through Tuas Checkpoint, then about 20 minutes on to the village. We'd treat it as a drive or ride-hail trip, not a public-transit one. Danga Bay is nearer the city, so it suits a short ride from central JB. Pick the crossing that fits where you will eat. Peak hours can slow either route, and we don't quote checkpoint waits because they swing daily. The Malaysian and Singapore immigration authorities publish current crossing information. Without a car, choose Danga Bay and use ride-hail.

Halal, pork-free and dietary notes

Zhi Lai Hai Xian runs pork-free and lard-free. Pork-free is not the same as halal-certified, so ask staff about certification directly. Do not assume Danga Bay or The Mermaid are halal. Ask each venue before you sit down, especially about sauces and stock. Shellfish allergies call for a word with the kitchen too, since woks are shared.

Best time to go and how long to allow

Lunch works for the kampung, which is open 11am–10pm. Dinner suits Danga Bay, whose hours run to 11pm. Weekdays are the safer bet for walk-in tables, and weekends call for booking ahead. Allow a half day for the kampung, because the village sits about 20 km out and the meal runs long. If rain closes in, wait it out under the awning or move to an indoor restaurant. After a Danga Bay dinner, an evening at the JB night markets adds cheaper snacks. Non-seafood days can start with Johor-style mee rebus. Another good bowl is Johor laksa.