The One Day of the Week You Should Never Order Seafood
There is one day of the week when ordering seafood deserves a second thought. The way seafood moves through restaurants gives this day a unique position. The timing of deliveries, storage windows, and menu planning all converge in a way that makes this day stand out for chefs, food safety experts, and people who work with fish every day.
That Day Is Monday
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For many years, fish markets and distributors slowed or paused deliveries over the weekend, particularly on Sundays. Restaurants placed their main seafood orders late in the week, expecting to sell most of that inventory during high-traffic Friday and Saturday services. Any remaining product still needed to be used once the weekend ended.
By Monday, that seafood had already spent several days in refrigeration. Fish changes quickly compared to meat or poultry, and the margin for error narrows by the day. This timing made Monday the point when older inventory was most likely to reach the dining room.
How Chefs Brought It To Public Attention
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This pattern entered public awareness through Anthony Bourdain. In his New Yorker essay Don’t Eat Before Reading This and later in Kitchen Confidential, he described how restaurants handled seafood at the time.
His warning reflected standard kitchen practices from that era, when deliveries clustered before the weekend and Monday menus often relied on remaining stock.
As his advice circulated, it shifted from an industry-specific observation into a general rule repeated without context. The supply chain explanation faded, while the warning itself remained.
Restaurant operations evolved significantly after the 1990s. Many kitchens now receive seafood multiple times per week. Some work with fisheries that land and ship fish overnight. Others rely on flash-freezing technology that preserves seafood at peak quality immediately after harvest.
These changes reshaped how seafood moves from dock to plate. Customer expectations for freshness rose, and restaurants adapted their sourcing and storage practices to meet them.
Why Monday Still Carries Weight
Monday still highlights differences in how restaurants operate. Establishments that order seafood infrequently or treat fish as a secondary menu item often depend on inventory carried through the weekend.
In those cases, Monday remains the point when that inventory reaches the end of its planned use window.
Food safety experts note that certain fish species are especially sensitive to extended storage, even under refrigeration. When handling practices fall short, quality and safety decline faster.
The day itself matters less than the restaurant’s approach to seafood. Restaurants that prioritize fish tend to show it clearly through concise menus, transparent sourcing, and staff who know delivery schedules.
In restaurants where seafood plays a minor role, choosing another option early in the week often aligns better with how kitchens manage inventory.