China's favourite seafood restaurant has been found … and it’s a Brighton fish and chip shop.

Chinese customers have been flocking to the Regency Seafood Restaurant, in King’s Road, leaving staff flummoxed by their new found popularity.

The fish restaurant, which has been a favourite with British foodies for decades, has become a hit with Chinese visitors, thanks to a mystery celebrity posting on the social networking site Renren.

The Regency, which has been serving up fish suppers to the city’s residents and visitors seeking a view of the West Pier since the 1930s, has had a boom in customers from thousands of miles away.

In the past the Regency has been praised by the likes of British seafood fanatics Rick Stein and Jay Rayner, but now it is being hailed a success by Chinese celebrities.

The restaurant has become so popular with Chinese fans, that they have even launched their own Facebook page in tribute to the oysters, scallops and battered cod on offer.

Manager Emilio Savides said: “We have always had people coming from all over the country, places like Leicester and Huddersfield and everywhere, but we have recently started having a lot more Chinese visitors.

“We often ask our customers where they have seen us recommended, but we were quite surprised by the answer.

“One family from Shanghai came in and said ‘Did you know you’re the most famous seafood restaurant in China?’.

“We said we didn’t know, but it turns out we had a Chinese celebrity, who is one of their biggest stars, come in six or seven months ago.

He started blogging about us and then a Chinese Facebook page was set up.

“We’ve not seen the page and I don’t even know the celebrity’s name. WIt’s a bit of a mystery, but it is great for business that our reputation is travelling that far around the world.”