Seafood restaurants in USA
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A
Barking Crab
Big buckets of crabs (Jonah, blue, snow, Alaskan or whatever is in season), steamers dripping in lemon and butter, paper plates piled high with all things fried… The food is plentiful and cheap, and you eat it at communal picnic tables overlooking the water. Beer flows freely. Service is slack but the atmosphere is jovial. Be prepared to wait for a table if the weather is warm.
reviewed
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B
Swan Oyster Depot
Superior flavor without the superior attitude of most seafood restaurants. The downside is an inevitable wait for the few counter seats, but the upside of the high turnover is unbelievably fresh seafood. On sunny days, place an order to go, browse Polk St boutiques, then breeze past the line to pick up your crab salad with Louie dressing and the obligatory top-grade oysters with mignonette (wine/shallot) sauce. Hike or take a bus up to Sterling Park for superlative seafood with ocean views.
reviewed
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C
Spud Fish & Chips
The competition is fierce over which Alki institution has the best fish and chips, here or Sunfish. (Why not try both?) Spud gets the tourist vote, with its crisp, beachy interior, friendly staff and large portions of fried fish, clam strips and oysters.
reviewed
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D
Henry's Great Alaskan
On the mall in front of the small-boat harbor; burgers, lots of deep-fried seafood, beer on tap and sports on TVs large and small scattered throughout the restaurant.
reviewed
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E
Momma O's Seafood
Momma O's Seafood is the place for a halibut fix - have it fried or, better, Cajun style - but don't discount the excellent onion rings or udon noodles.
reviewed
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F
La Mar Cebicheriá
Business lunches here could lead to some very untoward office behavior: the key ingredient in these collaged plates of Peruvian cebiche is leche de tigre, the ‘milk of the tiger, ’ a marinade of lime, chili and brine that ‘cooks’ the fish without a fire, and is said to have aphrodisiac properties. Sunny days are prime for seats by the bay and a plate of pristine, spicy cebiche classico of California halibut, habañero, Peruvian corn and yam – or go with the Pacific Rim flair of cebiche chifa, with peanuts, daikon, ginger and mango.
reviewed
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G
Ivar’s Acres of Clams
Ivar Haglund was a beloved local character famous for silly promotional slogans (‘Keep clam!’), but he sure knew how to fry up fish and chips. Ivar’s is a Seattle institution that started in 1938. Forgo the dining room for the outdoor lunch counter; the chaotic ordering system involves a lot of yelling, but it seems to work, and then you can enjoy your clam strips or fish and chips outdoors on the pier.
reviewed
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H
Boatyard
Slips are available to pull up in your own boat at this classy place that's gained a loyal following with locals. There's good live music, very fine martinis and talented chefs turning out Keys and Gulf classics like guava-glazed baby back ribs and crisped-to-perfection hand-battered fried shrimp.
reviewed
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I
CJ’s Crab Shack
This casual spot seems a cut above the rest of its Ocean Dr resto-siblings. As the name promises, there are lots of crustaceans served by a sassy waitstaff with complimentary dry attitude (it’s endearing). Happy hour is a happy steal: $5 for a half-dozen oysters, $6 for two stone-crab claws.
reviewed
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J
Santa Barbara Shellfish Company
[ourpick] Santa Barbara Shellfish Company 'From sea to skillet to plate' best describes this end-of-the-wharf crab shack that's more of a counter joint. Great lobster bisque, ocean views and the same owners for 25 years.
reviewed
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Lilly's Bistro
Chef Kathy Cary creates 'Kentucky tapas' (think catfish spring rolls, chorizo spoonbread) at this eclectic upscale eatery, a longtime Bardstown Rd favorite. The three-course lunch menu ($15) is a steal.
reviewed
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K
Poogan's Porch
Dine on sherried crab soup and toast points in the dim, floral- patterned environs of this supposedly haunted Victorian mansion, tucked away on a downtown side street.
reviewed
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L
Brophy Brothers
The raw-bar seafood at this raucous harbor hangout is so fresh that you half expect it to leap straight up out of the Pacific. Social upstairs deck for sunset drinks.
reviewed
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M
Mama's Fish House
This is Maui's most celebrated seafood restaurant, which pairs beachside romance with impeccably prepared fish. Reservations are essential.
reviewed
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Ray's Waterfront
Hands down, this is Seward's culinary high point, with attentive service, picture-postcard views and the finest seafood above water.
reviewed
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Blacksalt
There are many who claim BlackSalt serves both the best seafood and operates the best fish market in the city. We won’t lay those laurels down yet, but we’re also acknowledging that we hate having to drive or bus out here. As fish markets go, this one is very Georgetown-oriented, which is to say fresh, artesian, organic – and expensive. As restaurants go…well, we give it to chef Danny Wells: the man loves fish. He loves cooking fish, finding new flavors, delving into whatever culinary pleasure one can ratchet out of a sole, or skate or soft-shell crab. We’d say he’s spot-on with his shifting, innovative menu about 80% of the time, which is a fine ratio by our math.…
reviewed
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Kinkead’s
Robert Kinkead’s restaurant is one of the most revered of DC’s old-line establishments; where others have let quality slip and slide as their name has grown, or vanished altogether, this place endures and improves. Long before being a foodie or localvore was popular – in fact, back when a sign of status was having your Japanese tuna flown in from across the ocean – this seafood powerhouse was concentrating on artfully teasing the best flavors it could find from nearby fisheries and farms. For this commitment to the region and good food in general, we give our enthusiastic endorsement. Try the flounder with tasso ham and thank us later.
reviewed
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O
Treasure Ship
A landmark since the ’70s, this trip of a place houses three separate restaurants over three levels of a full-scale replica of Sir Francis Drake’s 17th-century Golden Hind galleon. Hook’s Grille & Grog, at dock level, serves Caribbean cuisine (mains $11 to $24), and is open for lunch and dinner. On the 2nd level, the Main Dining Room is open at dinner, and serves steaks, seafood and huge salads (mains $16 to $30). Opening onto an open-air deck, the 3rd level contains Captain Crabby’s, with all-you-can-eat dinners of crab legs, shrimp and ribs (buffet $20 to $30), and cocktails served at the Deck Bar overlooking Grand Lagoon.
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Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough
Lobster lovers should check out Abbott’s, on the waterfront in neighboring Noank. Order your lobster (or other seafood) at the window, get a number, pick out a table by the water and, when your number is called, pay and dig in. New England doesn’t get much better than this on a warm summer night. Just down the road is Abbott’s sister business, Costello’s Clam Shack, open similar hours. To reach both from Mystic, take Water St/Rte 215 southwest. When you reach a stop sign take a left (Mosher Ave) and stay right when it divides. Turn left onto Main St and right onto Pearl. BYOB beer or wine.
reviewed
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Q
Drago’s Seafood Restaurant
You used to have to truck out to Metairie to enjoy the oyster creations of Drago Cvitanovich, one of the many Croatian immigrants who brought a heady knowledge of shellfish from the Dalmatian to the Gulf Coast. Now Drago’s has an outpost in the downtown Riverside Hilton. The surf-and-turf menu is alright (we like the ‘Shuckee Duckee’ – a duck breast topped with oysters), but the real draw are the charbroiled oysters, dripping with butter, garlic, parmesan and their own juices after kissing an open fire. It’s one of the better business lunches around, by dint of taste and price.
reviewed
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R
Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant
The old school of American seafood cookery believes in the following: fry it, then serve with a lemon wedge. That sounds a little simplistic, we know, but believe us: when chefs perfect the art of batter-frying there are few better ways to consume something from the sea. The cooks at Jack Dempsey’s are in that hallowed, great fry-and-broil fraternity. You may not think there’s a lot of art or pretty edges to a catfish platter and fries, but bite into that firm flesh overflowing with salty, delicious grease and you’ll realize this kitchen is working in its own rarefied air.
reviewed
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Taku Glacier Lodge
Juneau has several salmon bakes. Though aimed primarily at tourists, they provide great food (hard to go wrong with fresh salmon) with an experience conveying the flavor of frontier Alaska. Taku Glacier Lodge is reached via a 15-minute floatplane flight up Taku Inlet, and allows you to combine flightseeing, glacier viewing and a salmon bake in one excursion.
The tour lasts three hours and is a little pricey for a salmon dinner, but a much better experience and cheaper than taking a helicopter to the ice field. Sign up at the lodge's booth on Juneau's waterfront, behind Merchant's Wharf.
reviewed
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S
Hank’s Oyster Bar
There are a fair few oyster bars in Washington (slurping raw boys is good for political puffery, apparently) and Hank’s is our favorite of the bunch. It’s got the right testosterone combination, a bit of power-player muscle mixed with good-old-boy ambiance, which isn’t to say women won’t love it here. Just that guys really do. Needless to say, the oyster menu is extensive and excellent; there are always at least four varieties on hand. Quarters are cramped, and you often have to wait for a table – nothing a saki oyster bomb won’t fix.
reviewed
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Shucks!
So close to Vermilion Bay and the Gulf, it’s no wonder that Abbeville, 21 miles southwest of Lafayette, is known for oysters. Until recently, you could take your pick of three oyster-shucking restaurants within two blocks. At the time of writing, legendary Black’s had been sold and remained empty. You can still suck ’em down in Dupuy’s Oyster House (337-893-2336; 108 S Main St), first opened here in 1869, and at the newfangled Shucks!. Look up more information at the Vermilion Parish website: www.vermilion.org.
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Dupuy’s Oyster House
So close to Vermilion Bay and the Gulf, it’s no wonder that Abbeville, 21 miles southwest of Lafayette, is known for oysters. Until recently, you could take your pick of three oyster-shucking restaurants within two blocks. At the time of writing, legendary Black’s had been sold and remained empty. You can still suck ’em down in Dupuy’s Oyster House, first opened here in 1869, and at the newfangled Shucks! (337-898-3311; 701 W Port St). Look up more information at the Vermilion Parish website: www.vermilion.org.
reviewed
