These are the 14 best seafood restaurants in NYC right now (2024)

Forfish with a vista closer to sea level than many of its competitors, The Fulton wins by a nautical mile. The Seaport restaurant has equally beautiful tableaus from its ground floor patio as its dining room upstairs. Its seafood-centric menu includes red snapper ceviche, grilled swordfish and black sea bass in surroundings that’ll tickle even longtime New Yorkers, especially with a glass of something sparkling.

“No Menu. Just Fish.,” reads this beloved Astoria staple’s motto/instruction. It implies the quickly demonstrated freshness of what might be the familial setting’s salmon, swordfish or snapper from one day to the next.

Saint Julivert Fisherie is a neighborhood charmer and multi-subway-transfer-worthy destination in a slim space in brownstone Brooklyn. Its everyday menu includes whipped mackerel, octopus and squid a la plancha, and it has a summer special where you can design your own three-course menu for $45 daily from 5 to 5:30pm.

Anchored near the banks of the Gowanus Canal, thisseafood spot feels like a nautical film set. Get method with fritto misto, mussels, and whole crispy fish, plus clam, crab and lobster rolls.

This darling corner spot is a popular destination for brunch and dinner, inside and out. Though it isn’texclusively a seafood restaurant, some recent favorites included the smoked steelhead trout roulette, charred lemon skillet mussels and whole fried fish.

Long Island City’s Astoria Seafood has been serving up an immersive dining experience since before the category formally emerged. You’ll choose from its selection of raw scallops, shark, snapper and octopus, bag it up yourself and choose from preparations like grilled, fried, baked or broiled. And with its option to BYOB, this is as close as some of us will get to cooking at home.

A restaurant so much itself that it inserts itself into every visit like plumes of smoke swirling from a cigarette holder, imbuing its possessor with mystery, danger and elusive appeal, Maison Premiere has character. It also has oysters, caviar and large plates to pair with its fantastic drinks.

Pack your pockets full of cash, stake out a spot on the deck out back and order your oysters, clams, fried shrimp, lobster tails and soft shell crab at Johnny’s cafeteria-style counter. The waterside spot’s Henny Colada co*cktail is also one of the best frozen drinks in NYC.

These best seafood restaurants in America serve expert chowder, droolworthy lobster and new takes on classic fish dishes