A spread of dishes on a white tablecloth. — A spread of dishes from Crevette.

An Eater Editor’s Favorite Seafood Spots in NYC

Eater NY’s Melissa McCart on everything from raw bars to fried fish

by Melissa McCart Updated Mar 25, 2025, 2:00pm EDT

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A spread of dishes from Crevette.

| Lanna Apisukh/Eater

by Melissa McCart Updated Mar 25, 2025, 2:00pm EDT

As a kid, I’d regularly accompany my father on his boat off the Jersey Shore to fish for fluke or bluefish or help him pluck meat from crabs. Back then, my go-to fish restaurants were casual, local spots with docks to tie up boats. Today, in New York, I can choose from an array of options, both upscale and laid-back, as seafood restaurants flourish — buoyed by the rise of sushi spots and a growing preference for a more health-conscious diet.

Like many New Yorkers (and bridge-and-tunnel commuters), I’m still smitten with Grand Central Oyster Bar where my order is a dozen bivalves and a New England clam chowder; I can’t resist stopping by the Whispering Gallery on the way out. And the Balthazar seafood tower as well as Lure Fishbar’s crispy sushi rice are among my longtime favorite spots.

In the past year or so though, I’ve been keeping track of fish restaurants that are encroaching like a rising tide, with options like the seafood steakhouse from a Top Chef winner and a brasserie among them.

That leads me to what’s changed in this update, which includes the trimming of Johnny’s Reef, Abuqir, A Salt & Battery, Mariscos El Submarino, Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Co., Maison Premiere, and Lenny’s. I’ve added three places: the storied Balthazar; Danny Garcia’s seafood steakhouse Time and Tide; and the French-leaning Crevette from the Lord’s and Dame folks, Patricia Howard and chef Ed Szymanski.

Melissa McCart is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author; she grew up in a fisherman’s family and knows the difference between fresh water and salt water smelt among other bits of seafood trivia. She’s relatively proficient in netting crabs from piles in the dark as well as raking sand for clams.

Le Bernardin

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Eric Ripert’s temple of fine dining has held a rare four-star status since 1986, the year it opened, from the New York Times. The classic French restaurant celebrates seafood, with a $350 dinner tasting menu that includes hamachi, shrimp from Montauk, salmon caviar, and grilled hiramasa. Lunch is a prix-fixe menu of three courses for $130.

W 51ST St (btwn 6th & 7th Ave), New York, NY 10019

(212) 554-1515

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Le Bernardin Lobster Roll — A lobster roll.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

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The tile-lined, arched, and subterranean space at Grand Central Oyster Bar is one of the few places displaying Guastavino vaulting, and it may be the most dramatic place to eat your fish and chips in the city. The fish is textured and flaky, and the fries are exceptional, too — and you’ve never seen a thicker tartar sauce. The move is to sit at the bar and start with oysters.

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OpenTable

89 E 42nd St (Grand Central Terminal), New York, NY 10017

(212) 490-6650

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Two bowls of chowder, one white, one red, with a spoon lifting up a bite of the white... — White or red clam chowder?

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Time and Tide

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Season 21 Top Chef winner Danny Garcia and Kent Hospitality Group have rolled out this steakhouse format that specializes in seafood in often whimsical renditions of classic seafood preparations. Get the seafood platter, perhaps some nori fries, and don’t miss the giant goldfish for starters. The full dinner menu is divided by raw fish, small fish, and big fish, while sides range from seared sweet plantains to charred cabbage. A word of advice is to order all the sauces (au poivre, vin jaune cream, salsa macha, cilantro caper). The full menu is available at the bar as well as the dining room.

48 East 26th Street, New York, New York 10010

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Penny

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One of the most talked-about restaurant openings of 2024, Penny is a seafood bar geared towards walk-ins and the after-work crowd (though these days it's open on the weekends as well). The restaurant is entirely counter-seating, the kind of place to drop in for something spendy. Check out the $39 ice box, which is like a seafood tower for one, or level up with fancier $98 or $185 versions.

90 East 10th Street, New York, New York 10003

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The mounted basins feature catch of the day. — Catch of the day at Penny.

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Crevette

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Patricia Howard and chef Ed Szymanski have opened a romantic French-leaning seafood spot with perfect lighting, floral details, and a by-the-sea Provençal vibe. It’s the couple’s biggest restaurant, but it still feels intimate, with its perfect lighting and taper candlelight. Start with oysters and poached pink shrimp or perhaps the rock shrimp and basil fritters. The razor clams and chorizo on toast is a crowd pleaser. And by all means, don’t miss the bouillabaisse.

10 Downing Street, New York, New York 10014

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Three plates of food inspired by the South of France at Crevette. — A trio of dishes at Crevette.

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Ariari

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Ariari is just one restaurant in the burgeoning empire of prolific Hand Hospitality restaurateurs Kihyun Lee and Jinan Choi. The menu i is inspired by the food of Busan, with dishes like mak hwe, thin-sliced seasonal fish served with lettuce wraps; scallop DIY gimbap, a seafood butter-gui with shrimp and baby scallops, a seafood pancake, and soft-shell crab. The space looks like a stylish diner, with dinette-style metal furniture, framed photos of Korea, and a bustling kitchen and bar at the rear.

119 1st Ave (btw E7th @ St Marks), New York, NY 10003

(646) 422-7466

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Lure Fishbar

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If you want real luxury, few places are better than Lure in the northeast corner of Soho. The subterranean spot makes you feel like you’re in the hold of a ship, with its overarching crossbeams and nautical lanterns. Come evening or weekend brunch, the place is filled with families, businesspeople, tourists, and nearly every other diner category, chowing down on whole fish, grand shellfish plateaux, dim sum, and a novel form of sushi. Hold on to this Soho legend while you can, as rumors swirl that Prada is trying to push it out.

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142 Mercer St (at Prince St), New York, NY 10012

(212) 431-7676

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Balthazar

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Keith McNally’s Balthazar is a French bistro that’s not necessarily a seafood restaurant, but when you see the expanse of the raw bar and a few seafood towers as servers twirl them to their tables, it seems silly not to get one, studded with East Coast and West Coast bivalves, crab, lobster, and littlenecks. Mains include seafood spaghetti, halibut, salmon, and trout.

80 Spring St (at Crosby St), New York, NY 10012

(212) 965-1414

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A photo of the Balthazar awning. — Balthazar

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Cervo's

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A pick-me-up kind of restaurant, Cervo’s is the place to snag a seat at the bar for a plate of green tomatoes with fried rock shrimp, mussels escabeche, or a fried skate wing with sungolds and bottarga. Tuck a glass of boutique Spanish vermouth in a rainbow of colors into your evening in between snacks. Everything about this place drips in sex appeal.

43 Canal Street, Manhattan, NY 10002

(212) 226-2545

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Clams with vinho verde sit on a white plate next to large, head-on shrimp on a separate plate in this overhead shot. — Clams with vinho verde and shrimp.

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Saint Julivert

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This jewel box of a restaurant shows off the talent of Alex Raij and Eder Montero with dishes like cod pot pie, squid a la plancha, and, as always, dynamic specials like the fun-to-eat gooseneck barnacles.

264 Clinton St (Verandah Place), Brooklyn, NY 11201

(347) 987-3710

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Saint Julivert Fisherie octopus carpaccio — Octopus carpaccio at Saint Julivert.

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Strange Delight

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Oysters roasted in a former pizza oven are just some of the reasons Strange Delight is Brooklyn’s most exciting seafood spot right now. Bringing a taste of New Orleans to New York, there’s fried shrimp and oyster loaves on milk bread. It’s also a restaurant that has perfected the seafood tower for one.

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63 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

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Oysters all the ways at Strange Delight. — Strange Delight serves oysters roasted in its pizza oven.

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Randazzo's Clam Bar

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Family-owned Randazzo’s is not only one of the city’s best Italian spots, it’s one of the the best seafood restaurants. It dates to 1916 — an era when the bay was lined with clam shacks, and now there’s only one. Today, it serves an array of seafood classics, including both New England and Manhattan chowders as well as a standout version of zuppa di pesce.

2017 Emmons Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235

(718) 615-0010

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