Craving fresh, high-quality seafood?
Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best fancy seafood restaurants in Cleveland, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to fulfill your urges.
1. Blue Point Grille
Topping the list is Blue Point Grille, which marked its 20th anniversary this year and has been named one of Cleveland's best restaurants by Zagat. Located at 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 200, in the Warehouse District, it is the city's top-rated upscale seafood spot, boasting four stars out of 277 reviews on Yelp.
Visually stunning — with lofty ceilings, grand columns and two floors of dining— Blue Pointe Grille says it "serves the absolute freshest and highest-quality seafood available anywhere." Start off with chilled or hot appetizers like the oyster sampler or calamari with garlic aioli. House specialities include the seared ahi tuna, Nags Head grouper with lobster mashed potatoes and lobster Bolognese. Money not an issue? Try the Grand Seafood Tower, which includes two Maine lobsters, oysters, shrimp cocktail, smoked mussels, king crab and more, for a mere $125.
2. Marble Room Steaks and Raw Bar
Located in the historic bank lobby of the Garfield Building, Marble Room Steaks and Raw Bar is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse and sushi bar four stars out of 108 reviews. The opulent restaurant at 623 Euclid Ave., which opened last year, features antique fixtures, gilded tiles, an all-glass wine cellar above the bar and a sushi and raw bar. On the menu, look for the hamachi jalapeño crudo, king crab with drawn butter, oysters Rockefeller or rainbow trout with butternut squash. For red meat eaters, several steak options are also available.
3. Il Venetian
Downtown in the Key Center, Il Venetian is another much-loved, pricey go-to for seafood, with 4.5 stars out of 11 Yelp reviews. The upscale, modern Italian restaurant at 100 St. Clair Ave NE is helmed by chef Alberto Leandri, a native of Venice, per Cleveland.com. Standout menu options include the raw fish tasting, lobster pasta with caviar sauce and the pistachio-crusted yellowfin tuna. And don't leave without trying the grilled octopus with potato crema, celery and pickled shallots, which Yelp reviewer Mike S. says was perfectly prepared: "Tender, well-seasoned, not over-charred and with an excellent light accompaniment."
