When you think of Milwaukee, you may not immediately think of great seafood, unless, of course, Friday fish fries in Milwaukee come to mind. However, Milwaukee actually boasts an abundance of fantastic seafood restaurants. If you are looking for the best seafood Milwaukee seafood restaurants we’ve got you covered.
There are a few simple factors that come to mind when determining what sets some Milwaukee seafood restaurants apart from the rest. Fresh seafood from quality purveyors obviously is first, but just as important are diverse seafood options and interesting preparations by a dedicated chef.
Something about restaurant ambiance also matters when it comes to determining whether a seafood restaurant stands out from the crowd, which may include a fancy table-setting overlooking the lake, or a relaxing vibe that makes you feel like you’re on vacation. Read below to learn about some of the best Milwaukee seafood restaurants have to offer.
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1. Harbor House
Harbor House is one of the premier Milwaukee seafood restaurants. The restaurant boasts the best view of Lake Michigan in the city and also overlooks the Milwaukee Art Museum. There are basically three unique experiences one can have at Harbor House.
The spacious dining room offers a perfect place for lunch or a unique destination for a special night out for dinner. Other patrons visit Harbor House to enjoy the bar, which offers small plate specials and a great happy hour. Finally, during the summer months, Harbor House becomes a destination spot for one of the best outdoor patios in the city. With its great views and top-notch seafood, Harbor House is definitely worth a visit.
The seafood at Harbor House is some of the best in the city, and you can get it for brunch, lunch, or dinner. Weekend brunch includes a gourmet menu along with both breakfast and lunch stations. For the full experience, check out Harbor House for either lunch or dinner. A full raw bar is on display, where you can get fresh oysters, clams, shrimp, and lobster. Off the regular menu, which is pretty similar during lunch and dinner hours, you can choose from a range of appetizers, like the crab cakes served with remoulade, soups, like the must-try shellfish bisque, along with a diverse selection of entrees.
While the restaurant serves excellent salads, sandwiches, pasta, and steaks, enjoyers of seafood should head toward the fish and shellfish options. The grilled whole sea bass with roast fingerling potatoes is certain to fulfill your seafood craving, or pick from a range of surf and turf options that will leave you more than satisfied.
- Address: 550 N. Harbor Drive
- Hours: Wednesday – Friday 5pm-9pm | Saturday and Sunday 11am-2pm and 5-9pm
- View Menu Here
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2. St. Paul Fish Company
Located inside of the Milwaukee Public Market, St. Paul Fish Company is probably the best seafood restaurant in Milwaukee if one takes into account the price and quality of products. The restaurant itself is split into a couple of different parts, basically an oyster bar, dining areas with waitstaff, and a seafood counter where you can buy fresh seafood to take home. They are also home to one of the best Friday fish fry in Milwaukee!
During summer, there is also an outdoor oyster bar and additional seating. Since it is located in the Public Market, you can take advantage of the parking and use the restaurant as a jumping-off point to explore the rest of the Historic Third Ward.
There are tons of seafood choices at St. Paul Fish Company. Beyond the daily oyster bar’s large section, you can get awesome sandwiches, like the Jamaican jerk swordfish, or the Lobster Roll. The St. Paul bouillabaisse is always excellent, as are the appetizers, such as the fried surf clams, the smoked salmon on a stick, and the shark bites.
For dinner, try the grilled fish which comes served with rice, sautéed vegetables, and either a beurre blanc sauce or fruit salsa. Options are extensive but include mahi-mahi, red grouper, and arctic char. If you are in the mood for seafood, you can’t go wrong at St. Paul Fish Company.
St. Paul Fish Company offers numerous daily specials from 4pm to 8pm. Mondays you can get a pound of mussels, Tuesdays offer fish tacos, Wednesdays are king crab legs, Thursdays are two for one blue point oysters, and Fridays offer a lake perch fish fry. There is also a daily special on Maine lobster, where a dinner of Maine’s best export will o77 nly run you $22.95.
- Address: 400 N. Water St.
- Hours: Sunday 11pm-6pm | Monday-Saturday 11am-8pm
- View Menu Here
Related Article: Best Restaurants in Milwaukee
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3. Third Coast Provisions
Third Coast Provisions is one of Milwaukee’s newest and trendiest restaurants. Specializing in seafood, they have made their home in the middle of downtown and have attracted crowds ever since opening (reservations are recommended, especially on weekends). Third Coast Provisions is actually two restaurants: the more casual bar and small plate joint that is attached is called Oak & Oyster and deals up excellent specials on drinks and food. Whether for a quick happy hour accompanied by oysters or for a fancier romantic dinner, check out Third Coast Provisions.
Third Coast Provisions serves up gourmet seafood dishes certain to please the most discerning food critic. Choose from a variety of raw or grilled oysters, an assortment of crudo, like the sea scallop crudo with blood orange, fennel, and pistachio. There are numerous small plates to pick from, like the blue crab and pimento cheese croquettes. For dinner, try the any of the whole fish plates, or go all out on the seafood plateau, which comes with oysters, lobster, shrimp cocktail, whitefish, and seafood salad, perfect for date night or for a group of friends.
The happy hour at Oak & Oyster draws a crowd for its excellent deals on food and drinks. From Monday through Friday 4pm to 6pm you can get $1 oysters, $4 oyster sliders, $4 tacos, $5 mini lobster rolls, $5 weekly po boy sandwiches, $5 featured cocktails and $3 high life beers. With specials like these, there are abundant reasons to make Oak & Oyster your happy hour destination.
- Address: 724 N. Milwaukee St.
- Hours: Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 5pm-9pm | Friday and Saturday, 5pm-10pm | Closed Monday & Tuesday
- View Menu Here
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4. Barnacle Bud’s
Conveniently located along the Milwaukee River, which is about fifteen minutes from downtown, Barnacle Bud’s is one of the top Milwaukee seafood restaurants. Given its location, the restaurant is ideally suited for lunch or dinner while out on a boat or downtown. This is one of the most casual Milwaukee seafood restaurants, no need to dress up.
It’s an ideal spot for date night on a warm summer evening. Regardless of your excuse to go out for seafood, make Barnacle Bud your next dining destination.
Start with your choice of freshly shucked oysters on Tuesday, or a tasty appetizer, such as the crab cakes ($14) or the grouper tacos ($12). For your entrée, 0ptions include grouper, perch, catfish, cod, coconut shrimp, steamed mussels, or cajun crawfish tail. There are also some great seafood sandwiches to try like the trooper Reuben, crab cake sandwich, lobster roll, or a grouper or shrimp Po Boy. Besides seafood, there are numerous nonseafood mains to choose from: burgers, chicken, sausages, etc.
- Address:1955 S Hilbert St, Milwaukee
- Hours: Sunday 11am – 6pm | Thursday, 11am-4pm | Friday and Saturday, 11am-9pm
- View Menu Here
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5. Maxie’s Southern Comfort
Maxie’s Southern Comfort is the best Cajun restaurant in Milwaukee. The restaurant also serves up some other southern favorites like expertly barbeque meats. Nearly always crowded, this two-floor restaurant on the west side of Milwaukee can make you feel like it’s Mardi Gras at any time of the year. If in the mood for some New Orleans cuisine, especially the best seafood dishes to be done in a traditional Louisiana way, head over to Maxie’s Southern Comfort.
There are plenty of seafood options at Maxie’s Southern Comfort. Start with some raw or grilled oysters, or some shrimp served either cold or done as New Orleans barbeque. For your entrée, try the shrimp and grits smothered in tasso sauce, or try the catfish, done either fried or with creole seasoning. For a truly unique seafood experience, go with the frogmore stew, which comes as a dark gravy covering shrimp, mussels, fish, and andouille sausage. There are plenty of southern sides to accompany your seafood dinner.
There are nightly food specials at Maxie’s Southern Comfort that pair well with discounted drinks. From 4pm-6pm daily you can get $1 freshly shucked oysters and $1 off all drinks. There are also unique daily specials. Sunday and Tuesday are fried chicken specials, Monday you can get a discounted Po Boy sandwich special, Wednesday is half off wine and whiskey specials, and on Thursday you can get a discounted plate of a specialty mac n’ cheese served alongside some barbeque ribs.
- Address:6732 W. Fairview Ave.
- Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 4pm-9pm |Closed Sunday & Monday
- View Menu Here
6. Milwaukee Sail Loft
Milwaukee Sail Loft is hidden away behind some of the parking lots for the Summerfest grounds on a quiet street in the Historic Third Ward. While the restaurant is pretty nondescript from the front, in fact, the dining areas overlook part of Lake Michigan, and they have a great patio area for eating outside. This Milwaukee seafood restaurant also has a spacious bar and plenty of indoor seating with great views, so Sail Loft makes for a nice destination any time of the year.
Milwaukee Sail Loft has a menu with diverse options certain to appeal to anyone in the family. Given the nautical theme and lake view, it makes sense that the restaurant highlights many of its seafood options. The soups and salads are excellent or try one of the small plates, including freshly shucked oysters (market price), crab cakes, fried calamari, or the sautéed mussels. Creative sandwiches are also a highlight of the menu, like the mahi mahi or blackened shrimp tacos. For an entrée, try the lobster ravioli in rose vodka sauce, the grilled salmon, or the panko-crusted sea bass.
Sail Loft provides fantastic food and drink specials during their weekday happy hour, which runs from Monday through Friday, 3pm-7pm. Discounts include $4 drink options, like tall rail mixers, $5 martinis, $3 beers, and discounted food, such as $6 peel and eat shrimp, crab dip, and fried shrimp with a sweet chili dipping sauce.
- Address: 649 E. Erie St.
- Hours: Sunday, 11am-9pm |Monday 3pm-10pm |Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-10pm | Closed Tuesday
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7. C-Viche
C-Viche is one of the best Milwaukee seafood restaurants that is located in Bayview. The restaurant has a Peruvian influence. that serves up some tasty Classic Latin American flavors. The patio, situated next to the restaurant, is especially ideal in summer. The indoor part of the restaurant is also nice, featuring a comfortable bar and a spacious dining room. Parking can be a little tricky, so be sure to arrive ahead of your reservation to provide ample time to find a parking spot.
As the name suggests, C-Viche’s menu mostly features some of the best Ceviche in Milwaukee and other creative seafood items. For an appetizer, try a ceviche, or the patatas Bravas. There are excellent entree options. The scallops tacos, escabeche de pescado, or the shrimp mole enchiladas. There are several other dishes for those non-seafood dinners.
If you looking for Milwaukee Seafood restaurant with great specials C-Viche is it. Taco Tuesday is all day with tacos, margaritas, and Palpmas for $6 and all beers $3Make sure to stop by on Wednesdays as they have half off bottles of wine. Happy hour at C-viche is from 3pm-6pm Tuesday to Saturday with seafood plates tapas are $7 and margaritas and mojitos are $6 and beers for $3.
- Address: 106 W. Wells St.
- Hours: Sunday 10am-9pm | Tuesday-Thursday 2pm-10pm | Friday and Saturday 2pm-10pm | Closed Monday
- View Menu Here