Seafood is Making an Undeniable Comeback in Philly

This Fall, a new wave of seafood restaurants are coming to Philly — signaling a robust comeback for coastal cuisine that’s making an undeniable splash in the local dining scene.

Jaffa, an upcoming Israeli seafood spot from legendary restaurateurs Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook of CookNSolo, are serving scallops with Merguez sausage and harissa in Kensington. Chef Randy and Amanda Rucker plan to open Little Water in Rittenhouse very soon with a focus on sustainable seafood cuisine. Queen Village will soon welcome Chef Liz Grothe’s first brick-and-mortar restaurant Scampi that’s all things pasta and her love of shrimp.

To consider this trend a Philly seafood renaissance would be an understatement.

For the past year, there’s been several notable grand openings of seafood restaurants in Philly that has attracted a diversity of diners. Over the years, such new arrivals have been few and far in-between. Sure, Philly has had its share of great oyster bars (Oyster House, Pearl’s Oyster Bar, Olde Bar, and the newer Pearl & Mary), but there hasn’t been this level of full-length seafood restaurants to emerge in a while — a very long while.

“As a coastal city, Philadelphia is the perfect location to showcase the fresh, high-quality seafood we source daily,” says Alex Smith, President & CEO of Atlas Restaurant Group, the owners of new seafood hotspot Loch Bar in Center City. “Seafood is trending now because diners are increasingly seeking fresh, health-conscious options that also deliver bold flavors.”

For longtime restaurateur and Executive Chef Townsend Wentz, who recently opened Italian seafood restaurant Oltremare in Rittenhouse, such a decision was partially due to seeing “guests dining lighter currently, which plays well with our seafood focused menu.”

Gab Bonghi

“With Oltremare, we wanted to highlight the extensive Italian coast and how the Mediterranean Sea is a critical part of Italian life,” says Wentz. “Our personal love of the ocean, and our region’s historical relationship with the Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay, and Atlantic Ocean all contributed to our exploring this facet of Italian culture and dining.”

The rise of upscale seafood dining in Philly — compared to the typical shrimp cocktail/seafood tower/shuck-a-buck oyster affair — began to pick up some steam with the revival of Queen Village’s Little Fish BYOB under the leadership of Executive Chef Alex Yoon in 2016. At this intimate restaurant, diners are served multiple courses of elegant seafood dishes with Asian influences (such as grilled Spanish mackerel, steelhead trout crudo, and scallop toast). In 2019, such high-end coastal cuisine would go to even newer heights with the arrival of Vernick Fish from James Beard Award-winning Executive Chef Greg Vernick at Four Seasons Philadelphia.

This summer, renowned Executive Chef Nicholas Bazik accelerated the depths of Philly’s coastal fine dining with his dazzling new restaurant Provenance — an avant garde French seafood tour-de-force in Society Hill. For $225 per person, diners are served roughly 25 courses of unforgettable seafood dishes prepared in the French culinary technique with subtle Korean influences (such as uni served with buttercup squash and poached tuna served with tapioca, preserved ramps, and sauce bonnefoy).

Nate Cluss

“Our access to local shellfish and seafood sustains the local fisherman but encourages biodiversity that is absolutely necessary for the perpetuation of our waterways,” says Bazik on how “sustainability plays a major role in everything that Provenance does.” “Philly’s proximity to the ocean and our farming communities is equidistant. That is why our menu is made up of ‘surf and turf’ dishes.”

It’s safe to say that seafood is here to stay (and thrive) in the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection.