Seafood Restaurants: The 2009 Philly Mag 50


Blackfish
Conshohocken | Seafood | Entrée: $21—$30
Ranking: 10 • Last Year’s Ranking: 3
This clean-lined Conshohocken BYO celebrates simplicity—so light and airy, all pale grays and Shaker-style chairs. Amiable servers don’t even play up the complexity of chef Chip Roman’s dishes, though they certainly could wax poetic on the way the cherry jus mingles with the pistachio-crusted ball of foie gras, or how the smoked ­salmon wrapped around a soft deep-fried egg meshes so nicely with the crème fraîche. Happily, the scene, the servers and the chef all let the food speak for itself. And this food doesn’t just speak; it sings—­without ever being heavy or overdone. Order: The delicate bouillabaisse is a proven crowd-pleaser, but you can’t go wrong with the house specialty—fish. 119 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, 610-397-0888. See User Reviews, Hours, & Other DetailsSee MenuMake a Reservation

Little Fish
Queen Village | Seafood | Entrées: More than $30
Ranking: 41 • Last Year’s Ranking: New to the List
This restaurant is so small that busboys have to walk tubs of dirty dishes out the front door to get to the back washroom, so as not to disrupt the 23-seat dinning room. That ­welcome-to-my-home South Philly appeal, a small, well-priced menu, and high-quality ingredients make this corner restaurant a prime example of all that a mom-and-pop BYO can be. Of course, the food here—fish that’s masterfully prepared by owner Michael Stollenwerk (who took over the spot in 2007), with exciting but never daunting ­combinations—is what brought this restaurant national attention when Bon Appétit named it one of the best seafood restaurants in the country late last year. Order: The Sunday-night-only, five-course, $28 tasting menu, filled with dishes like mussels in a carrot soup, and skate with veal cheek.600 Catharine Street, 215-413-3464. See User Reviews, Hours, & Other DetailsSee MenuMake a Reservation

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