Philly Seafood Roundup

Since we've been investigating a lot of seafood restaurants in the city recently, we though we'd share a little side-by-side comparison of each.  Philadelphia has such a great variety of restaurants, and we think these four seafood spots represent this diversity.  Here's what you need to know:

Oyster House
Neighborhood: Center City West, on Sansom Street near many popular night spots and restaurants
Atmosphere: Large central bar (with oysters!), loud, younger crowd
Best for: Small groups, couples (not a first date or an anniversary)
Need to know: Avoid late night buck-a-shuck, make reservations far in advance

Source

Menu highlights: Dump Dinner (New England Style Clam Bake, $25/per person)
Not-to-miss dishes: Bluefish Salad ($14), Lobster Roll ($26)

Oyster House Lobster Roll

Route 6

Neighborhood: North Broad, in a budding restaurant district in the midst of an otherwise industrial and residential neighborhood

Atmosphere: "Down on the Cape," spacious yet lively

Best for: Any size group (including 20+), casual celebrations, date night

Need to know: Easy to drive to with plenty of nearby street parking, huge menu good for even picky eaters

Source

Menu highlights: Seafood based bar snacks, affordable simply prepared fresh seafood

Not-to-miss dishes: Surprisingly good (huge!) no-frills mussels, salmon tartare (on special)

Route 6 Mussels

Little Fish
Neighborhood: Queen Village, quiet residential street
Atmosphere: Tiny, bare bones decor
Best for: Small groups, dinner with your parents
Need to know: No longer cash only, BYO, arrive on time for Sunday seatings and don't expect to linger over dessert

Source

Menu highlights: Small variety of upscale dishes, prepared with flair (read: $$$)
Not-to-miss dishes: We're biased since we haven't tried the regular menu, but the four course Sunday tasting menu offers a near perfect meal and experience ($33)

Little Fish Tuna Tartare

Doc Magrogan's Oyster House
Neighborhood: University City, wedged onto narrow Sansom Street across from Penn Law School
Atmosphere: Enormous rambling building with multiple, well appointed dining rooms
Best for: Literally any occasion- very multi-purpose, including business dinners, dates, celebrations, or a random post-work snack at the bar
Need to know: Can get pretty busy, even on weeknights, but easy to score a reservation on OpenTable.  Monday night offers buck-a-shucks on over a dozen oyster varieties, at the bar or in the dining room.

Source

Menu highlights: Menu reads like a smaller seafood-inspired Cheesecake Factory menu- options at every price point, a variety of ethnic flavor influences, plus many non-seafood choices
Not-to-miss dishes: Enormous buck-a-shucks (on Monday nights, obviously!), seafood Cobb salad

Doc Magrogan's Grilled Seafood Cobb Salad