the oceanaire seafood room

fresh, fresh seafood. oceanaire only serves what's fresh that day. this is good news and bad news -- good becuase thefishis exceedingly fresh and bad news because once the selection is gone, there's no more waiting in the freezer.
we visited at about 10:30 pm and some of the more popular selections were gone.
don't pass up the fired asparagus. fat stalks of celery are lightly coated with cornmeal and fried very delicately leaving the asparagus crisp. the fried celery sits atop a lemony sauce.
crabcakes are exactly as advertised -- little breading and lots of flavor.
succulent bone-in ribeye is a good choice for the non-fish eater.
no room for the beautiful baked alaska.
proper and gracious service. not too loud -- able to converse comfortably.

best steak and shrimp in minnesota.... what a wonderful experience. we have dined at all the premium establishments downtown and the oceanaire rises above the pack. with exception to our favorite romantic restaurant la belle vi, this will be at the top of the list for a dining experience where the food tastes amazing, the service is exceptional and in the end, the cost of the meal is more than reasonable. tonight started with a warm greeting from assistant manager nate, followed by a friendly hello from our server nat. what we didn’t realize at the beginning of the meal was that nat would become our favorite waiter in minneapolis/st.paul. if you read our other reviews, praise is often given to outstanding waiters. nat is at the top of his profession. he has worked here over seven years and it shows. his passion for the food, his gentle approach and his big smile. you instantly feel comfortable. the first course was a shrimp crab bite on a cracker with cucumber and sriracha sauce. it was so good. the relish tray was old school and we loved it. bread was fresh and had great flavor. next was the scallop. perfectly cooked with tomato and fresh pesto. this is how a scallop should be served. next was the orange salad. greens with orange mimosa vinaigrette, goat cheese and candied orange shavings. we would return just for this salad. next was the trout with crab. we do not like trout. this trout was spectacular. crispy skin, perfectly cooked and so full of flavor without the strongfishtaste. we were impressed with the culinary skills of the chef. next was the best course of the evening. the best shrimp and steak we have experienced in minnesota. we were sad when mortons closed in downtown. this is no longer true. we will return to the oceanaire for the steak and seafood louie often. the medium rare steak was cooked perfectly. the flavor was without equal and the sauces that accompanied the steak and shrimp were amazing. this would have been the perfect way to end the meal but they served a slice of key lime pie and a slice of new york cheesecake with a fruit topping that was awesome. the entire service team is professional and friendly. the restaurant was packed on a friday night. the noise level is loud. this would be my only concern about the oceanaire. for a truly romantic setting this is not the place. parking is valet or on the street. if you are downtown minneapolis and want a memorable meal, make reservations at the oceainaire.

great place forfishlovers!. where else can you go in the twin cities and find australian barramundi, mexican corvina, and hawaiian blue marlin on the menu on a daily basis? ocaenaire is fish, and it does it well! to me, this is a "special occasion" place. we dropped over $200 with no alcohol, but shared apps and desserts. i highly recommend the oysters. we tried a mix of 3 from the east coast and 3 from the west. they came perfectly chilled. the calamari was very tasty. i thought it would be spicy being it was infused with red chilies, but it sweet and flavorful. my jumbo sea scallops were $34, but the four were perfectly seared with a wonderful buttery center. mmmm! their house salad was wonderful, and huge. my favorite side was the roasted beets with blue cheese. we shared desserts - key lime pie and death by chocolate. the chocolate cake says it feeds 3-4, but i think it feeds 12! it was enormous! all in all, a great dinner. service was top notch, food was spectacular. only thing i didn't like was the blue neon lights overhead. i'll be back... when i come into some more money ;)

3 likes and two ok's. i liked this because i was out voted by three of our party of 5. the lobster bisque was very good. yada yada yada! the three likes had grilled or pan seared fish. the were very satisfied. i had the sea and air dish. scallops and duck. the scallops were very good, the duck was chewy and not prepared correctly which was apparent by its chewy consistency. my son had thefishand chips. thefishwas dry but the chips (fries) were very good. - he is 19 yrs old. - just in case you were wondering.

the service was ok. didn't get a very warm welcoming feeling.

atmosphere was vogue and very cool.

i broke my rule...when at a seafood restaurant eat seafood.

it was expensive for what i think we got from the experience. -dad (the guy that pays the check)

chaotic. too many big tables and too few un harried servers makes this otherwise tasty "special occasion" restaurant a high volume tourist trap. the 6-10 tops seem to ramble on and on, with the only intimate booths in the bar. we ate reasonably good fish, our orders taken by a waiter with too much on his mind and too many customers waiving napkins for his attention, sitting next to a birthday party of drunken grey hairs playing spin the bottle with one of their empties. they swallowed more tongue thanfishand it took thrown napkins from others to cool the ardor. an unseemly raw bar that regrettably tainted our entire experience.

golf car for the price of lexus. mediocre, or upscale? asian philosophy is: "the way you do anything, you do everything!"
….. under the command of chef matt mine, oceanaire serves up the best sea critters you'll find this far from the ocean. and the kitchen also hands down some nice non-piscine thrills as well, banging out bacon steaks, salads and more for those who (for whatever reason...) decide to go to the bestfishrestaurant in the city for meat-and-potatoes fare…. that what was in internet about the best seafood restaurant at denver
after reading that article, my better half, decided to reserve a table for two, for little romantic dinner for us, on the day after valentine in this restaurant.
when we came to the front door of the restaurant, i realized that outdoor neon sign was half way broken, its feels odd to me, and this is assumingly upscale restaurant… when we came in, awkward dressed hostess escorted us to the table. it was not really busy; we had time to look around. the white walls with deadfishon it and seafood display with ice, where my assumption has to rest some sea creatures, had only artificial see stars and corals, completed that unusual design the upper shell on the top of this construction where suppose to be displayed some bottles of vine, instead it was pellegrino bottles or something similar to it. when i went to washroom, i passed vine coolers which were part of restaurant design but look like gas station coolers with all different locks on it; i decided that restaurant management has issues with theft. when we got menu and vine list, i didn't find vine origins only prices, unfortunately i can consume californian vine, because of certain allergies that i have. sea food menu was on the strange side as well, i might expect much high from this place based on they prices, but i didn't expect to seefishand chips in the menu at this level of restaurant, but it was ok so far … just ok. the menu list and vine list was dirty and ragged in few places. we ordered two glasses of australian shiraz and appetizer for me half a dozen fresh oysters. when i saw those oysters, i was very surprised that each was priced for 4 dollars a peace, but the size of shelf of those oysters, was little like a desert spoon… i didn't say anything, i guessed it was "handpicked by virgins in some exotic islands" somewhere between massachusetts and washington state areas…  i didn't won't to ruin our night out, i was calm and humble, when instead of rock of lamb the servant brought us lamb chops, and i tried un chewable meet, cold mash potatoes and old like me, asparagus i decided it was it. we called floor manager of the restaurant, my hobby and i expressed our concerns in very polite way. the respond was very strange, he told us that we don't understand that this seafood restaurant and that the way they prepare the rock of lamb, he didn't offer us anything else to replace the primer order, after that he left us and went to check internet to see the different between two different dishes,(waiter told us that later), came back to apologize that his cook doesn't know the difference, and he will take care of this on the bill… now the final, the finish line of our night out in oceanaire, the best restaurant in denver…
my husband and i had 2 glasses of shiraz ($10 each) and half a dozen fresh oysters, that was all that we had, and the bill was…. with a tax 104 dollars, with some cents. how about it? my husband silently paid the bill, left 18 % tip to the waiter, he was professionally up to our expectations and we left.
all the way back, in the car, we were laughing about those who were saying that this is the best restaurant. i feel sad for them for so poor expectations.
i will not recommend this place anyone. independently from the price, quality, cleanliness and hospitality must be priority for this business. the way how you handle your clientele complains, or you will earn devotions of this clients and in the future, who will advertise and promote your business, or you will get unhappy camper and… consequences of it. but in this case and this restaurant the prices in menu obligates for special attention to details. manager of this restaurant who doesn't know his product and the way haw it's prepared… is the trade mark of this place

on top of the food chains. if you are looking for great seafood, oceanaire is the place to go in the twin cities. this site is full of recommendations that i won't repeat, but i do highly recommend the freshfishselections. i had the grouper with the lump crab oscar and it was outstanding. stay away from the stone crabs.

privey, but real good. went there for a business meeting, so i was not worried about cost. the place has great food, professional ambiance during the weekday. the oyster were to die for!
great food,fishextremely fresh (well, that is expected in san diego)

one of the best downtown. the fresh seafood menu is extensive and there is also a good selection of non-seafood entrees for those that aren't bigfisheaters. the jumbo lump crab cake appetizer is the best i've had, and i also recommend the blue cheese bibb lettuce salad with apples and pecans. i ordered the wild alaskan halibut filet served "black and bleu" and it was perfect. it was a nice, thick filet that was crisp on the outside and flaky but moist on the inside.

simple the best seafood you will ever have. simple… the best seafood you will ever have

freshest ingredients, best oysters in san diego and other places i been to, the plate are vast filling delicious you can pick a dish with your eyes closed and you would like it… they experiment with incredible flavors, textures, and differentfishas well as seafood.. and the deserts are incredible. the services is unbelievably great, this place make you feel like your priority is you.. i gone countless times and i never had a bad experience, only when they run out of cholula hot sauce for my oysters.. but i think i can forgive them… they make it up with their attention , the elegance and design is impressive so take a date! or friends… and its not cheap… but well worth the expenses

i have mixed feelings. the restaurant decor is pretty cool. the waiter was very friendly. the meal started of great with four oysters and a crab cake appetizer. the waiter recommended the oysters since we weren't sure what would be best. we ordered the crab cakes for three of us but didn't realize an order was one, so we each got a couple of small bites. it was great. my wife and i split a pear salad it was also great.
i ordered the mixed seafood grill. the stuffed shrimp with crab were very good and so were the grilled shrimp. the scallops were served over a very sweet sauce that i didn't care for that much. the piece offishseemed overcooked and dry and the seafood fried rice was cold when it arrived on the plate.
my daughter ordered the stuffed shrimp with crab she really liked it but it was very rich.
the restaurant presented us with a baked alaska for my daughter birthday. that was very nice of them but the liquor they poured over it before they lit it on fire was so strong that we had to get rid of the whipped cream before eating it. we ordered coffee when they sat the dessert down and waited fifteen minutes for them to deliver it. they gave us the coffee for free which was good because i was going to ask them to anyway.
overall it was good but for the money you will spend here it should be terrific. so i am going to try searsucker next time.

the freshest seafood without the smell of low-tide. sure oceanaire is a chain restaurant, but usually when we think of chains we think of mcdonald's, perkins, applebee's, etc. this is upscale and thinking of it as a chain seems insulting. it is a pretty classy place complete with white table cloths and servers that come around with table cloth combs to sweep any crumbs off the table between courses. no, there's no dress code, but most people tend to wear nicer clothes.

the seafood...in a word...spectacular. it would have been better but some items are no longer worth it.

important thing at oceanaire is the daily menu flown in fresh. do a little homework see whatfishis in season. this place can be spendy so if you can't afford to go often plan your visits wisely. i'd recommend you check the salmon schedule.

great oyster bar! so many different choices from both coasts...if you're new, ask the server, they can tell you the differences.

i've been to maryland and have eaten crab cakes there at fine restaurants...until then i didn't realize crab cakes was supposed to be mostly crab, unlike many places in minnesota that have breading and fillers galore. go to oceanaire and order two crab cakes, you'll be full, and saved $200+ in airfare.

the sides are family portion and all delicious!

items i no longer recommend...
- steamed mussels - they're good but significantly smaller (mussel not the shell) than they used to be
- escargot - no longer cooked in the shell, it used to be perfect, buttery garlic that was soft not rubbery, now they're tiny and served in a little egg plate.
- king crab leg - i've had better with more meat, granted it was in seattle

don't be afraid to experiment...each dish is wonderful and you should be willing to try the recommendations of your server, including the rare items. yes, it's sushi-ish, but the tuna is served in a thick-cut steak form and just as meaty.

oddly, i've never looked for or had clams or lobster here. with such a selection, never bothered to look. though i'll have to try them since clams in boston and lobster in maine is extremely hard to beat.

it's a chain.... but it's a darn good chain! excellentfishevery time, never disappoints!