10 standout Long Island seafood market cafes

Talk about pride of place: Long Islanders are as devoted to their local fish markets as they are to their favorite pork store or pizza joint. And if those markets have carved out space for a simple restaurant, then oysters on the half shell, fried clams or blowfish, a po’boy or meaty tuna steak can be yours shortly after you snag a booth or picnic table. Here are 10 places that showcase the best seafood our region has to offer. One bite and you’ll be angling for another.

Artie’s South Shore Fish Market & Grill

4257 Austin Blvd., Island Park

If you’re looking to score some South Shore food cred, think about taking your friends for steamers at Artie’s. Whizzing along Austin Boulevard, you might easily miss the place, which has been in business for half a century. But the parking lot is full, and when you walk in, there’s a crowd of people lining up next to the seafood case by the hanging basket scale and container that says, "live crabs."  

Artie’s started out in 1974 as a humble seafood market, a way to support founder  Artie Hoerning’s passion for fishing. The adjoining restaurant was added in 1999 and even then, it gained a reputation for serving his personal catch on plastic plates. The restaurant briefly closed after Hoerning passed away in 2017, but was resurrected by two of its regulars, a father-and-son duo who, miraculously, both happen to be named Artie.   

You’ll notice the building has some new flourishes from father Arthur Scott Horak, who owns a local R & J Construction in Island Park. But even though there are shiny blue tiles behind the immaculate seafood counter, the hallway of the dining room still has that old-school charm, with vintage family photos everywhere.

The menu and list of daily specials is ginormous and includes some South Shore oddities, like a mozzarella-smothered tidbits sandwich prepared with grilled tuna instead of steak. Choose from two dozen types of seafood, prepared 10 different ways and highlighting some of the local catch from  Arthur Jr. and his fleet. But don’t sleep on the whole fried fluke, a delicate local fish that stands up to being battered and deep-fried, then sliced into tasty little nuggets you can grab with your fingers.

More info: 516-889-0692, artiesfishmarket.net

Point Lookout Clam Bar

99 Bayside Dr., Point Lookout

Talk about fish markets with restaurants ... This waterside destination spot is in a different category altogether. Disneyland comes to mind, or maybe Sea World is a more apt reference. But while Point Lookout Clam Bar seems to get bigger and beefier every year, its tucked-away neighborhood setting gives it a local feel rather than a touristy one. 

Situated on the shores of Reynolds Channel, the business got its start in the late 1970s as a seafood wholesale market for Bruce Larson’s commercial fishing business. Over the years, business partner Michael Mihale and Larson’s son Bruce Larson Jr. opened a restaurant and then expanded again next door, which now includes a gift shop that also sells icy treats from The Lemon Ice King of Corona. In the hallway you’ll now find George Shoji, a Japanese-trained sushi chef who has set up a casual little sushi bar on the weekends. He doesn’t really have a menu, but most of his fish is local, including his spectacular scallop nigiri with a juicy, fat raw scallop.

This spot is one of the only places on the Long Beach Barrier Island with a commanding view of the sunset. The restaurant still sources from day boats that dock right there, which ensures they’re getting the freshest fish. When ordering, the power move is to get a plate from the specials menu. (Blackened fillets of local black sea bass were flaky and buttery, fantastic.) A plastic cup of Narragansett IPA helps wash it all down. 

For locals, though, Point Lookout Clam Bar’s main draw may still be the small but mighty fish market up at the front of the property. It has one of the most impressive displays of whole fish, fillets, lobsters and other shellfish around. The hamlet doesn’t really have a grocery store, so recently the fish market added fresh produce and meat to their other offerings. This place can easily get you hooked on local tuna, for instance, which you can take home and slice into sashimi, or sear the edges and savor over rice. It’s a splurge but just think of it as Long Island’s version of filet mignon. 

More info: 516-897-4024, pointlookoutclambar.com

Pine Aire Fish & Deli

140 Pine Aire Dr., Bay Shore

What is Salvadoran food? If you said cheesy pupusas and banana-leaf tamales, you wouldn’t be wrong. But step into Pine Aire Fish & Deli in Bay Shore and you’ll quickly discover that’s not the whole story. The Central American country of El Salvador has 191 miles of coastline and happens to have a stellar mariscos ("seafood") culture. Owner Dimas Escobar hails from La Unión, a tourist destination on the eastern coastline known for its sportfishing, seafood markets and dried preserved fish fillets. So, it’s no surprise that when he came to New York as a teenager in 1986, he ended up mastering the trade of fishmongering by working for a local fish wholesaler. He purchased Pine Aire in 1989 from an Italian couple and converted it into a Salvadoran market, said his daughter Mayra Escobar, who manages the business alongside her mother, Merida Escobar, and two sisters and a brother. 

Over the years, Pine Aire has grown into a one-stop-shop with the seafood market, a Central American deli that prepares fresh juices and a bar and restaurant with one of the most remarkable menus on Long Island. Elaborate ceviche platters of scallops or sea snails, a split lobster brimming with a pile of other seafood on top, whole fried porgies next to a bed of white rice ... Some of these recipes feel universal — you might also see them at a Mexican beach spot. But the soup section is entirely unique to El Salvador. And that’s why there’s a hulking cauldron of soup on every table. It contains a Salvadoran staple called mariscada, which features all manner of seafood in a vibrant yellow broth often made with annatto or the powdered mix called crème de marisco. The intensely fishy broth will put some hair on your chest. But fear not, friends, they do give you something for dipping. Tucked in a little foil packet are two cheesy pupusas, piping hot and beautiful. 

More info: 631-231-4467, pineairedeli.com

New Wave Seafood

1847 Wantagh Ave., Wantagh

Italian Americans have a rich history in the seafood business, and Frank Marinello’s family story shows it. His great-grandfather started selling fish out of a horse-drawn cart in 1905, traveling from the Italian American enclave of Mulberry Street in Manhattan to make his deliveries in Port Washington.  His family eventually moved out to the Island and had a pair of long-running fish markets in Port Washington and Manhasset. And today, Marinello is a fourth-generation fishmonger at New Wave Seafood in Wantagh, which he owns with his wife, Patricia. The spot, which opened in 1996, is a relatively low-key affair. Aside from the cool mural of a guy holding lobsters out front, the restaurant is low-ceilinged and minimally decorated. "If you’ve been in fish markets, the one thing you’ll notice about ours is you cannot smell fish," he said. “We’re extremely clean. We’ve been here 30 years, and we keep everything immaculate."

New Wave has expanded and switched around their look over the years, but today you enter through the fish market, which has the feel of an Italian grocery store. Prepared foods and housemade tartar sauces take up a good part of the space. But the seafood counter has all the favorites — monkfish, swordfish and, this time of year, soft-shell crabs and steamer clams. 

"We specialize from A to Z," he said. “We just bring in fresh fish, we don’t play games. We have a great crew that works for us, we have an ability to move a lot of product. So, the product is always fresh."  

Not once, but twice, Marinello has seen a rare yellow lobster come through the doors (the lobsters were never served). But despite the large menu, this is the kind of place where you want to get down with some clam chowder and a seafood platter. One of the most popular items is the Seafarer Combo, which comes with a heap of deep-fried bay scallops, shrimp and two flounder fillets. The speakers are rocking Aerosmith as you dip the crunchy little nuggets into cocktail sauce. It may not be fancy, but boy, does it hit.

More info: 516-783-4900, newwaveseafoodli.com

Braun

30840 Main Rd., Cutchogue

For nearly 100 years, Braun’s seafood company in Cutchogue has supplied fresh seafood to more than 700 wholesale customers from Orient (on the North Fork) and Montauk (on the South Fork) to Locust Valley or Elmont, according to owner Cody Homan. The fish market carries a selection of fish — fluke, blackfish, black sea bass, porgy, striped bass.

There are local clams, including steamers, and oysters. "We get the fishermen coming here or the clammers coming here so it’s all very fresh," said manager Michael Bieniewicz. The rest (including salmon from the Faeroe Islands in Denmark) is delivered three times a week.

Next door, Braun’s Kitchen offers a po’boy (fried oysters and wild Mexican shrimp, lettuce, mayo, rémoulade and bacon on French bread), tacos stuffed with fried shrimp or blackened mahi-mahi, a straightforward fried flounder or soft-shell crab sandwich served on toasted brioche. Sure, you can take it to go or eat inside, but most head to the outdoor patio for a North Fork picnic.

More info: 631-734-6700, braunseafood.com

Southold Fish Market

64755 NY-25, Southold

When Charlie Manwaring of Southold Fish Market says he gets fish locally, he means it. "Ninety percent of my fish come all from the local draggers, fish pot guys, trap guys and there are some hook-and-line guys," he said. Manwaring has been the owner of the fish market for 25 years and uses about 16 different fishermen every day to source new and fresh product.

"We’re always looking for better fish, better quality, and we got really great fishermen out here that really take care of our fish," he said. "They’re not letting them sit and bake in the sun, they’re icing them, bleeding them. That makes a lot of difference when it comes to eating fish — if you bleed a fish, it just tastes so much better than one that was un-bled. A lot of people don’t know that."

His local offerings include bluefish, striped bass and porgy, in addition to branzino and other fish from elsewhere that are sold whole or as fillets. There are also medium, large and jumbo-sized shrimp, Peruvian bay scallops and Shinnecock sea scallops. The market has its own brand of seasonings and rubs, as well as cold and freezer cases full of a dazzling array of chowders, seafood bisques and other seafood soups. If you had the foresight to bring a cooler, take home some of those, as well as frozen housemade "stuffies," shrimp cakes, tuna burgers and oysters Rockefeller, too.

Outside, on the small lawn, folks can settle in at picnic tables shaded by orange umbrellas to enjoy seafood every which way, from clams or oysters on the half shell to a grilled swordfish steak or basket of fried clams or blowfish (a different species than the fugu used in sashimi, but a true delicacy as well) with fries and coleslaw. Between seatings inside and out, Manwaring said they can serve up to 300 on a busy summer day.

More info: 631-765-3200

Claws

20 Montauk Hwy., West Sayville

There is no secret to the fried shrimp at Claws in West Sayville. "It’s just old-school," said owner Frank Palermo. Deveined by hand, dunked in corn-flour batter, breaded and fried. Palermo has been in the seafood industry for more than three decades. He was Pathmark supermarkets’ head fish buyer for 16 years and worked at a Maryland-based seafood wholesaler for another six. Then came Claws in 2013. 

Fried shrimp is only a part of the seafood available at Claws; lobster rolls are 70% of the draw, mostly enjoyed by patrons on the patio under red umbrellas. Purists go for the naked version, served chilled with drawn butter (a double is just that — twice the meat). For those who are more adventurous: the Firehouse Roll, with chilled lobster salad topped with jalapeños and sriracha for a burst of heat.

The market offers a raw bar that includes steamers, mussels, lobsters and Maryland-style hard-shell crabs. The inside of the freestanding building on the bank of Green Creek is also stocked with seafood for home cooks: halibut, swordfish, salmon, sushi-grade tuna and Boston hake. Palermo stocks local crabs, fluke (summer flounder) and bluefish. The rest comes via the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx and markets such as the Buyers and Sellers Exchange in Boston and Jessup in Baltimore, Maryland.

More info: 631-256-5900, clawsseafoodmarket.com

Haskell’s Seafood Market and Cafe

77A Main St., Westhampton Beach

There’s no salmon sold or served at Haskell’s Seafood Market and Cafe, and no branzino, either. If it wasn’t caught in Long Island waters — or hauled in by a boat that docks on Long Island — you won’t find it at this four-year-old Westhampton Beach shop. Owner Peter Haskell doesn’t feel in the least compromised by his commitment to the local catch. "I know the name of every fisherman who supplies me."

A lifelong fisherman, Haskell was operating a wholesale fish distributor in East Quogue when, during the pandemic, he dipped his toes into retail, offering curbside pickup and home delivery of fresh fish. He found that he enjoyed the interaction with civilians as much as he did with fishermen and wholesale clients. "I guess I have this calling," he said, "to reach out to the public and help them understand and respect our local waters, the fish that live there and the ecosystems that they belong to."

Because it depends entirely on what Long Island fishermen are catching, Haskell’s selection varies from day to day, and from season to season. He’ll almost always have clams, oysters, fluke, weakfish, striped bass, black sea bass, monkfish, porgy, skate, lobster and blue crab and, from waters farther from shore, he’ll source yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna and swordfish. Early summer brings squid, mahi-mahi and golden tilefish and, later, albacore tuna and, if he’s lucky, wahoo.

Haskell was the key link in the chain that, a few years ago, started bringing Montauk royal red shrimp (a deep water species) to market and he is also one of the few vendors to sell Montauk red crab and kelp harvested from Moriches Bay. The cafe menu makes delicious use of the merchandise and features a raw bar, sandwiches and mains. The lobster roll is one of Long Island’s best, and skate is pressed into service (with garlic and thyme) to make a fish burger. And whereas most Hawaiian-inspired poke (POH-kay") bowls are made with mass-market tuna or salmon, Haskell’s features your choice of local finfish, Montauk shrimp, spicy Montauk crab salad and marinated kelp. Have your bowl on sushi rice or a bed of greens.

When Haskell’s opened back in 2021, meals were served on the sun-dappled patio, but since the shop has expanded into the adjoining space, it now has 16 indoor seats and a brand-new license to serve beer and wine.

More info: 631-288-7287, @haskellsseafood  

White Cap Fish Co.

120 Main St., Islip

"Welcome Aboard," says the wooden whale above the entryway to White Cap Fish Co., a dockside market and restaurant that feels like a throwback to an earlier time. Part of the community since 1938, the store is a sliver of a spot with old wood floors and paneling, circular maritime-inspired windows, fish taxidermy, and kitsch-filled walls adorned with framed memories from 85-plus years in the seafood business.

The market showcases the day’s offering, a rainbow of pinks, reds and translucent whites. Prices are scrawled on the whiteboard above a small selection of market goods such as breadcrumbs, dried pasta, marinades. Choices include seasonal soft-shell crabs and local "blue claws" (Atlantic blue crabs), both wild and farmed salmon, hefty tuna steaks and shrimp. Lobster wander aimlessly in their glass tank. The cutout kitchen window is next to a scrawled blackboard of chowder selections (Manhattan and New England clam, crab and corn). Another lists oyster options. There are grab-and-go crab cakes, baked clams and lobster mac-and-cheese.

For the ultimate experience, dine out on the dock at the no-frills Crab Deck during the warmer months (and inside at small tables with floral tablecloths in cooler ones), with views of the Orowoc Canal. There, an al fresco shucking station anchors seating where you can order pretty much anything from the kitchen, pretty much any way you want it. Get your fish baked, broiled or fried, get some linguine with your clams, sample the daily catch or savor some clams on the half shell. Or have a burger, if fish isn’t your thing. On a boat and passing through? You can dock and dine.

More info: 631-581-0125, whitecapfish.com

Out of the Blue

252 E. Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays

Out of the Blue takes every possible advantage of its location in Hampton Bays. General Manager Michael Glass heads down to the hamlet’s commercial fishing dock every day to get the best local fish — striped bass, black sea bass, monkfish, tuna, swordfish fluke, flounder, porgy, sea scallops and more. The shop backs up onto the Shinnecock Canal and has a line that actually pumps fresh seawater into tanks where lobsters and clams can await their fate in the comfort of their own home marine environment. The clams, especially, appreciate this since they will purge virtually all of their sand before being shucked or cooked: You won’t find plumper or cleaner steamers anywhere. Take home a few pounds, or enjoy a big bowl at one of the indoor or outdoor tables.

(Local oysters, Glass explained, do not repose in the canal water since that would compromise their unique salinity. "When you are tasting an oyster, you are really tasting the water it was raised in," he said. "That’s why we keep them on ice.")

Virtually all the fish sold in the market find their way onto the cafe menu of soups, salads, fried baskets, steamed buckets, sandwiches, sautéed, grilled, broiled or fried fish — and if there’s something else in the case that strikes your fancy, the kitchen will happily prepare it for you. Out of the Blue usually has lobsters up to four pounds and, again, you can take one home or enjoy it on the spot.

Glass, a lifelong fisherman, is passionate about nose-to-tail (gill-to-fin?) cooking. "I hate waste," he said, "and it’s a real problem when you are dealing with perishable items." When he has more fish than he can sell, or has small or oddly shaped bits of fish, it goes into the hickory smoker, emerging even more luxuriant, but much more shelf stable. The smoked fish platter might contain bluefish, tuna, halibut, Chilean sea bass, eel and salmon, both plain and something he calls "eskimo candy." These pieces get a pre-smoke sprinkling of brown sugar and are thoroughly addictive.

More info: 631-728-3474, ootbseafood.com

This story was reported and written by Newsday's Melissa Azofeifa, Andi Berlin, Erica Marcus and Marie Elena Martinez.