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We can hear reader feedback already. Seafood? In a landlocked state?! But hear us out: Just because Denver is more than 1,000 miles away from the nearest ocean doesn’t mean the Mile High City is doomed to stinky fish. The secret to getting good seafood isn’t geography—it’s logistics. And thanks to Denver International Airport, fresh fish often make it here faster than your last Amazon delivery.
In fact, more than 70 percent of all seafood consumed in the United States is imported. So whether you’re dining in Boston or Boulder, there’s a good chance that your salmon came from Norway or Chile. In short, the quality of the lobster on your plate comes down to what happens en route and once it hits the kitchen. And here in Denver, many chefs have knacks for dishing up all things aquatic. Here, 10 of our favorite spots to find some seriously good seafood.
Price Key (Average Amount Spent on Food at Dinnertime, per Person)
- $: Less than $20
- $$: $21 to $30
- $$$: $31 to $40
- $$$$: $41 or more
Jump Ahead:
- Big Mac and Little Lu’s Seafood Restaurant (Westminster)
- Blue Island Oyster Bar and Seafood (Denver, Lone Tree)
- Crab and Shell Cajun Seafood (Denver)
- Fish N Beer (Denver)
- Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar (Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Glendale)
- Salt Water Social (Denver)
- Tammen’s Fish Market (Denver)
- Traveling Mercies (Aurora)
- Water Grill (Denver)
- Yabby Hut (Lakewood)
Big Mac and Little Lu’s Seafood Restaurant
- Where: 2851 W. 120th Ave., Suite 300, Westminster
- Price: $$$
Don’t let its strip-mall locale fool you; Big Mac & Little Lu’s Seafood Restaurant feels more like an oceanside hideaway when you walk in the doors. A long counter displays the latest catches of the day on ice (ask about availability and pricing), and bright blue mosaic tiling and baskets lined with checkered paper give it an inviting, low-key feel. Check out the fishhouse classics served in said baskets—such as conch fritters, fish and chips, and lobster rolls—but save room for more elevated fare, too.
The almond-crusted hogfish, served on a bed of Caribbean rice and veggies, is a house favorite, and the raw bar is loaded with all matter of mollusks, crustaceans, and sushi-grade tunas. Our fave for a hot, summer day? The soy-ginger-tossed ahi poke nachos, which are loaded with avo and fresh jalapeño and dressed in bright cilantro-lime dressing and Creole aïoli. Pair it with a rum cocktail or a margarita to complete the oceanside experience. —Maren Horjus
Blue Island Oyster Bar and Seafood
- Where: 2625 E. 2nd Ave., Denver (Cherry Creek); 10008 Commons St., Unit 100, Lone Tree
- Price: $$$$
You’d be remiss to skip the oysters at Blue Island Oyster Bar and Seafood—and not just because they’re part of this elegant eatery’s name. Co-owner Chris Quartuccio is also the founder of Blue Island Oyster Co. in Long Island, New York, where divers harvest fresh oysters that are flown to Denver daily. That means the oyster and clam menu changes constantly, but don’t be intimidated: The Blue Island team makes ordering them easy by providing flavor notes, like how the Cape Cod Bay variety has a balanced brine and crisp body.
If you’re raw-averse, opt for a lobster roll instead. The New England–style variation comes with finely diced celery over a bed of lettuce, and we recommend ordering the crispy parmesan potatoes on the side. If the thought of finding parking in Cherry Creek makes you shudder, there’s also the Lone Tree location, which offers a giant lot of free parking. —Barbara O’Neil
Crab and Shell Cajun Seafood
- Where: 2819 E. Colfax Ave., Denver (City Park)
- Price: $$
It isn’t the beers on tap or the kitschy maritime decor (including a life-size pirate) that draws us to Crab and Shell, but rather the endless combination of ways to enjoy the Cajun-style seafood boils. Rather than having to stick with a pound of one type of shellfish, diners can pick a half-pound of mussels, shrimp, snow crab, and lobster tail to add to their steaming-hot bags of seafood. Groups will enjoy the party combos (which serve two to five) and picky eaters will rejoice in the fried seafood baskets. Out of all the ways you can enjoy a meal at Crab and Shell, though, we recommend ordering the garlic-forward Cajun sauce in its spiciest rendition, so hot you’ll leave saucy fingerprints as you grab the beer menu. —BO
Fish N Beer
- Where: 3510 Larimer St., Denver (RiNo)
- Price: $$$
We love the word “oysterette”: It tells you what you’ll be eating and where you’ll be eating it. This tiny restaurant with a big backyard definitely does oysters right, whether fresh and gleaming on the half-shell or grilled over live fire and swimming in house-made “devil butter.” If you choose raw at Fish N Beer, don’t worry about missing out on flame-kissed seafood, because there’s more to pick from, from wood-grilled artichokes to whole yellowtail snapper. Chef/owner Kevin Morrison (who also owns Tacos Tequila Whiskey) covers miles of coastal cuisine, so you can tour the seven seas with Spanish octopus, Maryland crab dip, or Baja-style mahi tacos and ceviche. Just save room for FNB’s key lime pie, proudly proclaimed by Morrison as “Denver’s best”—and we would have to agree. —Mark Antonation
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar
- Where: Locations in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, and Glendale
- Price: $$$$
An institution in Colorado’s dining scene (the Boulder locale opened its doors in 1994, and there are now five restaurants across the Front Range), Jax Fish House likely needs no introduction. Its reputation for fresh-daily seafood, a banger wine list, and a constantly changing menu (current fave: Thai black cod with punchy red curry, roasted sweet potatoes, and bright carrot-daikon slaw) precede it. Helmed by culinary director Sheila Lucero (who helped launch the original three decades ago), Jax is leading the charge toward becoming one of the most sustainable seafood restaurants, well, anywhere: Each protein is responsibly sourced to prevent overfishing and harvested with minimal impact to the ocean. (Jax was the first restaurant in Colorado to be certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.) If all that feel-good talk makes you hungry, stop by any of the locations for celebratory oysters, crab, or caviar from the raw bar (go for a platter if you’re feeling indecisive) or, on Sundays, the locally famous cioppino. —MH
Salt Water Social
- Where: 201 Columbine St., Denver (Cherry Creek)
- Price: $$$$
If you can get past the glitzy marble furnishings and high price tags at this Cherry Creek hotspot, you’ll be rewarded with amusing cocktails (like the tequila-based Mermaid’s Brew that comes topped with a vapor bubble), warm sourdough bread service, and hearty dishes that actually leave you satisfied. We like the salmon Wellington: a salmon steak with spinach and truffle that’s wrapped in flaky puff pastry and served with mushroom sauce. And we get it: $37 for fish and chips? But the beer-battered cod (which smells delightfully like a fair funnel cake) is so soft and flaky that it’s almost cloudlike. For sides? We bet you and your date will be scraping the bowl of mashed Yukon gold potatoes topped with crispy baked cheese. —BO
Tammen’s Fish Market
- Where: 2669 Larimer St., Unit F, Denver (RiNo)
- Price: $
To scratch that lunchtime craving without the white tablecloth prices, Tammen’s Fish Market is a staple for weekday office workers. Located inside RiNo’s Denver Central Market, this spot is a full-scale fish market, so you can find whole salmon and big slabs of tuna and halibut to take home for the weekend. But when you just want a bite to eat, we recommend any of the fish tacos, which, at $13.50 for a pair, are one of the area’s most affordable bites. The fiery, spice-rubbed halibut variation comes topped with avocado, pico, cabbage, and spicy Thai-inspired sauce. And we always grab a couple of oysters ($2 each) served with mignonette and a lemon wedge. —BO
Traveling Mercies
- Where: 2501 Dallas St., Suite 311, Aurora
- Price: $$$
Esquire called Aurora’s Traveling Mercies one of the best bars in America last year, but 5280 restaurant reviewer Amanda Faison wrote that calling it a bar does a disservice to the delectable fare. That’s because at this Stanley Marketplace spot, not only can you quaff a crisp white or a high-octane cocktail, but you can also pair your beverage with some of the brightest oysters and clams in town. The cozy, 28-seat aerie is James Beard–winning chef Caroline Glover’s second eatery in the former airplane factory, just around the corner from her first, Annette. Start with the Tackle Box, a shareable sampler of oysters, shrimp, mussels, and trout. The staff is ready with spot-on pairings—like the Leon Gold “Rosè Gold” with anchovy toast or the house Hedge Maze martini with oysters. There’s only one dessert on the menu right now: the Sherry Colado, a creamy, coconutty twist on the classic piña colada. But honestly, it’s all you’ll need to end your meal on a sweet note. —Charli Ornett
Read More: Seafood Bar Traveling Mercies Is a Keeper
Water Grill
- Where: 1691 Market St., Denver (LoDo)
- Price: $$$$
Water Grill is one of the priciest seafood eateries in Denver, but we think the raw bar menu makes it deserving of a mention on its own. If you’re new to oyster slurping (or the thought of deciding between Virginia and Maryland varieties makes your head spin), we like the oyster sampler, where you can order either a half-dozen ($23) or dozen ($46) of Water Grill’s freshest favorites. The restaurant also offers iced shellfish—scallops, shrimp, and lobster—platters in a range of sizes, depending on whether you need to feed two ($58), four ($105), or seven ($195) seafood-loving pals. When it’s finally time for an entrée, we recommend the new-to-the-menu wild Mexican sea bass. Don’t expect flaky fish—this bass has the firm texture of chicken, which pairs perfectly with the accompanying ratatouille. —BO
Read More: Are Water Grill’s Fresh-Caught Specialties Worth the Splurge?
Yabby Hut
- Where: 6735 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood; 3355 S. Yarrow St., Unit E-131, Lakewood
- Price: $$
When Hung Le and Linh Tran fled Vietnam and spent time in a Philippines refugee camp before coming to the U.S., one thing reminded them of home—diving for fish, eel, and crab off the coast. After eventually settling in Denver, the couple opened Yabby Hut, a no-frills spot where the seafood passes the owners’ discerning taste tests before making it to your plate. Expect to get messy (seafood is best eaten with bare hands here), but saucy fingers will be well worth it. Yabby Hut specializes in Cajun-style seafood boils, so you can pick a pound of any variety of shellfish (we’re fans of the snow crab and crawfish) before deciding on a seasoning, spice level, and add-ons like potatoes and sausage. Those who’d rather keep their hands clean can opt for a fish basket or soup, including gumbo and clam chowder.
No matter what you order, you’ll find yourself planning your next visit. Regulars are even invited to sign their names on the restaurant walls—a small but meaningful mark on Yabby Hut’s 15-year history. —BO
