Best Seafood Restaurants in Morningside Heights
7 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Harlemite Peruvian Cuisine
Peruvian restaurant where ceviche and whole fish headline in a colorful space.
Notable Picks
8.5
Harlemite Peruvian Cuisine leans into seafood-heavy Peruvian plates—ceviche, grilled whole fish, and pescado a la chorrillana—served in a colorful dining room with a backyard patio. It’s where ceviche and fish entrees land alongside cocktails and chaufa, making it a go-to when you want Latin-leaning seafood in a more polished setting.
Must-Try Dishes:
Harlemite ceviche, Grilled whole fish, Pescado a la chorrillana
What Makes it Special: Peruvian restaurant where ceviche and whole fish headline in a colorful space.
Lighthouse Fish Market & Restaurant is a Harlem staple where fried whiting, crab legs, and loaded lobster plates share space with soul food sides in a lively, always-moving room. Locals lean on it for big, satisfying seafood platters that feel more like a neighborhood cookout than a formal dinner.
Must-Try Dishes:
Crab legs with corn and potatoes, Fried whiting platter with two sides, Loaded lobster with mac and cheese
What Makes it Special: Harlem fish house where fried seafood and soul food collide.
8.3
Sea To Soul Harlem blends fish fry classics with soul food and lounge energy, turning whiting, shrimp and grits, and seafood platters into full meals with cocktails and music. It’s where groups slide into booths for boiled seafood, wings, and sides in a space that feels more like a neighborhood hangout than a straight takeout counter.
Must-Try Dishes:
Shrimp and grits, Whiting and shrimp entree with two sides, Seafood po’boy with house sauce
What Makes it Special: Seafood-and-soul house where shrimp, whiting, and cocktails share billing.
8.2
Established in 1992, A Taste of Seafood is a counter-service Harlem institution for fried fish, shrimp, and Southern-leaning sides served in generous portions. It’s the move when you want crispy whiting, crab legs, or a shrimp basket that lands hot, salty, and satisfying without feeling fussy.
Must-Try Dishes:
Whiting fish with two sides, 7-piece shrimp and chips, 2-piece jumbo snow crab legs
What Makes it Special: Long-running Harlem counter specializing in fried fish and shrimp.
8
Vibes:
Group Dining Gatherings
Girls Night Out Approved
Trendy Table Hotspots
Birthday & Celebration Central
Cap't Loui’s Broadway location brings Cajun-style seafood boils to the Columbia stretch of Harlem, with mix-and-match bags of shrimp, crab, mussels, and lobster in garlicky, spicy sauces. Groups use it for messy, bib-on dinners where the table fills with shareable boils, wings, and sides.
Must-Try Dishes:
Signature Cajun seafood boil with shrimp and snow crab, Lobster tail boil in house special sauce, Garlic butter wings basket
What Makes it Special: Cajun boil house where customizable seafood bags anchor loud, casual dinners.
Worthy Picks
7.8
Courtside Seafood is a sports-themed Harlem restaurant where fried lobster tails, fish dinners, and shrimp platters meet big screens and late-night hours. It doubles as a game-night hangout and a 125th-adjacent seafood stop, especially for baskets and rasta pasta built around basa or shrimp.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fried lobster tail with two sides, All fish 7-piece basa or whiting, Shrimp rasta pasta
What Makes it Special: Sports-bar-style seafood spot with fried lobster, fish platters, and TVs.
7.6
Vibes:
Cheap Eats Budget Brilliance
Quick Bites Champions
Hidden Gems Heaven
Solo Dining Sanctuaries
Operating since the early 1980s, Sea & Sea Fish Market is a Harlem mainstay for raw and cooked seafood, steaming crab legs, lobster tails, shrimp, and whiting to order. It runs more like a classic fish market than a sit-down restaurant, but the cooked-to-order trays have the loyal following of a neighborhood kitchen.
Must-Try Dishes:
Steamed crab legs and lobster tail, Fried whiting with fries, Steamed shrimp with corn and potatoes
What Makes it Special: Old-school Harlem fish market steaming and frying seafood on demand.