Oceanaire Seafood Room

Took my parents here to treat them to dinner on their trip to visit me. We ordered escargot, pear goat cheese salad, lobster tails, nz kingklip, and the sole. We also got the winter whites flights. Though everything we ordered was delicious, the main plates took a very long time to come out. Our cheerful and knowledgable waiter John, brought us each a cup of lobster bisque to hold us over while waiting. It was very tasty. The lobster tails were cold when they came out, so they had to go back in the steamer. When you go to a nice restaurant, you validate the price by the quality of the food. Unfortunately all 3 of us got sick and spent the entire next day vomiting and attempting to rehydrate. We think it was from the lobster bisque (maybe it had gone bad?). Anyway, a great experience for 3 hours is easily forgotten after enduring 12 hours of pain.

food is actually pretty good here — especially at the bar. I had the fish tacos — excellent. Service is good with a good selection of drinks. I was there on a slower Sunday night — there was a little bit of the bar staff messaging their friends which is a personal gripe of mine.
be prepared for a monster bill if you had a «real» dinner. it could be $ 75/​head without trying too hard

Amazing food! Happy Hour is divine too! Service is splendid. Love it here!!!

My husband and I ate at The Oceanaire last night. It was over 10 years since we had been there. While the food and ambiance were good, I remember being more impressed years ago. The Calamari was drenched in a sweet Asian sauce, lobster bisque was good but not overwhelming. Lobster Macaroni and Cheese was delicious but arrived cold. They corrected it and didn’t charge us which was great. Key Lime Pie and Cobia with crab topping were good. Service very good to excellent.

The downgraded review is really surrounding the service aspect of our visit last week. The food is still pretty tasty and the drinks are good too!
A group of us came out to celebrate my sisters birthday last weekend and I get it, it is a very busy weekend for restaurants and things run late. We had a reservation for 8:15 and hung out at the bar until it was ready. We didn’t get seated until almost 9… that to me seems a little ridiculous, what is the point of taking reservations?
Our bartender during that time was great. She make a very strong and large dirty martini so watch out! It’s a full on pint glass of vodka which I was quite happy about.
We were finally seated, we ordered a dozen oysters and said that the chef could pick out his/​her favorites. They were dropped off by a runner and our waitress never came back to explain where they were from or what order they were in.
Then someone random (not the waitress) dropped off an amuse bouche that was not very pleasant and didn’t explain it. It was a maple syrup and olive oil piece of soaked bread that did not excite me for my meal to come. They could’ve skipped that one.
Our starters were delicious, wedge salad was fantastic (they actually split it for us which is really nice). The lobster bisque was really tasty as well. They ran out of a couple of their fish specialities which was disappointing but we all ordered a variety of seafood and loved our entrees. The disappointing part of our meal was that our waitress was just simply absent. We saw the bus boys and runners more often than we saw her.
We ended the night with the flaming dessert that almost everyone had… I would skip it. It was ice cream wrapped in meringue that tasted like burning Barcardi 151. Bleh, it was not a great way to end a meal.

The food deserves five stars but the long wait time despite having a reservation and slow service on Saturday night was not ideal.
I love their lobster tail, fish, shrimp and scallops. And they comped a flaming cake with ice cream dessert on my birthday.
Their happy hour has many excellent food and cocktail options. And their restaurant week specials are totally worth checking out.
When we dined here on Saturday night around 8 pm they had run out of the swordfish and Arctic char which are their more popular and reasonably priced options. This was disappointing since we wanted to order them.
Our dinner also lasted three hours since the service was slow. We also had to wait about 30 min. For our table even though we had reservations for my birthday. There were only two of us which makes it more inexcusable in my opinion.
Overall, the food is amazing and they have one of the best happy hours and restaurant week specials so this is still one of my favorite places to dine at.

Food excellent, cocktails average, service is not what it used to be in the bar area compared to the old location. Maybe the other area has better service.
If you want perfection I would recommend going to Meritage in St Paul.

Food was good, best seafood I’ve ever had in MN? No, not quite there. Don’t get me wrong, seafood was fresh, but maybe this is a mistake on my part? I ordered the bay scallops and I knew it came with craisins so I knew to expect a somewhat sweet dish, However, it was like eating spoonfuls of sugar! The crab cake was super delicious though. Service was kind of all over the place and maybe that’s because I cam during restaurant week or maybe someone called in sick. Who knows. Our server was great, but the busboy who brought out most of our food, and cleared our plates was basically horrible. He brought the main meal for my friend and instead of waiting 5 seconds for her to move her bread plate out of the way, he half shoved it out of the way and placed her main meal half on the table and half on her bread plate, which still had bread on it. Then as we were eating, my friend had almost finished her meal but there were still a little bit of food in it and the busboy came around asked if she was done, and without waiting for a response, he just grabbed her plate and left! Who does that!!! So when dessert came around, whenever we saw him approaching we would have to shove dessert in our mouth halfway through a sentence so he wouldn’t pick up our plates and just leave! It made conversing very interesting that night!

First off, we had a reservation at 8:15 and were not seated until 9:00. They were busy, but if they take reservations, 8:15 should have been the time we were seated. They did serve us complimentary champagne as we were waiting, but still, a disappointing start.
I ordered the chopped house green salad with their vinaigrette dressing ($ 8). It was a typical garden salad. The dressing was average at best.
For an entrée, I ordered the salmon duet ($ 35?). The dish consisted of 2 small pieces of salmon. Each piece of salmon was a different kind, but I am not sure what each were called. They tasted very similar while one being lighter than the other. I was not thrilled with the sauces on top of the salmon. The dish was just okay to me. There was nothing that was thrilling about this dish.
For sides, we had asparagus with hollandaise sauce ($ 9), roasted beets and blue cheese with a balsamic glaze ($ 11), and cheesy bacon au gratin potatoes ($ 11).
The asparagus was real good. I have always been a fan of asparagus with hollandaise sauce. The beets were phenomenal. This was the first time I had beets cooked and it was delightful. The combination of the beets with the blue cheese really worked well together. The balsamic glaze just added to this dish. The potatoes were alright. There was lots of cheese, but very little bacon.
Will I go back? I might.

I believe I dine better when there is not a lot of hype about the restaurant– we were told this was the best in Minneapolis. I am not sure this was the best for me food wise, but the service hands down was top-​notch.
Ambience is nice, but they were extremely busy. We had a 7:45 reservation; we were seated at 8:30PM. Points for quick service after being seated. Our server was extremely pleasant and personable. I was not overly impressed with the Chesapeake bay crab cakes. Stuffing was undercooked. Bacon cheddar at gratin potatoes were tasty. My husband thought they could use a little fresh pepper and salt. He ordered the seafood mixed grill. Lobster was delicious, the shrimp were good, the scallops were horrible. TOO pan-​seared (burnt flavor). I will attribute this to Saturday night and the volume of business. Our server did, however, surprise us with dessert for our anniversary. We had the pumpkin baked Alaska which made everything better!

This place is the bomb! Such a cool ambience with dim lighting that accentuates the «under the water» feel of the place and menu and the booths are super comfy.
For their free nibbles, they gave a plate of bread and butter but what was interesting was also their plate of raw and cold veggies that served as a good palette opener.
Appetizers — Ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, the Spicy tuna poke, and the Washington oysters. The crab cake was by far my favorite and you could tell it was made of more wholesome seafood pieces then the filler ingredients usually put into making cakes like bread crumbs and such. The spicy tuna poke was well seasoned with generous portions of fried wonton chips and the oyster were a yummy, cold slurp.
For mains, ordered the Wild Halibut Black and Bleu, Grilled Filet Mignon with Shrimp, a Half Order of the Jumbo Sea Scallops, and sides of cheesy Gratin Potatoes and Green Beans with Crispy shallots. The halibut was so nicely cooked — every bite juicy and tender. My favorite by far were the scallops which literally melted in my mouth with the perfect sautéed and salted and peppered top and bottom layer. The crispy shallots were also a nice little fried crunch to the rest of the relatively lighter eating.
Desserts (:D) — ordered the Banana cream pie and crème brulee. I loved that the pie bottom wasn’t your ordinary pie crust but a mix between a granola bar and a flapjack — the perfect amount of sweetness to the relatively healthier version of a pie (since there are whole pieces of banana).
Definitely left feeling full to the brim, happy, and SOOOO satisfied. Won’t be in the area anymore but their happy hour also looks DELISH!

It always seems to take me awhile to get to the popular restaurants; finally made it there today. Went to lunch with my team and a nice lunch indeed.
The interior is nice and in a way kind of reminded me of a room I would see on a cruise ship. It just had that copa cabana feel to it. It is nice and the interior is appealing. A nice variety of tables, booths and seating.
Service was pretty good.
Food Ordered:
Crabcake Club Sandwiches w matchstick fries
Fish Tacos
Walleye Sandwich
SS Cobb Salad which was absolutely deicious and so beautifully presented. Huge chunks of everything. Bacon, avocado, tomato, cheese, shrimp and scallops. The bleu cheese dressing was really good too.
Like the bread and the little supper club style preview of carrots, celery, peppers, olives and other little snackems.
Excellent menu options.
Shall return.

Oceannaire is always delicious no matter what you get. Even the bread at the start of the meal is perfect. If I could eat that bread all day, I would. Happy hour at this location is also really reasonable, and you can get lots of different seafood apps with your colleagues!
It’s perfectly located one block from the blue line and green line. It’s also perfect for bringing clients for a more professional, fancy meal. If you like seafood in salad, the SS Cobb is pretty darn good… And massive! One my other favorites is the ahi tuna sandwich with the wasabi sauce for a perfect balance!
Don’t forget banana cream pie. (I don’t think this is available at all locations, but it is tremendous!)

One of the best meals you can get in Minneapolis! We were a group of six and the service was phenomenal! We were recommended to order our entrees and order two to three sides that are shareable. The corn, lobster mac and cheese, and their special hashbrowns were fantastic!
You get the choice of ordering entrees that are already prepared as specialities on their menu, or you can order a protein and decide to go with the preparation and/​or sauce that goes with it. I loved the pairing I decided on, of the Coho salmon and the black and bleu topping. I was happy to see that the portion size of the fish was very sufficient for dinner!
The best part is the dessert choices! Baked Alaska and flourless chocolate cake ended our meal. Save room for these two!

I’ve been here for happy hour many times and the fish tacos are A bomb Amazing. It’s rare you get tacos that double as a meal during happy hour but this place does it. The tacos have your traditional cabbage and shredded carrot on top, and a delicious sauce. The number of tacos you get varies between 2 and 3 but even with two you will be stuffed. And since it is Oceanaire, they get their seafood and fish flown in.
The battered shrimp is good, but is hit or miss as its sometimes overlooked. I’ve had the mussels before and they are yummy and salty. Definitely only order three if it’s your first time trying them.
The drink options are pretty standard with some cocktails, wine and beer offered. Their happy hour is tiered so different price points get you different things, and it works for folks on varying budgets, or sharing plates.
I’ve been here for dinner during restaurant week and had a great time with attentive service, and solid options that were well thought out and paired. Overall this is a great place to try, and if the price point scares you then go for happy hour or during restaurant week.

When you travel for work and find yourself in an unfamiliar city in a corporate dominated downtown you make do. As far as chains go Oceanaire is definitely at the upper end of quality and service. Service at the bar for a quiet solo lunch in Minneapolis was friendly and professional.
The shrimp cocktail — yes, I am an overgrown 6^th grader — had jumbo shrimp and a fine cocktail sauce. Rather foolishly, I then ordered the lobster and blue crab roll. Hey, I grew up in Maine (so cut me some slack), I was hungry. It wasn’t objectionable but lacked taste, had too much mayo like sauce, and for some reason had a bunch of crispy thin potato strands splayed on top. Uh, no… What is that? I did substitute the beets with blue cheese as a side, instead of fries, and that was slightly healthier. Overall, a decent and quiet lunch. Pricey but good service and quality ingredients.

Excellent food and flawless service!
Four of us tried the weekday lunch today. Everything was great. Generally, I don’t like fish or seafood. So I have to admit, I arrived with a bit of a skeptical attitude. But I loved everything, despite NOT being a fish dude.
The restaurant is also beautiful.
I guess there isn’t much else to say. I added a few more photos to add to the mountain of photos that are already posted.
–Daddy Maxx Retro

If you have the bucks, it’s always a home run here. The service, food & ambiance is spot on. Whenever I’m here, I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t own a yacht on Lake Minnetonka. But once in a while it’s fun to pretend like I have a ragingingly successful veterinarian business in Excelsior. We only go here when my fiancé’s parents are in town because this is their favorite place.
At my most recent visit, our server brought out a small crostini appetizer compliments of the Chef. I don’t remember what it was, but it was amazing. I ordered the Broiled Alaska Cod ‘Louie’ ($ 31). Cod was perfectly cooked and topped with jumbo lump crabmeat, mashed potatoes & caper butter sauce. Entrees don’t come with sides or salads, you need to order them ala carte. You can order a side & share it with a group of 4 easily. A nice thing about this place… if you order crab cakes, you get crab in the cake. No bread crumb overkill here. Most regular entrée items range from $ 25-​$ 46. Pricey, but their seafood is flown in fresh daily.
The servers are dressed like Pharmacists in long white doctor’s jackets. I think this is weird. The servers are all well versed in describing the menu in poetic detail & the same goes for the wine list. Yes, you are going to get the entire pomp and circumstance with the wine presentation & awkward tasting. It will be good, so just tell them to pour the entire glass so we don’t hear everyone breathing at the table while we wait.

Spendy? Yes. Amazing? The best there is in Minneapolis!!!
I love seafood but this place blew me away.
Let me first start with the service, it’s some of the best there is! The wait staff are all extremely professional and go above and beyond to satisfy. They help you navigate the extensive menu and will make some truly delicious suggestions.
For my main course I ordered one of the waiters recommendations, the Swordfish off the «grill, broil, sear» menu and had it prepared Dynamite style. It was hands down the best swordfish I’ve ever had, it comes with a spicy breading on the top of this extremely large piece of fish and is drizzled with Sriracha and some other delicious sauce. The items on this section of the menu are served a la carte so I ordered the sour cream mashed potatoes. They were some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had, extremely light and fluffy, but they’re definitely enough for four people to share.
I was here for a family birthday and they brought out a complimentary baked Alaska. I’d never tried this dessert before but it was very tasty and the presentation of it was a must see spectacle.
If you’re looking for a truly spectacular dining experience suited for only the specialist of occasions the Oceanaire is perfect.

For a 3 course meal for $ 30 per person during restaurant week, this place can’t be beat. Neither one of us had been to Oceanaire before and decided to give a whirl. It was ridiculous! We had a tiny bit of a wait, but nothing insane. We were a little early for our reservations, and we only waited about 10 minutes or less.
I had the Oceanaire cocktail, which is their signature cocktail, in their signature blue color. It was pretty good. Nothing too special and I very likely won’t get it again. At the time, it totally made me happy. Who doesn’t love a fun cocktail?!
For the first course, my guy got a cup of clam chowder which he seemed to enjoy. He ate it too fast for me to even try it. I ordered the crab cake sampler. Which was a fancy way of saying a «mini crab cake». Though it was little, it was packed full of flavor and might have been my favorite few bites of the night! I WILL be back for more crab cakes. Those crab cakes made me so happy, I did a little dance in our booth.
We ordered the seared mahi mahi and the grilled swordfish for dinner. The mahi mahi was truly the better of the two. It came with a pineapple salsa that was super good. Don’t get me wrong — I loved my swordfish, but I was stealing bites of my boyfriend’s mahi mahi the whole time. Both were fabulous, meaty and full of flavor. I wasn’t a huge fan of the crispy potatoes that came with the swordfish and left them on the plate. I just didn’t feel like they went with the swordfish very well.
I’m not much of a sweets fan, so dessert wasn’t high on my priorities. I’m actually kicking myself right now for not checking to see if it would have been possible to get a crab cake sampler in place of dessert. Oh well. I tried the mango panna cotta and man. It was gross! I don’t think I liked the mango mixed with the «hard custard» as our sever described it. Boyfriend had the ice cream sandwich and really liked it. The cookies were much harder than we excepted them to be, but not a deal breaker at all and must not have mattered because he ate the whole thing, minus a couple bites that I had. I thought it was very good.
I’d seriously go back all the time if it was cheaper. Who are we kidding?! We both loved it so much, we’ll be back regardless of price.