Rochester, NYSeafood

Lento on North Goodman Street is chef and owner Art Rogers's farm-to-table room, and Rogers became the Rochester area's first James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast in 2015. CITY Magazine has profiled the kitchen and its daily oyster-bar happy hour, alongside seafood-forward plates like roasted Japanese sea scallops and seafood scampi. Come at happy hour for oysters, then order the scallops.

Captain Jim's Fish Market on East Main Street is a market-and-counter operation that CITY Magazine named a Best Fish Fry winner, describing an unassuming hole-in-the-wall that draws a line out the door on Fridays. The haddock fish fry is the reason to go. Order the Friday fish fry, and take fresh fish home from the market case.

The Vesper Kitchen and Bar in the Neighborhood of the Arts is a seafood-and-cocktail room named for the Bond martini. (585) Magazine's feature described its raw-bar centerpiece, the Trust Fund, a Vesper martini paired with oysters, shrimp, ceviche, caviar, and stuffed olives. Order the Trust Fund raw-bar spread with a martini.

Hooked Fish Market is a Black-owned fish market and prepared-seafood counter serving Maplewood, known for its lobster roll. WROC and Spectrum News both covered its March 2025 reopening after a long closure, and owner Kenneth Rivers's meal service to neighbors in need during that time. Order the lobster roll, and take fresh fish from the counter.