14 Seafood Chains That Never Use Frozen Fish

When people don't like seafood, they often cite a fishy flavor as their reasoning. Perhaps without even realizing it, they're really saying the fish doesn't taste or smell fresh. It's a fair assessment and something restaurants specializing in seafood should take seriously, especially if they want to keep customers coming back.

Sea creatures of all kinds naturally produce the compound trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). After they die, TMAO converts to trimethylamine, leading to the foul odor and flavor commonly associated with bad seafood. This is why some frozen fish end up with an undesirable fishy taste.

Restaurants can avoid this issue by serving only fresh catches. That comes at a cost though, as fresh seafood will almost always be more expensive than its frozen counterparts. That's why restaurants that refuse to offer frozen fish tend to be on the pricier side. It's a necessary trade-off if you want to guarantee a great-tasting meal from the sea. Luckily, there are more than a couple of seafood chains you can rely on that always serve fresh, never frozen fish.

As an upscale chain that specializes in seafood, Ocean Prime is serious about creating dishes with nothing but the highest-quality ingredients. At each of its 20 locations dotted across the U.S., the restaurant commits to sourcing its products responsibly and locally wherever possible. In terms of its seafood, this means collaborating with fishermen who deliver nothing but the best. Whether you're dining in the Beverly Hills, Columbus, or Miami locations, you'll be choosing from dishes created based on what's fresh and available in the area.

There are also some signature dishes, such as the renowned shrimp cocktail over dry ice and a dazzling Smoking Shellfish Tower, which customers rave over. High-quality seafood and ingredients don't come cheap, though. Be prepared to spend a bit more than average on your meal, but with that, you can rest assured the fish you order will be anything but fishy. If you want proof of quality, proof is what you'll get. Ocean Prime has won countless awards and praise from publications including Travel & Leisure, People, and USA Today, not to mention being named the #1 Highest-Rated Seafood Restaurant by Tripadvisor, instilling confidence that the seafood at Ocean Prime is always fresh and delicious.

If you're looking for fresh seafood, a restaurant overlooking the ocean is a good place to start. Chart House has 24 waterfront locations around the U.S., with a varying lineup of fresh catch depending on where you dine. Its first location opened in 1961 as a modest, no-frills diner. While Chart House has certainly grown since then, the key principle that started it all has stuck along for the ride: coupling amazing food with jaw-dropping views.

Whether you're dining on the Atlantic, Pacific, or anywhere in between, Chart House consistently falls near the top of local recommendations for seafood restaurants. For instance, a San Diego restaurant guide shares comments from guests at Chart House's Cardiff location who tried the East Meets West Tuna, a signature appetizer, and described its freshness as "unparalleled." Mouth-watering seafood that comes with a spectacular view is hard to beat, whether it's a panoramic of the ocean, a lively river port, or an idyllic lake. Even in its landlocked locations, Chart House's gorgeous mountain and city views don't disappoint, and neither does its fish.

Scattered around Texas, Rockfish Seafood and Grill has been serving quality seafood and fresh ingredients since 1998. It's known around the Lone Star State as a casual place to dine, but you shouldn't take the word "casual" to mean it lacks quality. In an interview with PR Newswire, CEO Seth Wilkinson made it clear that most of the food on the menu is made from scratch. Casual or not, food made from scratch is a luxury not to be ignored. 

Aside from the delicious seafood, Rockfish is also known for its open kitchens, allowing guests to watch as their food is prepared. The menu features many different cooking styles, though you'll likely notice a predilection for Cajun food. Dishes like Louisiana gumbo, shrimp 'n grits, and crawfish etouffee highlight the distinct Cajun influence. Even the signature cocktail menu offers a Cajun infusion with its Bayou Bloody Mary. If Cajun isn't your thing, Rockfish still has you covered, with customer favorites that include Santa Fe fish tacos and a Mexican shrimp cocktail, which is so good it has won awards.

Before founding The Boiling Crab with his wife in 2004, Yo'Daddy was a crabber and fisherman in the tiny Texas town of Seadrift. Being a man of the sea, it makes sense that serving fresh catch would be a top priority when he opened his own seafood restaurant. Thanks to the excellent quality of food served at the first humble Boiling Crab location, the restaurant has now expanded to 30 locations. Most are in the U.S., except for a few all the way in Australia, China, and Saudi Arabia. To make it that far, The Boiling Crab sure must be tasty.

The menu concept is a seafood boil with plenty of options to choose from for your base, like shrimp, lobster, several types of crab, crawfish, or mussels. After that, you add sauce and spice, all the way up to XXX if you like it really hot. Top off your boil with traditional extras, like corn on the cob or sausage. The Boiling Crab isn't exactly a silverware kind of place, and here that means you eat with your hands. It can get pretty messy so your meal always comes with a bib. Sounds like fun!

Bluewater Grill makes a promise to its customers to serve seafood that is both fresh and sustainable. Originally established in Newport Beach, California, in 1996, the restaurant has since expanded to eight locations, primarily along the SoCal coast in small communities like Santa Barbara and Catalina Island. To this day, all of its seafood is sourced directly from local fishermen, and what you see on the menu reflects what's in season.

Anything that's not sourced from the nearby fishermen is caught on Bluewater Grill's swordfish harpoon boat. That means from time to time, the swordfish you're served might be caught by the restaurant's staff. That's some real dedication to hospitality and service you won't find just anywhere.

Each Bluewater location has a unique menu that changes four times a year based on the seasonal seafood coming in. Items like sea scallops, black cod, and ahi tuna rotate, paired with other local and farm-fresh ingredients. If one thing's clear from all this focus on freshness, it's that your tastebuds will be happy you came.

At Brown Bag Seafood Co., you won't find white tablecloths but you will find fresh seafood that's flown in every single day. The recipes are creative and delicious but the delivery is utterly unpretentious, as Brown Bag Seafood wants its dishes to be as accessible as possible.

The name of the restaurant comes from the unique style of service. All seafood is served hot off the grill in a brown bag from a server in a blue bandana. Half the menu is a build-your-own style, where you choose between options like salmon, cod, shrimp, and tuna, and add them to a box, salad, or tacos. The Salmon Powerbox is one of the prized classics. The other half offers more traditional seafood dishes, including a blackened fish sandwich and fish and chips.

Aside from being fresh, Brown Bag Seafood is fully against destructive fishing practices. All of the seafood is sustainably sourced, so you can eat your way through the menu knowing that what you ordered was caught with the ocean's health in mind.

Since 1969, Weathervane has made a guarantee to its customers to only dish out the best locally sourced seafood, and it continues to live up to its word. As a seafood chain with just a few locations around New Hampshire and Maine, lobster is a main feature of its menu. In fact, it claims to have gone through several millions of pounds of lobster in its five decades of dining service. Wow.

Weathervane began as a humble food cart in the little town of Kittery, Maine. Owners Ray and Bea Gagner eventually dreamed a bit bigger and opened a restaurant using their old family recipes to populate the menu with different preparations of lobster, chowders, and other Maine seafood favorites. From crab-stuffed shrimp to lobster mac & cheese, the delicious seafood options make it hard to choose just one item. One Yelp reviewer shared that his wife ordered the Lazy Man's Lobster and "had no words to describe how good and fresh" her meal was. Praise that strong doesn't come from nothing.