On an unassuming corner in Delaware County, the Original Clam Tavern throws it back with a menu straight out of the 1960s. Find broiled flounder, stuffed shrimp, fried oysters, and crab-topped everything. Baked clams with a dot of ketchup on each middleneck are a favorite at this come-as-you-are spot. A full bar features some sweet specialty cocktails.

Heard of the seafood joint at 20th and Spruce? It’s been there for 50 years. Seafood Unlimited started out in 1971 as a fresh fish market and transitioned into a restaurant a couple decades ago. Look for the mermaid with a martini sign and head inside for jumbo shrimp cocktail, fish sandwiches, seafood pasta, fried combos, and much more. Oysters go for a buck at happy Hour and there’s a full bar, plus an Isaiah Zagar mosaic.

When Greg Vernick does something, he does it right. Known for his eponymous Rittenhouse destination, the chef — who rose through the ranks in the Jean Georges empire — opened Vernick Fish at the new Comcast Technology Center in 2019. It’s his love letter to the Jersey Shore cuisine he grew up eating, but with elevated ingredients, technique, and presentation. Vernick Fish is a decidedly elegant experience with diners enjoying the likes of scallop crudo, squid ink tagliatelle, and swordfish milanese amid plush seating, mood lighting, and quality beverages. Don’t miss the broiled ‘oysters Philadelphia’ that masquerade as a hoagie with genoa salami, provolone, crunchy brioche, and broccoli rabe.

James Beard-nominated chef Randy Rucker considers his East Passyunk destination “seafood focused.” His ever-changing tasting menu always features a few carefully sourced and prepared fish dishes, like amberjack poached in juniper butter and a chirashi bowl with local scallops and trout roe. A few additions to the menu include Sweet Amalia oysters, uni, and caviar.

In Washington Square West, Pinefish draws in neighbors for well-executed seafood in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Crispy skin salmon with spinach and Parmesan cream is a go-to, as are mussels and lobster mac and cheese. The restaurant went big on outdoor seating during the pandemic and now offers attractive, colorful streetery booths.

Italian Market shoppers may know Anastasi as one of Philly’s best seafood stores, where customers line up to order raw fish from the busy counter. Come night time, though, the fishmonger becomes a casual sit-down restaurant. The menu is a bit of a throwback, offering clams casino, oysters Rockefeller, broiled fish, garlic bread, and fried combos with a little of everything — and sometimes that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Mixed drinks and beer are available too.

Kalaya’s chef-owner Nok Suntaranon brings the heat to her intricate seafood dishes. Her celebrated Thai restaurant in the Italian Market offers scallop and crab curries, lemongrass soup with jumbo river prawns, fried monkfish in turmeric sauce, and more options that run from mild to very spicy.

Cantonese-style seafood takes center stage at Tai Lake. The Chinatown restaurant gets rave reviews for its steamed oysters, shrimp dumplings, lobster with ginger and scallion, fried jumbo shrimp in a creamy mayo sauce, clams with black bean sauce, and salt baked squid with chili. With a huge menu (that also includes meat and vegetarian dishes), picky eaters and the adventurous alike are satisfied here. No wonder it’s been going strong since 1988.

Up Broad Street, Sid Booker’s keeps it simple with butterflied fried shrimp by the half dozen or dozen, plus a few sides. The casual, long-running spot is popular among the late night crowd looking for satisfying food after a night out. Look for the neon sign and bring cash.

The freshest seafood is one thing. Internationally sourced tinned fish is another and that’s where Bloomsday excels. The all-day café and wine shop offers half a dozen or more conservas at a time. This isn’t your mom’s canned albacore. From high-quality Spanish bluefin tuna belly to Norwegian blue mussels and Canadian lobster, tinned fish comes packed in olive oil or sauce to preserve their briny goodness. They’re served charcuterie board style with bread and accoutrements.

Old City’s airy, blue-and-white hued Positano Coast has long been a popular spot for coastal Italian fare. The raw bar features oysters, chilled lobster, and shrimp cocktail, while cooked dishes include grilled octopus, diver scallops, spaghetti and clams, crab cakes, whole fish, and more. A new outdoor sidewalk cafe grew the restaurant’s seats by 160 during the pandemic — it features exotic plants, huge umbrellas, heat lamps, and live jazz on Fridays.

Though once a meat-focused butcher shop and restaurant, Kensington Quarters went all in on seafood when Nich Bazik took over the kitchen in 2020. Today, the menu centers on catches from the Northeast. Think: Sweet Amalia oysters and Peconic Escargot from Long Island. A new raw bar adds to the atmosphere and shellfish offerings. Don’t miss the bluefin tuna in brown butter and — for a non-seafood option — the fluffy milk bread that Bazik learned to bake from his Korean mother-in-law during the pandemic.