AQUAGRILL: Top Seafood Restaurant, Best Brunch and Top Restaurant in SoHo

ZAGAT New York City

"Executive chef-owner Jeremy Marshall’s bouillabaisse is considered one of the best in the city. You should also pay attention to the chef’s specials, which include both traditional seafood dishes and some more exotic options. Guests can choose how many of the fish dishes are cooked, either grilled, roasted, or poached. It is also worth noting that there are 25 varieties of oysters served daily. There is an excellent wine list of wines that complement fish and seafood dishes."

"Aquagrill is considered one of the best seafood restaurants in town. The restaurant offers lunch, brunch, dinner and pre-theatre dining in SoHo. Aquagrill prides itself on being able to feature 25 oyster varieties each day, exotic seafood delicacies, and emphasizing fish and fish bounties from the clean seas and waters found locally and around the world. The owners, husband, and wife ​Jeremy and Jennifer Marshall made among Manhattan’s best dining destinations. They are inviting you to try their best delicacies and experience the finest seafood experience you can try in New York. They are open every day to serve you the best oysters there is."

"AQUAGRILL: The thing I love—I mean, I like fish and I love seafood—but the thing I love about it is there are so few chef-owners and they really own the restaurant and run it. As very grand restaurants become chains, in a sense, it’s kind of nice to know who’s cooking."

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"While the food here is spectacular and quite elegant, Aquagrill still, after all these years, manages to feel like a comfy neighborhood spot. Start with a martini at the bar, where you can watch your oysters (of which there are many, many varieties) being shucked. And then tuck in for dinner, where delicious, inventive seafood is paired with a diverse selection of wines."

"Pay attention to executive chef-owner Jeremy Marshall's specialties, particularly the grilled Atlantic salmon with a falafel crust and the plump seared sea scallops with Dungeness crab meat risotto; the kitchen's version of bouillabaisse is among the best this side of the City of Light."

"The massive selection of oysters at Soho’s Aquagrill are hand-shucked in front of you before they are served alongside a perfect mignonette sauce. With a selection of more than a dozen different types of oysters from both the east and west coasts, there’s something for everyone here. Their oyster bar opens at noon daily."

The 15 Best Places for Raw Seafood in SoHo, New York

"This long-running downtown seafood spot was conceived as a counterweight to the ponderous Oyster Bar at Grand Central, a looser and hipper spot where the number of raw oysters offered was impressive."

"Aquagrill is the place for top-quality seafood. The restaurant boasts an exciting menu with imaginative dishes, in addition to featuring a world-famous oyster bar. Friendly service and an eclectic wine list round out the experience. Located in SoHo’s backyard, Aquagrill is the perfect place to celebrate a special dinner, a big event or just a quiet meal for two."

"Aquagrill just may be the BEST SEAFOOD restaurant in Manhattan...it is also the inventive, worldly preparations that knock our socks off!"

"Warm colors on the wall, crisp white tablecloths, and interesting artwork make the atmosphere inside classy and comfortable. The menu is diverse and filled with interesting dishes, including sea urchins, but the reason everyone flocks to Aquagrill are the oysters, piles and piles of them, fresh and succulent, straight from the sea. Their small but well-chosen wine list offers many wines by the glass, a perfect accompaniment to your meal."

25 Top Spots for Oysters in the U.S.

AQUAGRILL ranks as one of the Best Manhattan Restaurants

AQUAGRILL is one of the 30 Best Restaurants in NYC

AQUAGRILL is one of the Top 100 Restaurants in America

"The dinner menu is 95 percent fish and seafood, 100 percent delectable. No wonder 1,000 oysters a night are diving down diners' hatches."​

- Heather Smith MacIsaac, TRAVEL & LEISURE

Aquagrill's Manhattan Clam Chowder and Bouillabaisse

Chef Owner Jeremy Marshall shares his expertise on the right way to peel and shrimp

Oysters and wine: Aquagrill's wine list has been awarded over two decades of the Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence 

This shrine to the brine boasts an impressive display of all things piscatory.

The massive selection of oysters at Soho’s Aquagrill are hand-shucked in front of you before they are served alongside a perfect mignonette sauce. 

"Best Seafood Restaurant"  "Best Local Restaurant"

AQUAGRILL ranks at the top of the Top Ten Seafood Restaurants in the New York City Area!

FORBES All-Star Eateries in New York

"You can't go wrong with it's raw bar or delicious and beautifully prepared standards and specials"

Food "27"   Decor "20"  Service "23" Top 50 NYC Restaurants, Best NYC Seafood, Best NYC Oyster Bar, Best NYC Brunch

Awarded: "100 Best Restaurants for Foodies in America" Awarded: Diner's Choice for "Best NYC Seafood" 

- THE FINANCIAL TIMES

"A SoHo shrine to all things aquatic" "The staff moves with the grace of a long running Broadway ensemble - glasses are refilled, bread plates replenished, napkins refolded."

"Although the iced clams and oysters are seductive, it is Mr. Marshall's menu that is most appealing."

- Ruth Reichl, THE NEW YORK TIMES

"FOOD: 27"   "NYC TOP 25 RESTAURANTS" "Downing "bellissimo bivalves" from an "unbeatable raw bar" is "the way to start" a meal at this "longtime favorite" Soho seafooder creating "phenomenal" fare from "super-fresh" catch; it's known as one of the "best for the money" in town, so "crowds" are as sure as the tide."

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- ZAGAT NYC Dining Guide

ZAGAT NYC Top Lists: Top Food, Most Popular, Raw Bars, Top Seafood, Brunch and Top Soho Restaurant.

- ZAGAT NYC Restaurant Guide

."Don't miss Aquagrill's traditional Manhattan Clam Chowder!"

"The best seafood for the money" "Ed Koch's Top Ten Restaurants."

New York is no stranger to oysters but Aquagrill is an institution that puts the other shuckers to shame. A destination for all-things seafood since the 1990s, the menu features as many as 27 types of oysters each day, with patrons holing up at the bar to ingest dozens upon dozens of these bivalves with pitch-perfect wines to match. As always, the kitchen serves a fine lineup of heartier fish dishes including the downright sensual wild toro tartare with shiitakes, peppercress, and truffle-soy sauce. Pan-seared red snapper over crispy jasmine rice cakes and sautéed vegetables in ginger-peanut sauce is a show of well-balanced textures and bracing flavors

"Opened in 1996, this is the quintessential SoHo neighborhood spot, and reservations can still be tough to score.  The food is very good - fresh seafood, simply prepared. the Wellfleet oysters, the grilled tuna and the lobster salad are outstanding."

ROL Cruise: Aquagrill is one of our favorite NYC Restaurants

"AWARDED: BEST SHORT WINE LIST"

- 11th Annual Wine List Awards, RESTAURANT HOSPITALITY

"AWARDED: THE BEST OF NEW YORK"

"AWARDED: BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT"

"AWARDED: BEST SUCK & SLURP OYSTER BAR"

"AWARDED: BEST BRUNCH IN NYC"

"AWARDED: BEST SEAFOOD"

- THE VILLAGE VOICE Dining Awards

"Aquagrill's cod with caviar is guaranteed to make your love bloom." 

- Kathleen Squires, TIME OUT NEW YORK

"Enticing" "Seductive" "Excellent" "Behind the friendly facade is an ambitious, refreshingly original menu devoted to seafood."

"Aquagrill's friendly, laid-back air and creativity never masks the prisitine freshness of the seafood."

- Gael Greene, WHERE TO EAT - NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"The owners are talented and lovely...don't those people ever stop smiling?"

- Amy Poehler, "YES PLEASE"

Fresh seafood is served in this pastel hued dining room on a pleasant SoHo corner that feels like an update of a seaside restaurant (we like the shell-covered light fixtures). Appetizers include a chunky Maine lobster salad, spicy tuna tartare and an ever-changing selection of fresh Atlantic and Pacific coast oysters. Pay attention to executive chef-owner Jeremy Marshall's specialties, especially the grilled Atlantic salmon with a falafel crust and the plump seared sea scallops with crab meat polenta; the kitchen's version of bouillabaisse is among the best this side of Paris. If you don't appreciate exotic preparations (or you're on a diet), you can order just about anything grilled, poached or roasted. Desserts are rich and frivolous and the wine list is long on fish-friendly varieties.

"...I love Aquagrill..." "a global wine list full of good deals" "Chef Jeremy Marshall is a master at letting the clear, distinct flavours of seafood shine."

- Kelly Alexander, Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers, DECANTER

"Aquagrill's winning ways with sea creatures makes it worth a costly detour for me."

- Gael Greene, Where to Eat Now, WHERE TO EAT NOW - NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"Aquagrill never confuses chic with hauteur, serving up wonderfully fresh seafood with a generous dallop of helpfulness" "on the money."

- Ruth Kern, DAILY NEWS

"Piscatory pleasures are the order of the day in this SoHo spot."

- Jessica Harris, THE VILLAGE VOICE

"a bohemian alternative to the best expense-account fish houses" "clever seafood" "proficient service" "judicious wine list"

- Daniel Young, DAILY NEWS

"Fortunately, a few restaurants still take pride in classic fish cookery, notably Aquagrill in New York City."

"Chef Jeremy Marshall is a master of casual chic." "wonderful seafood restaurant."

"Hizzoner Ed Koch is right about one thing...Aquagrill is one of the finest restaurants in town, period." "The food and service are so good."

- Taste Buddy, HX MAGAZINE

"Our critics' top restaurant picks" "The TONY 100"

"Aquagrill is distinguished by extremely fresh aquatic fare."

- TIME OUT NEW YORK

"When all that counts is perfect cooking, Marshall delivers" "Perfect."

"The dinner menu is 95 percent fish and seafood, 100 percent delectable. No wonder 1,000 oysters a night are diving down diners' hatches." 

- Heather Smith MacIsaac, TRAVEL & LEISURE

"I have been to Aquagrill several times and have never been disappointed." "It is a superb seafood house with reasonable prices, an extensive menu and delicious food."

- Ed Koch, SYNDICATED COLUMNS

"* *" "Exceptional" "Irresistible" "Terrific"

The fish is very fresh and the chef uses imaginative combinations of ingredients to go with it."

"* * *" "Talented Service" "The freshest fish you can buy""This is the best fish restaurant downtown...Well worth a trip from above 57th Street!"

- Jeffrrey Steingarten, VOGUE

Aquagrill just may be the BEST SEAFOOD restaurant in Manhattan...it is also the inventive, worldly preparations that knock our socks off!

The massive selection of oysters at Soho’s Aquagrill are hand-shucked in front of you before they are served alongside a perfect mignonette sauce. With a selection of more than a dozen different types of oysters from both the east and west coasts, there’s something for everyone here. Their oyster bar opens at noon daily.

"Aquagrill's quality shines through..."

"Two of the most convivial restaurant operators in town."

- Francis Angelino, THE VILLAGER