Seafood Restaurant Recommendations for Columbia

[ILoveBacon]

Could you please recommend a good seafood restaurant in/near Columbia, MD? It's for a birthday celebration so something upscale is preferred. Thanks!

[bigterp1]

Give Aida Bistro a try. I haven't been to the new location, but it's usually a good bet for Italian.

[ivysmom]

What about Tersiguel's? Have not been to other restaurants on Main St. in Ellicott City for a while, any of them worthwhile (i.e. Portalli's??)? Otherwise, I'd second Aida Bistro.

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Tersiguel's
8293 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD 21043

[elgringoviejo]

Isn't Cafe de Paris closer to Columbia?

[ILoveBacon]

If it was up to me, I'd go Vietnamese, Thai, sushi or Victoria's while in Columbia. However, the Birthday Girl specifically requested seafood so that's my dilemma! What if we widened the search to include Ellicott City and Laurel? Thanks so much!

[Jason1]

Does seafood include sushi? Then Sushi King and Sushi Sono would be the easy answers. Otherwise, while there really are no great seafood options, you could go to the Crab Shanty if she's looking for an Old School seafood vibe. Or you could go up to Catonsville and go to the Catonsville Gourmet for a more modern take.

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Catonsville Gourmet
829 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228

Sushi Sono
10215 Wincopin Cir Ste 101, Columbia, MD 21044

Sushi King
6490 Dobbin Rd Ste F, Columbia, MD 21045

The Crab Shanty
3410 Plum Tree Dr, Ellicott City, MD 21042

[Zevonista]

Second the Catonsville Gourmet recommendation. Not too far from Columbia, and the food is outstanding. It's BYOB if you're thinking of beer/wine.

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Catonsville Gourmet
829 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228

[2stepper]

I forgot about Catonsville Gourmet. I've only been once and I think I made a mistake in ordering steak (in addition to mussels), both of which didn't stick in my memory.

They have a much more extensive seafood menu and Catonsville is only about 15 minutes away from Columbia. The ambiance is decent but I only dabble in seafood. :)

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Catonsville Gourmet
829 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228

[elgringoviejo]

Isn't Gunning's about as close to Columbia?

[Zevonista]

Gunnings is pretty close, yes. However, I would not describe it as "upscale." I wouldn't describe Catonsville Gourmet as a fancy restaurant, but I'd say it's more upscale than Gunnings!

One thing about Catonsville Gourmet - they don't take reservations. You'd probably want to call ahead to see if they can handle a group.

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Catonsville Gourmet
829 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228

[elgringoviejo]

If they want upscale, then perhaps Aida Bistro is their best option.

[skipper]

Donna's always has a seafood on her menu and I couldn't recommend her any higher.
http://www.donnas.com/images/snd_dinn...

[Dennis S]

Just to set expectations on the setting at Donna's, at least during the day it's an upscale cafe. For the holiday season I wanted to treat some subcontractors to a very nice lunch and was between Donna's and Victoria. For lunch, anyway, it wasn't what I wanted in terms of setting. The food was good, but I felt like it was one or two notches above a Cosi, complete with people using tables here and there to "remote office" with their laptops and a coffee.

Not knocking the place, just helping set expectations.

[skipper]

I agree that Donna's has no ambiance, but the food IMHO is better than Victoria's (which by the way reminds me of a TGIF, Ruby's, etc.)

[Dennis S]

Interesting. Thank you (b/c I still want to take the team out again, probably with a contract renewal).

[dining with doc]

it was a bennigans before Victorias. last time i looked, they dont serve Kobe Beef burger with home made relish and white truffle cheese sauce on a fresh brioche roll, nor do they sell lobster grilled cheese sandwich, or poutine that makes you lick your fingers at TGIF or it's competitors. no comparison between Victoria's and TGIF or Ruby Tuesdays in terms of the quality of food served!!!!!!

[skipper]

We were discussing ambiance, not food. And having eaten at both Donna's and Vicotoria's, I'll match the former against the latter any day.

[dining with doc]

although it is not seafood exclusive, Ironbridge restaurant and wine bar is nice, food is good and is a festive place. Victoria's Gastropub is not "upscaled" but it is nice and the food is real good, and the lobster grilled cheese sandwich is over the top plus the Kobe burger with white truffle cheese sauce is as good as any burger anywhere. In Silver Spring is Ray's the Classics, a steak house with seafood on the menu. All of these places are nice but you don't need to get dressed up too much. dressy-casual works. The common thread at all three is that the food is good

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Ray's the Classics
8606 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

[2stepper]

I like dining with doc's recommendations too, and I would also choose Victoria Gastro Pub over Donna's purely on the basis of the food (especially the appetizers and entree salads).

Another place with excellent food that usually has seafood on the menu is Bistro Blanc in Glenelg. It's a notch up on the price scale though.

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Bistro Blanc
3800 Ten Oaks Road, Glenelg, MD 21737

[Dennis S]

Never heard of Bistro Blanc, but the menu looks good and your brief description was intriguing. Is the ambiance a notch above as well?

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Bistro Blanc
3800 Ten Oaks Road, Glenelg, MD 21737

[2stepper]

I think the ambiance at Bistro Blanc is reasonably upscale but still casual, in a modern kind of way, though the outside is very non-descript. It's the kind of place where some people might be in a jacket and others might be in jeans.

The chef used to be at Iron Bridge and Cafe de Paris, and part of it is also a wine bar.

A couple of summers ago they had a high school quartet playing chamber music there on Sunday nights, but like most places in Howard County it's not a stuffy atmosphere.

I think Howard County's Restaurant Week is still going on this week so it would be a good time to try a prix fixe for about half the normal cost.

[HowChowBlog]

Upscale seafood doesn't ring exactly in Columbia. There are some nice placs with seafood dishes, but I can't think of a specialty place for seafood. If you want Columbia, would a broader menu work?