The Oceanaire Seafood Room — Restaurant in Minneapolis

10.3.2020 update: The Oceanaire was fun and super quiet. Every other table was off the market. Food was absolutely delicious and fresh. Wines were appropriate for this evening. Doug our waiter was nice, very attentive , very polite. Great night during the Covid 2020 restrictions . 2019 Oceanaire in Minneapolis was busy with a lot of guests last Saturday. We arrived at 19:00...David our valet took care of our car quickly. He did open the car's door for my wife , this was a very good move. This is how the valet suppose to work. When we entered the restaurant many people were waiting for the tables but we had our reservation so we were in right the way. This place was super busy with laud conversations. The main part of the restaurant is totally open, there is no privacy there. Our waitress Carolyn seated us quickly, i am not sure why in the restaurants in Minnesota no one pulls the chair out for the ladies, strange. If you want to be an upscale place you got to do these little things for the guests, Oceanaire. As soon we were seated Carolyn started to talk about the menu but did not present the Memorial weekend special to us which Oceanaire advertised on their Instagram. I understand that maybe they will not make a lot of money on it but than why to create one and not to say anything to the costumer ? Why the waitress did not offer us the Special Memorial weekend menu, I do not know. Oceanaire if you want to sell your product , you need to let the customer know about it. Not everyone will like it but at least please offer it to the costumer. Before we got our orders we had a plate of veggies and bread to enjoy. We decided to go with the special...which was : the oyster trio - super fresh and very tasty, chef s seasonal specialty which was the Icelandic cod on the top of saffron risotto and a few pieces of cilantro/herb on the top...this dish could have more of the green. This dish was maybe not as sophisticated like the different ones from the main menu but the fish was light ,exciting and fresh, just needed a touch of salt .The saffron risotto was creamy,very well cooked and light. I liked this dish very much, the size of the fish was good. For our third course we asked for the Mango Sorbet but were told the mango sorbet was out...I found that strange...the Memorial weekend special just started on Saturday a few hours before we arrived and the sorbet was out already? and you were going to run this menu for 3 days??? Oceanaire you were really off with your planning. This was disappointing, we took the espresso chocolate mousse instead, it was good but not the same as the mango sorbet. We also received the bottle of the Butter Block chardonnay from Santa Maria valley, California with this special weekend menu. The chardonnay was nice and smooth, soft , without any oak taste. Overall the Memorial Special menu was pretty good for the price. I just wish to have the Mango sorbet instead of the mousse. Carolyn 's service was good, she was ready to help anytime we asked her for something. I was glad she found a chiller for my wine instead of leaving the bottle on the table ,this was a plus. The silverware were changed after each course- good. The main dish was warm when delivered to our table. All employees , including the server, busboy were professional and polite. At the end of our evening our car was ready and waiting for us. David ,the valet guy did a very nice job again. Oceanaire thank you all for your hard work. Unfortunately we were not "wowed " with our experience but overall...

Went here on March 9, 2018. All I can say is AMAZING. For special evenings this is an incredible place. You get what you pay for, it is not a cheap place, but well worth it. For me, the experience always starts before we are even seated. This was the best valet experience I have ever had. It was a busy evening in MPLS and I had never been here before, but the Valet Attendant knew I was coming in to valet before I even knew exactly where to pull up. He opened the passenger door for the lady and then greeted me. Exactly how I think it should be, making us feel welcome right away. We were seated promptly and asked if we would like to do a coat check. Upton seating we ordered a starter drink called the Oceanaire. It has rare Cuban rum that makes it very good. A unique touch with the ice cub supposed to symbolize an iceberg. Fish is flown in daily and started with Crab cakes, amazing. (see photo) Next, Oysters, our waiter was very knowledgeable about the differences in each and were enjoyable. (see photo) We transitioned Wine where our waiter was helpful pairing some wine, from their vast selection, to our seafood, ordered the La Cana Alabrino which was incredibly smooth and nicely oily. (see photo) We ordered Scallops which came with crab cakes on top of them. (see photo) This was very unique to me and they were delicious. There was hot sauce on the side on the plate, which if I ordered again, I would opt out of having added. Reminds me of a Chilli's trying to spice up food. But that's personal preference. We were too full and opted out of desert and our waiter allowed us plenty of time to sit, talk, hangout, and finish wine before bringing the bill. Upon leaving our car was brought out extremely quickly. I liked how they parked it with the front end already pointing out slightly to the street. I have never seen valet do this before and thought it was a nice touch for a quick departure. Valet attendant opened the door for my women again, and allowed me to pay smoothly at his booth. I complimented how pleased I am that they do this for the women passengers and he noted they usually like to open both doors at same time when they have enough staff. I paid and he walked me to the car. Overall incredible experience inside Oceanaire as well as outside. Will be back....

We decided on Oceanaire for something different for our Easter Holiday. For a restaurant of this caliber; my children and family were treated poorly and management had no recourse for it. Management and wait staff met us with arrogance and contempt for simple questions regarding menu options and experience. One lesson has yet to learn would be: In a world where you can be anything, be KIND”. Examples of their rude behavior is telling my daughter she should go to five below if she wanted a burger; even a fish burger… when asked if the kitchen could make one. She very politely asked if it was an option that wasn’t on the menu. The waiter embarrassed her so badly that my son was too afraid to order his steak; out of fear of doing it incorrectly and also being humiliated. The waiter proceeded to make fun at my question about the number of people sides served; as I wanted to ensure I ordered enough for our table. I met his poor humor with a firm response; which seemed to somewhat make the point that we weren’t there to be bullied or made fun at. The mood at the table shifted and it ruined my children’s first experience at a seafood house. We’ve taken them to other establishments like a Murray’s and Pittsburgh Blu; and never been treated this way.

I called to share our experience with the manager Cicero today and he proceeded to make excuses for his waiters behavior, asking how old my daughter was and stating hamburgers weren’t on the menu. He felt completely justified in the way we were treated. If this establishment is going to market themselves as a fine dining establishment; the service should match. People are not only paying for the food; but also an experience. Needless to say we won’t be back. I attempted to give the restaurant management an opportunity to apologize to us for ruining our holiday; but instead they left me feeling sincere regret for the hundreds of dollars wasted at their establishment. Shame on them, you...