Saybrook Seafood

This place is great if you want a belly full of bad fish ! I got sick on the salmon,. good luck

My wife sent me out to get a pound of shrimp for a recipe for dinner. I went to the store to get a lb of shrimp. Once there I saw that the raw shrimp that they sold were packed in a zip lock bag and cleaned. I asked the woman if they were a Lb and was told yes they were. When I got home my wife looked at them and said that’s not a lb so I weighed them. They only weighed ¾ lb??? I then called the store and told them and the woman said that they are a lb before they are cleaned. Seems a bit deceptive. The bag was not labeled and the shrimp were never weighed when I bought them. Not sure if I would go back here. Feel like I was mislead. The bag should be labeled with the actual weight.

Recently moved to Old Saybrook. RAN out to find good seafood. We eat fish three times a week if not more. OS Seafood looked great and I made a point of introducing myself and commending them on their display. Told them that I have approx 20 years in Seafood in NY and Hawaii. My compliment was met with a sour face. Dismissed it.
Have spent about 75 a week there for two months. Last week I got a lb of shrimp. I got home to feed guests a seafood rice dish and every other shrimp was soft and smelled like ‘cr-​p’. Rotten.
I called and Chris apologized and told me to come in and they’ll replace them. I then told him again that I love his seafood and I almost felt bad complaining.
Two days later I entered. Chris was not there. Three women. I guess they are the fish women another poster talked about.
They told me that Chris had no right agreeing to replace those 8 or 9 shrimp because «he only works four hours a week» and then a short woman with a mouth came out and nearly yelled at my wife and I accusing us of lying. She was backed up by another woman (blonde woman). Rude crude and basically low class.
During all this I was polite and told them that «i spend a lot of money and am a fan».
Finally getting nowhere I told them I’ll go home and get the rotten shrimp which we did put in the freezer.
I got home. Looked at the shrimp and threw them away.
I’ll never go there again and now go to Atlantic Seafood. I dropped in the other day and Atlantic was jammed the day before Christmas. OS seafood had an empty parking lot. No surprise.
i don’t care how much they know or who they know. They’ve seen me in their dozens of times and chose to treat us like crap.
Now I’ll share my story with everyone I meet until I hear that the fish girls have been replaced by workers who know how to treat loyal customers.
Good luck Chris. You’re gonna need it.
Neal G

Top notch product, excellent service. Picked up some impeccable scallops.

We found the fish very fresh. Highly recommend the lobster bisque and corn and shrimp chowder found in the freezer case, They very creamy with the right amount of seafood.

If you are looking for good/​great seafood this is NOT the place for you.
I purchased seafood here a few months ago and it was simply poor quality.
I thought that was a one time only thing — possibly I got that last piece of fish that had been in the case for days. I did not write a review at that time, I figured I would give them another try before I «write them off».
Since then I have returned and once again, this time the same poor quality — staff were less than friendly. Want seafood find another place to purchase it — this is not the place.

I wish every person who buys fresh seafood, could truly know the story of Saybrook Seafood.
It’s a classic… This place is owned by a woman from a family of fourth-​generation, CT Shoreline fishwives… Fishwives, a term sometimes used as an insult… but when it comes to fresh seafood, is the highest compliment/​assurance of quality and local knowledge.
I don’t know how many generations of fishing are represented in this family, but I do know that the quality and freshness of their fish reflect every generation…
I’ll make it simple…
–Saybrook Seafood knows every clammer, oysterman, fin fisherman, dragger, trawler, tuna hunter, long-​liner and lobsterman from Clinton to Point Judith.
–Atlantic seafood knows every wholesaler from here to the Fulton fish market.
–Saybrook seafood chowder recipes have been honed for generations. I know because when I was a kid (I’m 65) the clam chowder I relished is still made exactly by Saybrook Seafood. right down to the perfect consistency of the potatoes, not too firm, not too mushy…
–Atlantic seafood has a wide selection gathered from all over the fish world.
–Old saybrook seafood has a much smaller selection because, with very few exceptions, if it isn’t available locally, it isn’t in the case…
–Sea scallops are from Day Boats… Tuna is from Point Judith…
–hard calms are from local clammers
–oysters are from third generation oyster farms, farmed to taste like oysters… not hybrid, cross-​bred, designer-​named lab-​rats…
–Steamers are from Maine
–Stuffed shrimp is a simply-​seasoned, perfectly-​balanced, third-​generation recipe that honors and enhances… without flavor-​masking, the main player in the dish…
–Herring is from an old local guy
–smoked fish is from a different old local guy
–Shad is from yet another old local guy
–And most of these old local guys… are part of the family…
Get the picture?
In short Saybrook seafood is the tip of an iceberg… an iceberg of colorful local history… the watermen of CT and Rhode Island, who have made their living catching and digging and knowing local seafood for generations…
.who still think marketing means foodshopping… and for whom quality, freshness and cleanliness are not a state requirement, or even good business, but a simple issue of family pride, and unbreakable commitment to honor family traditions that will never, never be forsaken…

Decently fresh sea scallops, ok prices, service left a bit to be desired. Before I could even point to the scallops I wanted, she had a bucket scooped and into a bag… oh well…

Recently went back to Saybrook Seafood and unless I missed it before, it appears that they may have replaced the flooring in the retail section — sparkling white and a bright blue tile — was again spotless and clean.
I tried their baked stuffed clams and thought that they were very good. So, if you haven’t time to make your own… buy theirs. The two I purchased did not have a lot of clam pieces but a really strong clam flavor that was excellent. 2 thumbs up!