Little Cleo's Seafood Legend...Phoenix

As you might have guessed, Phoenix is not really known for its seafood....but I think that's about to change.  The opening of Little Cleo's fish house and oyster bar brings a whole new option to downtown dining. If you are looking for a genuine seafood experience in an unpretentious setting look no further.
 

The menu consists of lots of small plates, perfect for sharing, which is exactly what you'll want to do. But don't fill up as the main dishes are equally delicious and shouldn't be missed. Oh and oysters...let's not forget about the oysters. There are a mix 7-8 different West Coast varieties flown in daily.
 
On a recent visit my group of four set out to try as much yumminess as we could, and we were not disappointed. First up was the lobster toast.  Perfectly grilled bread spread with avocado topped with large chunks of Maine lobster mixed with an orange-chili aioli.  Little bites of mandarin orange really made the flavors of this dish pop.

 

 Next we shared the warm jar of king crab with butter. Maison jars filled with warm truffle butter poached king crab served with slightly charred bread...this was by far the most decadent thing we ate.

The grilled octopus salad was served over crispy masa discs, adorned with some watercress and dressed with a charred Serrano dressing.

We also shared some sweet corn hush puppies and some Bloomsdale spinach sauteed with garlic and Parmesan. For those that don't know Bloomsdale is a hearty heirloom spinach that has a nice sweet taste to it.

From the large plates we shared the grilled Loup de Mer; a European sea bass cooked with artichokes and lemon.

And the bouillabaisse, mixed seafood in a saffron fennel tomato broth, served with toasted bread.  Hint:  ask for extra bread...you will want it to soak up the all the broth.

Surprisingly, after all this food, we still had room for dessert. Or maybe it was just the mention of homemade cashew caramel ice cream and maple glazed donuts.  Either way both were fabulous.

If you live in Phoenix I hope this post makes you want to run out and try Little Cleo's tonight...because really...it's that good.

Little Cleo's
5632 N. 7th Street
Phoenix Arizona 85014 
602 680 4044