Dive into these 14 restaurants for the best seafood in Las Vegas

Among all the culinary magicians in Las Vegas, Dan Krohmer is one of the best. Behind a bland storefront, the chef who studied sushi in Japan and worked for Morimoto in Philadelphia serves brilliant seafood that’s transformed an average strip mall into a seafood destination. From its raw bar to its entrees, Other Mama whips up whimsical dishes like caviar and hushpuppies, whitefish tiradito and fresh sashimi.

The dishes coming out of chef Michael Mina’s namesake restaurant at the Bellagio are as artistically beautiful as they are delicious. The picture-perfect hamachi provencal is a masterpiece. The ahi tuna tartare is a delight and items such as grilled octopus with a hazelnut romesco sauce, as well as the lobster pot pie are worth seeking out. Celebrating something? Reserve the garden table inside the Bellagio Conservatory; it’s only available twice an evening.

With eye-catching Instagrammable decor (including a blooming archway entrance) that’s coupled with a menu brimming with seafood, Catch really reels them in. Specialties at this Aria restaurant include the truffle sashimi topped with caviar and black truffle, Cantonese lobster with sake and oyster sauce, and the Catch Roll—a crab, salmon and miso honey sushi roll that’s torched tableside. Grilled branzino, seared yellowfin tuna and Spanish octopus are also fine choices.

The Oyster Bar is a Vegas institution. This tiny, off-trip 24-hour seafood counter slings steamers, gumbos, bouillabaisse and a signature pan roast of shrimp, crab and lobster to a handful of seats that generally stay filled round-the-clock. That means you’ll probably have to wait in line no matter what time you show up. It’s been so successful that Station Casinos recreated the concept at both its Durango and Red Rock resorts with less wait time.

Ocean Prime has locations all across America but we’re willing to bet there are none with views or architecture as stunning as the one in Las Vegas. The patio is perched in a prime spot overlooking the Strip and the main room dazzles. When it comes to the food, seafood shines. The dry iced “smoking” seafood tower gets all the oohs-and-ahhs, but regulars come for the just-plucked-from-the-ocean oysters, plump Chilean sea bass and teriyaki salmon.

Thanks to Mexico’s thousands of miles of coast, seafood is a crucial part of the country’s cuisine. This East Las Vegas restaurant captures those flavors beautifully, from bright ceviches and spicy aguachiles to battered Baja fish tacos with a cabbage crunch. Start with fresh seafood marinated in lime then grab some shrimp or a steaming molcajete laden with octopus, crab legs and clams. Wash it all down with a cold Corona and picture yourself with your toes in the sand.

Can’t decide on whether you want the golden or red snapper, black bass or branzino? Consult Amalfi’s fishmonger over catch-filled beds of ice in the restaurant’s market and he’ll steer you to what suits your taste. Then order it grilled over charcoal or roasted al forno and choose Meyer lemon and capers, a red pepper Calabrian chile pesto or salsa verde and you’re good to go. Bobby Flay’s Mediterranean joint also serves a number of seafood pastas, steaks and a veal chop.

Lots of people serve shrimp and oysters on the Strip, but no one does it quite like Emeril. At the celebrity chef’s MGM Grand restaurant, those oysters come broiled with Creole herb butter or freshly shucked alongside watermelon mignonette, and the shrimp is stuffed with crab over black-eyed pea succotash. It’s feel-good food without all the usual formality.

Born in Miami Beach in 1913, the Las Vegas outpost of this Florida institution has a vast, something-for-everyone menu of steak, fish and fried chicken served in an old-school setting. But never mind all that, you’re here for the crabs—sweet, meaty stone crab specifically, harvested along the Florida coast and served boiled and chilled with butter and mustard sauce. Suck up the market price, order a mess of sides, grab your mallet and get cracking.

What Water Grill does best is adapt its menu to whatever the catch of the day might be. That means an ever-changing selection of fresh fish flown in daily along with white seabass plucked off the Southern California coast, wild Alaskan halibut, Maryland soft shell crab and Santa Barbara spot prawns. We could go on or you could just swing by the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and see what’s on the menu.

Is District One a seafood restaurant? Not exactly. You’ll find Asian fusion plates and meaty offerings—coconut pork belly, oxtail fried rice, clay pot chicken with Chinese sausage. Chef Khai Vu’s preparation of dishes evoke the cuisine of his native Vietnam; we’re talking whole fried fish with pickled papaya and signature lobster pho with the crimson crustacean overflowing its bowl. Sashimi tacos and whole grilled squid also add to the experience making it a worthy seafood spot.

Lobster lovers have many choices here. Do you want a lobster cocktail? A bisque? Perhaps just the tail or a whole Maine lobster? Then there are the sides: lobster mashed potatoes or a white cheddar lobster mac and cheese. Of course there’s more to Mastro’s menu than that: Sushi, king crab legs and sauteed sea scallops are also favorites.

Over at the Venetian, Wakuda shifts the attention away from the gondolas and Venice-style canals to Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood. Giant statues of two sumo wrestlers about to battle and neon lights bring a touch of Japan to the fine dining restaurant. Sushi and sashimi stars on this menu as does the miso sea bass and scallops in a garlic yuzu butter. There is also a small, private omakase only open from Thursday to Saturday.

Known for its Baja-style fish tacos, this casual taco shop now has two locations: one downtown and another in a southwest neighborhood. The best of Bajamar can be found by digging into its taco menu and ordering overloaded spicy octopus, shrimp or grilled fish tacos. They also serve ceviche tostadas, poke nachos and buffalo shrimp fries. Wash it down with an agua fresca or michelada.