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Isaacson & Stein Fish Co
Categories: Food Specialty Food Seafood Markets Food Grocery Seafood Markets, Grocery [Edit]
800 W Fulton MarketChicago, IL 60607
Neighborhoods: Fulton Market, Near West Side, West Loop
(312) 421-2444
- Nearest Transit:
-
Grand-Blue (Blue Line)
Clinton-Green (Green Line, Pink Line)
- Hours:
Mon 9 am - 4 pm
Tue-Fri 8 am - 4 pm
Sat 8 am - 1 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
93 reviews for Isaacson & Stein Fish Co
Review Highlights
"I bought some clams, mussels, and Chilean sea bass."
(in 7 reviews)
"Halsted and Hubbord get your fresh fish on."
(in 6 reviews)
"I donned the plastic gloves and selected what I wanted..."
(in 9 reviews)
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93 reviews in English
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Review from Sarah M.
Chicago, IL
12/31/2011
Limited hours is my only complaint.
Very fresh, high quality fish and shellfish here - such a good variety too!
The set up is initially daunting due to its hands-on approach, but it's part of the charm and I like that you can select exactly which fish or filet you want.
The supply extra ice for coolers upon request.
Well priced. -
Review from Ashley C.
Chicago, IL
10/18/2011
After living in the area for 3 years, we finally checked this place out. It certainly will be altering our seafood purchases. We came in wanting to get ingredients for a Chopino recipe.
We got a ton of large shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, and a Brazillian lobster tail for $40. I swear the bag weighed at least five pounds. The savings are incredible. The food was very, very good and fresh. The scallops were the best and incredibly tender and also a nice size. My least favorite item were the clams, but that is likely a personal taste. They were good, but not my thing.
Yes, it smells a bit and yes, you get your own stuff from the bins, but it is worth it. Their hours also kind of suck so if you stop in be sure to get there on Saturday morning. They have everything out so once its gone, its gone!
All in all, we will definitely be back! -
Review from V W.
Chicago, IL
8/27/2011
Wow! I have been passing this place by, thinking it was a factory of some sort. Yesterday, I made up my mind to stop in and I was not disappointed. The selection is amazing, everything is well marked, and the staff is very friendly and helpful.
The prices are very good compared to the local grocery stores. The shrimp is a little more expensive, but I believe their freshness makes up the difference. They have squid, octopus, baby octopus, clams, mussels, and I can't even begin to name all of the fish. My advice is take a chance and stop in, I am sure you will not be disappointed.
For the beginners: the gloves are on the counter next to the blue baskets and the bags are hanging from the walls...other than that dive in! -
Review from Mary C.
Oswego, IL
2/6/2012
Exactly the place we were looking for!! It's def a fish market although we didn't see any flying like on TV but it's close enough. The price isn't cheap given the volume they offer but oh so well worth it! We tried the whole red snapper (and many others) and couldn't wait to go back for more. Very fresh, fantastic variety, and although pricey still cheaper than high end stores we usually buy from!! P.S. The owner walks the floor offering great suggestions if you can find him amongst all the people!!
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Review from D S.
Chicago, IL
12/14/2011
This is one of the only seafood warehouses open to the public in the city of Chicago. They sell both retail and wholesale and go through a ton of product. This enables a constant rotation of fish. Keep in mind, due diligence people. Take an extra minute, look for clear eyes and red gills along with a sea water smell for whole fish. For fillets, a sea water smell and look for shiny flesh that is not dried out, unless of course you are buying salt cod. Make sure all shellfish close when tapped together. Although the employees here do a really good job ensuring quality, there is a lot of seafood here and sometimes a piece of fish might be a few days older then the rest.
Baskets and disposable plastic gloves are in front when you walk in. Fresh and frozen fish and shellfish is available. They have a huge selection. The prices for the quality of the product here, really cannot be beat. The staff is pleasant. I have been coming here for a very long time and will continue to. -
Review from Ashley K.
6/8/2011
Love, love, love this place! The selection of fish they have is amazing - some things I've never even heard of. And it's SO ridiculously cheap, especially considering what good quality it is. I've had salmon, mussels, halibut, shrimp, tilapia, sea bass and scallops from here and everything we've had has been awesome. I think I need to branch out a little more and try some of the other things they offer.
My only beef (fish?) with this place is the hours. For a working woman such as myself, I can never make it during the week. I go almost every Saturday to pick up fish, but that means we generally can only have fish one night a week. They've soured me on ever getting fish anywhere else and I don't want to keep it in my fridge more than one day - two at the max. But I will learn to live with that. -
Review from Katie L.
Chicago, IL
11/23/2011
After living near this place for over a year I finally decided to check it out--and I will definitely be back and adding to my Saturday morning routine! I love the fresh feel of this fish market (the smell, nah) but picking out my own fish was awesome!
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Review from Don H.
Chicago, IL
4/30/2011
I like fish. I like fish stores. On the very east end of Fulton Market is this straightforward fish store that obviously caters to restaurants.
Right away you are assaulted (in the nicest of ways) with the smell of a thousand fish. They're all splayed out for you to touch. Whole fish. Fillets. Mussels. You name it, they have it.
I ended up with a couple steaks of corvina and three of whitefish from Michigan. In all about $35 for (no kidding) 5 pounds of fish. And when cooked, you can tell they were caught recently and nothing added to sway you from their natural flavors.
This isn't Whole Foods, tho. It's a straight forward joint. If you need your fish cut, there's a band saw and operator to help you clean. And you'll walk out with your catch in clear, thick plastic bags. Simple. -
Review from Kenneth S.
Chicago, IL
10/30/2011
Awesome! Fresh fish at a reasonable price compared to Jewel and Dominicks. A must go if you're a fan of fresh seafood.
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Review from Ela G.
3/9/2011
I always feel very "in the know" when I come to Isaacsons....it's tucked away in the west loop and when you walk in, you're blasted with a fishy, oceany aroma. The selection of fish is amazing, and I find myself doing a couple laps around the place (carefully, making sure my coat isn't dragging on the fishy floor or touching anything!) to check out what's what and who's who.
The prices are the best around. I did a little research the other day on Atlantic Salmon, Dirks on Clybourn was $16.99/lb, Whole Foods was $13.99/lb, and Isaacson's was $8.99/lb, WOO, jackpot. I also picked up a whole rainbow trout and asked them to de-scale and fillet it for me, it was fresh and delicious the next day as I broiled it in my oven w/some asparagus and lemon.
A couple suggestions: I'd appreciate if the signs had more info about the fish, like: is it farm-raised or wild? was color-added? Maybe labels on those fish that are sustainable? That's be pretty great. In addition, it smells REALLY fishy when you walk in, maybe a little TOO fishy? yes there's a boat load of fish in the place, but maybe they could do something to freshen it up a bit?:) -
Review from Teri Y.
2/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
i'm giving this place 3 1/2 stars for reasons stated at the end of my review. But first..........
Isaacson & Stein is the go-to place for seafood. They're a wholesaler and deliver seafood to places like Carnivale restaurant and the Chicago French Market. I live in the area so I see their delivery van pretty often on weekday mornings.
They have a wide variety of fish that you could ever want. Having guests over and planning to cook a recipe that calls for seafood that you can't get at the local Jewel or even Whole Foods? Chances are, Isaacson & Stein has got you covered. Just to name a few things, we've bought from here Spanish mackerel, Cod, shark meat, etc. They also have the more common fish for the less adventurous like tuna steaks and tilapia. There are also squid, clams, scallops, shrimps, and mussels. One of my favorite things to do is get their fish bones (yes, they sell fish bones) to make base for soup or stew. Alot of their fish bones for sale are from salmons which they deboned in order to sell the fillets to the public. The bones are usually sold out if I get there after 10am.
If you decide to buy a whole fish, they will scale and gut the fish for you.
So why am I only giving this 3.5 stars? Minus 1 star because:
Reason #1:
The guys who scale the fish for the customers do it so quickly that each time we come home with our whole fish, there's still so much scales on the fish that we have to scale it ourselves at our kitchen sink using the back of a knife. It can be frustrating.
Reason #2:
Alot of professional chefs like Jamie Oliver has mentioned that fresh fish should NOT smell fishy. Instead, fresh fish should smell like the sea. Everytime we come with our fish from this place, we smell the fishiness of our fish in the plastic bag. So, yup. -
Review from Kelly B.
Chicago, IL
1/3/2011
Heard about this place from a co-worker. I work in the meat packing district so I decided to stop by here at lunch since they close so early (1 star deducted for that).
You walk in, put on plastic gloves, grab bags on the wall and start your fish shopping. I thought they had a very good selection and the prices seemed reasonable although I don't buy fish all that often.
They had quite a few fish that were already filleted so I stuck with those although they will fillet fish for you on site as well (after you pay). I got 4 tilapia fillets, 4 big handfuls of shrimp, and 40 mussels for $28.
Overall it was a cool experience and one I would recommend if you like fresh fish and aren't afraid to get your hands a little "dirty." -
Review from John S.
Chicago, IL
3/26/2011
I love this place. The prices are unbelievable, and the selection is great for a non-coastal city. You can get a lot of unusual stuff here, like cuttlefish ink, whole frozen squid, and some fish you won't ordinarily find like parrotfish, buffalo, etc. They of course have the old standbys like catfish, perch, and snapper.
I got a great deal today on Corvina (otherwise known as drumfish), plus flounder (which they call fluke), and some nice red snapper fillets. They have fillets or whole fish, if you want whole fish or want them to fillet or steak it for you, you have some more species options.
They also have shrimp, mussels, clams, etc.
They have a bunch of guys in white coats with knives and steel cutting tables who will process your whole fish right there for you, or else if you just grab some fillets, they'll bag and weigh for you. Then you pay at the window.
Great prices, and I was in and out of there in like 5 minutes.
Flounder for dinner tonight! -
Review from Kimberly K.
Chicago, IL
7/12/2011
LOVE this place. I'm kicking myself for not visiting Isaacson & Stein's sooner after moving to the Fulton Market district. For the past month we have enjoyed fresh fish, crab, clams, and muscles from this great place about twice a week. Seafood from anywhere else is forever ruined for us because of the amazing freshness and quality of Isaacson & Stein's. Do yourself a favor and stop in EARLY on a weekday to get the best selection. (Don't let the smell gross you out...)
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Review from Morgan M.
11/8/2010
Give me some mussels.....not muscles!
A little shoutout to the funny man cleaning up some fishies who cleared my deer in headlights face. Lookout king cappy on the slow boat to Alaska, you need not climb aboard for this fishing season. Or next season for that matter, what you need to do is get yourself down to Isaacson's for your seafood needs and deeds.
A wholesaler for seafood, doing a fast double take. Wholesaler indeed! First things first, when you begin your trek through the cab of the store grab some gloves at the counter, snag a bag and figure out what you want. Then it's all up to you to hook it and book it, in the bag that is. From Alaskan Cod to Red Snapper filets, there's quite the selection all at very low prices per pound. The snapper was somewhere around $10p/lb.
Everything is in motion and everyone slickered up is there to help you out and laugh through the process. I ended up walking away with 2lbs of mussels rounding out to under $7, which is absolutely insane so you know yours truly will be back every single time I am in the mood for them.
All of the items are freshly packed on ice and are constantly being checked ensuring the freshness. There is also a freezer for bulk purchases that are pre-frozen.
Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. This is probably the best steal of a deal to find in terms of seafood and quality.Listed in: Hors du marché, Top Cheffy
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Review from Bob H.
Near West Side, Chicago, IL
12/28/2010
TOP-NOTCH SEAFOOD AT INCREDIBLE PRICES.
You walk into a large refrigerated room, don plastic gloves, and bag your own impeccably fresh fish, shellfish, etc., from the various trays where they're packed in shaved ice. There's a whole row of cleaned filets and steaks, and a whole row of glass-door freezers. Gather your bags, they weigh, you pay the best price in town.
A couple of white-coated guys in back will clean or filet the fish for you after you pay. (Don't forget to tip.)
Selection is dizzyingly enormous: at least fifteen cleaned fish, two dozen or more whole fish, clams, mussels, oysters, crab, shrimp, and more. (But no live lobsters, alas!) Plus that wall of freezers. Choices range from the familiar (usually a couple of salmons, swordfish, sea bass, walleye, perch, cod, buffalo, whitefish, shark, halibut, mahi, etc., etc.) to the more unusual (for example, recently I bought some really clear-eyed pompano). Come Thursdays there are usually another 15-18 selections set up in the aisles and end-caps.
You can get heads and bones dirt cheap (a buck or so a pound) if you need to make a stock.
Location is central (Halsted and Fulton Market), although parking appears to be occasionally difficult - not a problem for me, since usually I walk or ride a bike. And it does get really crowded in there after mid-morning on Saturdays and at other peak times.
You absolutely cannot beat the prices. You'll pay about 2/3 or 1/2 or less of what you'd pay at retail seafood counters and grocery stores. And they have huge turnover so you're getting really fresh fish.
Hours are inconvenient - they close around 4pm M-F and 1pm Sat. But that's probably the only downside to Isaacson & Stein. Well, that and no live lobsters! -
Review from Kathryn W.
Houston, TX
3/9/2011
I've been here several times because the prices are so much better than, say, Whole Foods.
Recently, I purchased about $40 worth of fish and when I got ready to cook it, it all smelled very strongly of ammonia. Which, in my experience, means that it's spoiled. Into the trashcan it went and I will never shop here again.
As my mother always said, you get what you pay for. I will buy all my fish at Dirk's from now on.Comment from Sherwin and pamela W. of Isaacson & Stein Fish Co 3/17/2011
March 17, 2011 Dear Kathryn, We are sorry for your… More » -
Review from Amy S.
Chicago, IL
10/1/2010
I'm having a Clam Bake this weekend with over 50 people and I need a ton of clams! To be exact I need 34 dozen clams.
I called them a few weeks ago and they said to call the day before to give them a heads up. Ok cool. I decided maybe I should stop in the weekend before just to make sure every is cool and they will be able to accomodate my order. I go in and buy a dozen to test out, talk to the manager and he assures me there will be NO issue. I call today (NEED to pick them up tomorrow) just to make sure and what do they tell me? They tell me they sold out this morning and they have none. None, zero, zip, zilch. I need 408 and they have zero. Awesome. Glad I called and checked in or I would be screwed for the party.
Luckily I called another store and they can help me out with this short of notice.
Isaacson & Stein has lost my business forever. -
Review from Janet E.
9/23/2010 ROTD 2/4/2011
We came here on a Friday morning and the place was busy!!!! It gets so busy they have to hire a guy to direct you on where to park!! He is cool though because he let me park in front of the garage door that said "No Parking". When I came out from shopping my car was still there! He is legit. =)
The seafood here is super fresh (even though the place smells fishy). I bought some clams, mussels, and Chilean sea bass. The clams and mussels was $3.50/lb and the sea bass was about $16.95/lb. Sounds pricey for the sea bass but its really not that bad, especially what restaurants sell this stuff for.
There is a guy who weighs all the food. He will give you a receipt for your purchase. You then have to take your receipt to the cashier who you actually have to pay.
They have gloves here so you don't have to handle the seafood with your bare hands. They also have bag ties for your fish. I was advised not to tie my bags of clams and mussels. Apparently that kills them. GOOD TO KNOW!
Everything here was fresh and sanitary. The people here were nice as well! The place is only open until 4:15pm on weekdays and Saturday on weekends. Try to get here if you can!Listed in: Chicago ROTDs
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Review from Loraine H.
Chicago, IL
3/6/2011
This is the go to place for fresh fish! Great selection -- great prices. The fish they sell is fresh, well-cut and a terrific value. I've never had a bad piece of fish from here, from the well-priced Mahi Mahi ($7/lb) right up to the sea scallops. I would love it if they offered live Maine lobsters -- maybe that will come in the future.
Why pay more at Whole Foods or Jewel when a better, fresher selection can be had at Isaacson. Highly recommend. -
Review from Cory P.
Chicago, IL
6/26/2011
I will never purchase fish from one of the Chicagoland's finest grocers ever again. The quality of fresh here is amongst the best i've ever seen and tasted. If you're a first time and feel hesitant about going because you're not sure what to expect, please suck it up and go to Isaacson. The workers are extremely friendly and will graciously help you out with any fish"y" questions you may have. The fish is much cheaper than Whole Foods as well and a lot more fresh.
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Review from Alana T.
Chicago, IL
6/7/2011
Ok, um yeah. This place is what's up for fresh fish. I only eat fish. And when i say, I love going to this place to just grab a piece of fresh fish. It's so hands on. You go in, grab gloves and a bag and walk through picking the fish you want, throwing it in your bag. It's great. I love this place, and it's cheaper and BETTER than going to whole foods for your fish.
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Review from Rebekah R.
Chicago, IL
11/9/2010
Best prices on fish that I have ever found.
Super frustrating hours (but at these prices, you can't afford to complain!)
Try to avoid going on a Saturday, if possible. There is very limited parking and as such, just a handful of extra cars make it hard to navigate the parking "area" ( I wouldn't really call it a "lot").
Also, know that you will have to place your hands in bins of fish. If you are the kind of person who thinks that all food comes nicely packaged, then this spot is not for you.
If you want, they will fillet the fish for you-- or you can take it home and do that part yourself. -
Review from Khadijah L.
Chicago, IL
9/27/2010
I'm in Chicago and I'm looking for.... octopus.
I called Whole Foods, they have baby octopus (for $9.95/lb)!! They told me I should try Dirk's fish market or Isaacson & Stein.
I called Dirk's, they have frozen octopus for $12/lb, and fresh octopus on certain days.
I went to Isaacson & Stein, they have fresh AND frozen octopus for $3.95/lb.
We have a WINNER!
Every kind of fish, halibut, salmon, catfish, sole, pomfret, snapper, smelts, shrimp, lobster, scallops, squid, octopus, mussels, fresh, frozen. Will clean for ya. Will be able to tell you where its from.
You walk into a giant freezer, grab a bag and a pair of gloves and... have at it!
Funny thing: I saw a bag of frozen shrimp, the same brand and type that I got at Tai Nam for $10, sold here for $20. I went home and checked, yup, same weight and size shrimp, same bag. -
Review from Bridget K.
Chicago, IL
8/27/2011
Huge selection, reasonable prices.
It is a little intimating at first but the guy who helped me was nice and was able to help me find the lobster tails I was looking for. I bought 14 8oz lobster tails for less than $200 (I think it was $27/lb). I don't know where else I could have gotten the amount I wanted for that price. -
Review from Kristen K.
Chicago, IL
2/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Can i give this place 6 stars? Please?
Here's the bottom line.....
FRESH FISH+EXCELLENT PRICES=HAPPY KRISTEN!
Plus you get to pick your own fish out of the bins with a gloved hand! People shouldn't complain about the hours because they are a wholesaler and therefore don't open in the evenings or sundays. They even have a huge freezer section with everything you can imagine. Don't like filleting your own fish? After purchase they will cut it up for you any old way you like it. I've never lived on a coast, but this is probably as close as you can get to amazing fresh off the boat coastal seafood! -
Review from Erin C.
10/16/2010
I was looking for some Alaskan King crab legs and lump crab meat for my anniversary dinner this weekend, and decided to head down to Isaacson & Stein. I'm definitely glad that I did!
This place has a fantastic selection, and they're extremely efficient. The lines are quick, everything is set up in a helpful and logical way, and they even provide a fish cleaning service (which I didn't use since I was only procuring shellfish, but I definitely will in the future).
Anyway, great place, wonderful selection, reasonable prices - I'll definitely be going back! -
Review from Lisa H.
4/7/2011
for some reason i've always been intimidated to go in here because of my lack of seafood knowledge. but i needed jumbo shrimp for my goan dish so i just locked my bike outside & went in. what i saw was a gigantic buffet laid out in the center of the room & walls lined with frozen stuff. the buffet was filled with ice & every kind of whole fish imaginable. you put on a pair of gloves & take what you need, walk over to the "cleaning" station where they will cut, clean & fillet for you & then pay. they had whole octopus, too! i bought a 3 lb. pack of jumbo shrimp de-veined & cleaned for $46-that's around $15/lb which is probably the best deal anywhere. really beautiful & tasty shrimp!
now i know there really is no other place to go for fish. there's just no point in paying more for something that probably came from here to begin with.Listed in: i love downtown chicago
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Review from Evan Thoreau H.
9/8/2010
You know when your mama told you that there's 'more fish in the sea'? Well, she was right, but thanks to Isaacson & Stein, there's not THAT many more.
That's due to the PILES of amazingly fresh fish packed into ice in this no-frills, wholesale fish joint on Fulton Market. I love this place not only from the amazing quality and great selection, but because it's rare to find old-school markets like this in our Whole-Foods, Give-it-to-me-shrinkwrapped era.
The selection was incredible: halibut, dover sole, skate wing, tuna, red snapper, and on and on and on. You can get your fish in a number of ways, whether whole, fileted or in parts (the mountain of grouper heads was incredible). Awesome.
Quality was amazing. Everything is deep packed in ice (bring a sweater). The whole fish had clear eyes (key sign of freshness) and the smell was of the fresh, clean ocean - not the alley behind the Indian Restaurant. 100% restaurant quality and I wouldn't have a problem using this fish for sushi either.
Price was beyond incredible. Easily half off the price of the same cuts at Whole Foods or specialty stores. We got a 1 1/2 halibut for around 15 bucks. Sold.
So, I love the salty feel of the place, the selection was great, the prices were amazing and the quality was A-plus. So what gives with the fifth star?
There're no live critters. For me, that's a MUST for an everyday fish monger. Where's the lobster, crawfish, crabs? Also, the selection of bivalves was ok (multiple clams and mussels), but just one generic oyster selection (and after buying a few and opening, I think they are only meant to be cooking oysters, if you get my drift). Sadness.
So there's that. But that's really my only knock. So let's call it 4 1/2 stars, okee? Geez. Put it this way - when it comes to amazing FISH, I'll be back. When I need to get ingredients for my cioppino or crawdad boil, I still have my old stand-bys anyway.
Hey, what do you know, mom was right! There are more fish mongers in the sea! -
Review from Euripides X.
ASTORIA, NY
1/17/2011
Best place to buy fresh fish in the city, at the most reasonable prices.
You have to negotiate around their hours (its fulton street mind you, usually a whole sale market), but besides this you can hand pick (literally), your fish and sea food, and the selection is very good given our geographic distance from the ocean. -
Review from Lisa A.
Chicago, IL
6/11/2010 2 photos
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!
Do you have kingfish? Yes
Do you have Dover Sole? Yes
Do you have Alaskan Halibut? Yes
Do you have perch? Yes
OMG they have it all. And they will even clean it up for ya. -
Review from Emily Y.
Chicago, IL
6/23/2009
Holy Foodie Heaven! I love this place!
First off, I was expecting to have to drive around forever trying to find parking in West Loop. Nope, you can park right in front! As soon as I got out of my car, the fresh, salty smell of the ocean hit my nose. I knew I was in for a treat.
Upon stepping into the shop, I wished I had brought a jacket - it's chilly in there, even on a sweltering summer day like today. Duh, that's how they keep the fish so fresh - I should have known better! Next time, I'll bring a jacket or sweater for sure.
The array of fish is astounding. They have lots of fish already filleted, but a lot of whole fish that you can have filleted right there in the shop. Mussels and oysters and clams, oh my! Everything looks so delicious. I donned the plastic gloves and selected what I wanted -- had to restrain myself from buying too much by reminding myself that I can come back here every day if I desire!
The prices are verrry reasonable for such a specialty shop. I got some Ahi Tuna Steaks for $14.95/lb - a much better value and product than Whole Foods. The workers are very nice and willing to help or answer any questions you might have.
I will never buy fish from a grocery store again. Isaacson's, you've made me a convert. :) I will be back this summer again and again, undoubtedly!
Update: I cooked my ahi tuna steaks last night and they were heavenly! So, so fresh, even the day after purchasing. I coated them with some crushed peppercorns and seared them just a bit so that the inside was still raw....served with a homemade fruit salsa....heavenly. I will be back to Isaacson's, probably next week!Listed in: Groceries
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Review from Dennis S.
2/8/2010
Tremendous selection of seafood at terrific prices. It's fish, fish, and nothing but fish. It smells fishy, the floors are wet, and, as Cat B says, don't go there in flip flops. But if there's a fish for sale in Chicago, they have it here. All sizes, all levels of processing, on piles of ice.
Watch the hours - they're open early for restaurateurs and chefs to buy, not late for consumers deciding on a late dinner menu. -
Review from Sharlene K.
Chicago, IL
9/2/2007
Everybody who used to live on a coast should know this place and visit often. It's tender place on Fulton/Halsted makes me lovingly remember the Fulton Fish Market back in NYC except...
This place has a really impressive array of fresh fish for Chicago which means it's still pretty small. No live crustaceans, but plenty of gastropods including soft shell clams.
What they're really good for though are rarities like giant wild shrimp as someone else pointed out, and sporting fish.
Marlin is a really difficult fish to find up north, landlocked, and outside of Latino cuisine. Like most sporting fish, it's something people catch, but rarely eat in America (like tuna out of a can before the popularity of sushi). It's a delicious fish. A marlin steak encrusted with dill, pepper, kosher salt, and grilled at high heat like tuna is an amazingly delicious thing to behold. Imagine chicken with the flavor of steak and moist like duck.
They also sell a lot of fish whole and you would be better off either getting really good at cleaning a fish or just buckling down and having them do it. They do a really good job of it.
One of the things I love to do is get big ole' whole red snappers, clean'em, season amply, wrap in soaked banana leaves, and grill to perfection.
They also have a pretty impressive selection of frozen sea food including a really expensive box of conch that I have yet to invest in. Conch is delicious and I'm pretty psyched about them carrying it, but hey, a $500 box of fish isn't in my reality yet.
The king crab legs here are really cheap, and great steamed with a bit of drawn butter.
Most of the fish here is sushi grade should you want to be adventurous at home.Listed in: Supplies for Foodies
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Review from Millie T.
Chicago, IL
10/26/2010
I absolutely love this place!
Baby octopus and calamari for $4/lb? Copper river salmon for $10? Fresh rainbow trout for $5? Yes, please!
Everything here is cheap (1/2 - 1/3 the price of Whole Foods), fresh and delicious. It's also pretty fun walking in, putting on the gloves and selecting my own fish.
I'm now planning to learn to shuck oysters so I can take advantage of the great prices sometime soon. I haven't had the friendly folks in Isaacson & Stein clean any fish for me yet as I'm somehow always in a hurry when I visit, but hope to have the chance too. -
Review from Tom S.
Chicago, IL
8/11/2008
Worth the trip ... even if you have to call in sick
4 1/2 stars!
The worst thing about L Isaacson & Stein Fish Co is their hours, but I understand that they get daily deliveries and that by 1:00 pm on Saturday they're unwilling to sell anymore fish, and that is worth the extra half star in my book: if you won't offer fresh-off-the-plane fish, shellfish and seafood within hours of procuring it, then why be open?
I used to make the trek from Ravenswood to L Isaacson. I'd usually call in sick on weekdays when I really wanted the best and I'd have a friend drive me down. Now I'm within walking distance, even from work, and can walk over and peruse their outstanding selection at spot on prices. Because they are a wholesaler, the middle man is cut out and there is nobody to pay.
The service is second to none. As the customer you are their number 1 priority and they will go out of their way to ensure your satisfaction. You can special order items or have the shop call you when they get your favorite fish, or give you an idea as to when your favorite selection might come in or be in season.
Get thee to L Isaacson & Stein! -
Review from Anna S.
Chicago, IL
7/6/2008
One of the best things about living in River West (and that I miss very much) was living so close to Isaacson's.
Going here is an experience. You can see and smell your fish. And there's lots of it. They will clean, scale, and filet for you.
Sigh. Wish there was one right around the corner by me.
Only bad is the hours. They never seemed to be opened when I wanted to go. -
Review from Di B.
Chicago, IL
4/23/2007
FANTASTIC!
Self-serve: a plastic glove and a plastic bag. Select what you want (it's messy and smelly but the fish couldn't be any fresher!) and take it to be weighed and paid. They now take credit cards which makes my life so much easier, as I seldom carry cash!
The fish is plentiful, varied, fresh and the prices cannot be beat! Don't go on a Friday if you're in a hurry. This place sells to restaurants and everyone (and their Grandfather's pub) does a fish fry on Fridays these days! I wasn't too keen on their frozen frog's legs, but maybe we don't know how to cook them?!
If it's a summer's day, you can pack everything on ice (bring a cooler!) and if you don't like whole fish (don't be frightened! it is the freshest, tastiest BBQ around) they *will* gut and filet for you. I've never done this myself, but I see people in line waiting for this extra service! -
Review from Matt K.
Chicago, IL
4/30/2010
This place exceeded all my expectations! Chicago is a steak city without a doubt, but this place is making its mark for home cooks and the city's best chefs alike.
Half dozen scallops, 1.5 lbs of tuna, and 1 lbs of Chilean Sea Bass all for around $30. Great price and even better quality. Sear the tuna, broil the scallops, and grill the sea bass. Everything delicious.
Be prepared to grab plastic gloves and a bags when you walk in. None of The fresh stuff is packaged but why would you want it any other way, right? -
Review from Moe f.
Chicago, IL
4/21/2011
Well I'm hooked. Love me some fish but the good stuff is $$ and I'm broke. For $23 I got 1lb of Yellowfin and 1lb of Grouper. Can't beat that price anywhere. Just be ready to wear glove, pick your own fish, and vaguely smell of fish when you leave.
