Lexington Ky Restaurants

Seafood

Your Guide to Fine Dining

Regatta's

Obviously, being a long day's drive from the nearest saltwater, Lexington does not have the seafood you would find on either coast. However, Lexington does have five legitimate seafood restaurants. They fly fresh fish in daily and do a great job of preparing it. The menus are not as extensive as you might find on Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay or the Outer Banks, but what is available is very good. Lexington fish cuisine traces back to Hall's, which opened in 1955 on the Kentucky River half an hour's drive from downtown. Hall's at first specialized in fried catfish, trout, turtle soup and crawfish etouffe, but gradually expanded to included a full seafood menu. Today's, Hall's is a tradition among seafood lovers, but several rivals have staked out their own niches serving people not in the mood for the long drive down to the river and back. With the decline of tobacco, many local farms have turned to fish as an alternative "crop." This has given restaurants a great source of fresh, locally grown, very high quality fish, reducing the amount they have to fly in, and allowing them to avoid the dreaded freezing, which of course means they can better match the taste of their oceanfront rivals. The hiring of local chefs with culinary training and internships at coastal restaurants means Lexington kitchens are now just as good at preparing fish as The Lobster Pot, Austin Creek Grille, Wheelers, Christiana Campbell's or any of the other famous "top 10" seafood establishments.

Regatta's certainly has the best location of any seafood restaurant in town. They look out on their own private lagoon, complete with trees and grass along the banks. Joseph Beth, the largest privately owned bookstore in the country, occupies the rest of the first floor and all of the upstairs. Captain Jack's Pier operates from April through October, serving on the water front and offering live music from 6 to 10 every night. So a visit to Regatta's can become a whole evening. But seafood is still the point. There's a great menu, so you'll have hard choices. The first is between the clam chowder and Creole gumbo. They're both outstanding. There are six salads, of which we recommend the salmon spinach raspberry vinaigrette. There are 10 fresh fish choices, each available grilled, blackened, asian, caribbean or broiled. There's lobster, crab, oysters and shrimp. And if you're nostalgic for New Orleans, there's a Nawlins Platter, with blackened catfish, cajun fried shrimp, creole gumbo, cajun fried okra and bayou stylke hushpuppies. With all of this splendor, however, the best item on the menu may be very simple : the broiled scallops platter in garlic butter and white wine. Quite basic. But they're large, and very hard to beat. 161 Lexington Green Circle. 273-7875. From downtown, go south on Upper Street, which becomes Nicholasville Road. Coming over New Circle Road, move to the far right lane, and turn into Lexington Green. Park in front of the central cupola and enter Joseph Beth's. Take the escalator down. Regatta's is to your left.