Appleton, Wisconsin, located in the Fox City area, offers locally owned and operated restaurants that offer seafood menus. These eateries cater to locals with seasonal items and Friday night fish-fry specials. Visit Wisconsin's third most-populated area and cheer on their minor league baseball team, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, at one of these seafood restaurants.
With an outdoor patio and a waterfront view of the Fox River, Fratello's has served seafood and home-brewed beers since its opening in 1995. Favorite appetizers include the ahi tuna lollypops and pan-fried crab cakes, and you can pair them with calamari in the seafood sampler for under $12, as of 2011. Entrees offer a modern take on seafood, such as the ahi tuna entree with ginger pesto wasabi mashed potatoes. Try the white chicken chili or blanked white fish salad for lunch. Book reservations for one of the restaurant's quarterly events that include a winemakers dinner with a dedicated menu; alternatively, opt for a package that includes round-trip limo service from your home to the restaurant.
Spats tavern is an Appleton institution in a central location, located in a landmark building that has housed a restaurant for the last 100 years. Spats offers dark lighting and leather chairs. Appetizers include deep-fried classics with seafood selections of mini-crab cakes, breaded shrimp or calamari. The restaurant offers seafood specials such as the haddock Neptune, a fillet topped with shrimp, crab and Alfredo sauce. Visit on Friday nights when a fish-fry brings in the locals, and ask for a table on the patio with live music on the weekends all summer. Finish the evening with the Jack Daniel's bourbon pecan pie for dessert. You can sign up for special discounts via their mailing list.
Locally owned for the last 28 years, BJ Clancy's Grill & Bar was voted "best restaurant" by "Fox City" magazine in 2004. Sit in the attached pub and play trivia while you wait for a table, but call ahead for large parties. The restaurant offers homemade, award-winning chili. Seafood entrees include fried haddock, fresh lake perch, chili-lime tilapia and coconut shrimp. On Friday night you can enjoy an all-you-can-eat Icelandic haddock fish-fry. This is a family-friendly restaurant with senior's and kid's menus available. BJ's offers a free meal with dessert to celebrate birthdays.
