St. Paul Fish Company has the unique advantage of being the only full-table-service restaurant inside the Milwaukee Public Market. There are others with bar service—and St. Paul has that too—but the little dining area next to the east entrance is the only place you can get a full restaurant experience.
The dining alcove can be cramped and a little chaotic, especially on weekends when there's almost always a wait and people are milling about trying their best not to get in each other's way. But once you do get settled, the fresh seafood is well worth any hassle.
Looking around at other tables and at photos online, it's clear that the most popular item on the menu is the lobster roll ($14.95). There aren't that many places to get one in this city, and St. Paul's version is the most traditional of the bunch. It's a mayo-based lobster salad variety, and purists would argue that there's too much mayonnaise, but I don't mind. There's a mix of larger chunks of meat and finer shreds, so the mayo keeps the significant portion of the salad in place nicely. The New England-style top-cut roll is toasted on both sides in copious amounts of butter. Fries that come with it are thick-cut batons with the skin on, while the coleslaw is crunchy but might lead to mayo overload with the roll.
Almost as popular and equally impressive is the live Maine lobster dinner ($16.95). A one-pound lobster is steamed as opposed to boiled, so you don't end up with water-logged meat. The tail is split in half to make accessing the meat easier but digging out the rest is on you.
If you'd rather not wait for a table, you can always snag a seat at the indoor oyster bar or the outdoor, year-round tropical palapa bar. (In the winter, the outdoor bar transforms into an ice bar.) Both spots are great for single diners or those wanting to attack the substantial appetizer menu. Freshly shucked oysters are served on crushed ice, but you can get one floating in a little glass of Bloody Mary mix as a shooter ($3). They also come fried ($8.95) or baked ($2.95 each).
Fresh fish dinners ($12.95-$24.95) include grilled or blackened fish, a mound of jasmine rice, either fruit salsa or creamy beurre blanc, as well as sautéed vegetables that includes zucchini, onions and (vexingly) whole baby carrots. Get your fish grilled and it will be delivered with perfect crosshatch grill marks. Mako shark, red grouper and swordfish are great options for grilling.
Since the Public Market is commonly used as a lunch spot, there are a large number of sandwiches offered. Shrimp salad ($9.95) is served on a buttery croissant, but at that price you're better off springing for the lobster roll. A po’ boy with fried shrimp ($11.95), fresh veggies and remoulade is a better option for shrimp lovers. Clam chowder, lobster bisque and shrimp and sausage gumbo are one of the best deals in the Market: grab a pint for $5.95. Smoked salmon on a stick ($3.95) is moist and makes a great snack if you're just passing through.
Fish fry is available every day here, not just on Fridays. Cod ($11.95) is coated in a Schlitz beer batter, which stays crisp until you eat it. There's no rye bread or potato pancake option, but with fish this fresh, I'm not missing it.
Another Milwaukee tradition, over-the-top Bloody Marys, is embraced here. The lobster Bloody Mary ($9.95) is topped with a cocktail shrimp, piece of candied salmon “crack” and a lobster claw. Other cocktails, like a strawberry banana daiquiri ($7.50) and Waikiki Beachcomber, go with the bar theme outside.
St. Paul's is a fishmonger, too, and one of the busiest and most reliable in the city. So, if you'd rather prepare your seafood at home, there's plenty to choose from. But this is a frenetic, casual and inexpensive seafood restaurant, and you'd be missing out if you didn't eat here at least once. A second location is coming to Mequon in May.
