On any given day, Flanders Fish Market sells up to two-dozen varieties of fresh local fish, including flounder, halibut, monkfish, and if you time your visit just right, bluefish, Arctic char or shark. They also sell plenty of shellfish. After all, Flanders’ e-mail address is eatlobster@flandersfish.com. Paul and Donna Formica opened Flanders in 1983, and after 25 years, the market with the goofy walrus logo still garners the title of “Best Fish Market” from Connecticut magazine. With that much sealife at their disposal, it’s no surprise that Flanders also contains one of the better seafood restaurants in southeast Connecticut.

Two people at the table started with a cup of soup. The superior cup was clearly the lobster bisque, creamy, with a little sherry and bits of sweet lobster meat.

Rhode Island clam chowder wasn’t creamy like New England clam chowder or tomato-based like Manhattan clam chowder. Instead, it was “clear,” a briny brew with diced vegetables, parsley and fresh clams.

Crab cakes weren’t quite lump, but they were the size of hockey pucks, with crisp crusts and loaded with blue crab.

On a previous visit five years ago, Flanders lavished their broiled sea scallops with breadcrumbs, which provided a textural contrast and some much-needed color. Stonington sea scallops are sweet and milky white, so they don’t need any help, and today’s butter-bathed serving was still strong, but that first experience was definitely better. Today’s sides were solid, with rice strewn with bay shrimp and crab meat, and the cole slaw crisp and simple.

The fried seafood platter was suitable for three people, easy. It came with a juicy fillet of crisp-crusted haddock, a meaty white fish. The stuffed clam featured a mass of breadcrumbs, vegetables and clam meat that was formed back into the shell and fried. Bay scallops tend to have the consistency of pencil erasers, but not at Flanders, where they were supple, with golden crusts. There was also calamari and clams. A lobster tail was reputedly overcooked, but not the jumbo shrimp, which were plump, with batter so thin it was still pink. The platter came with a base of sweet potato fries, which weren’t crisp at all, more like basic roasted sweet potato strips, with the skins still on.

The décor is dated, and it’s definitely more fun eating in-the-rough at a place like Abbot’s, but Flanders Fish Market still offers one of the better indoor seafood meals in eastern Connecticut.

Related Posts

1. U.S.S. Chowder Pot III – Branford, CT – November 17, 2008
2. Lenny & Joe’s Fish Tale – Westbrook, CT – December 27, 2006
3. Summer Shack – Uncasville, CT – November 30, 2008
4. Sea Swirl – Mystic, CT – September 1, 2008
5. Dad’s – Niantic, CT – August 30, 2008

This entry is filed under New England, Seafood.