Chula Seafood is your go-to casual spot in Phoenix for fresh seafood, featuring poke bowls, tasty tacos, and a clam chowder that rivals the best in New England.
"What started for the Heflin family as a sustainable commercial fishing operation in San Diego with a boat named Chula has become a mini seafood empire here in metro Phoenix, composed of three Valley outlets. Each store contains both a fish market and a restaurant, the latter offering bacon-studded clam chowder, poke bowls, sushi, smoked fish platters, Hatch chile tuna melts, and a legendary burrito stuffed with fresh fish, fries, and guacamole. Plan a trip around a rotating selection of daily specials, which vary by location." - Mcconnell Quinn, Chris Malloy, Nikki Buchanan
"This mini seafood empire in Phoenix, with each location boasting both a market and a restaurant, serves dishes like poke bowls and Hatch chile tuna melts, even on Monday." - Mcconnell Quinn, Eater Staff
"Jon and Mandy Heflin’s mini restaurant empire is founded upon stellar seafood, including poke bowls, creative sandwiches and quirky specials such as branzino torta Milanesa. But a popular constant at all three locations is Chula’s superb clam chowder, its blissfully creamy base made chunky with potato, onion, celery, Neuske’s bacon and sweet chopped clams. Given a drop of sherry, a pinch of thyme and a sprinkle of chives, this heady brew is rich, smoky and complex, a chowder that — dare we say? — could hold its own in Boston." - Nikki Buchanan, Chris Malloy
"Fish in burritos is underrated, a fact proven by one swordfish creation at the Phoenix location of Chula Seafood, kitchen led by Kyle Kent. This burrito features grilled swordfish harpooned from the water from the Chula Seafood boat, which fishes off the coast of San Diego. It is utterly loaded with guacamole, queso, fries, avocado, and more, the lean swordfish chunks holding their own among all that soft, melting, fatty goodness. Once a special, this burrito is now rolled daily." - Chris Malloy
"At its uptown Phoenix location, Chula and chef Kyle Kent are offering some of Arizona’s freshest fish prepared in increasingly creative ways. Recently, they rolled out pastrami-style salmon on challah and a char siu swordfish banh mi (both specials). On Mondays, look for rotating large-format family meals." - Chris Malloy
