Le Petit Pêcheur
Seafood restaurant · Astoria ·
Choose fresh seafood, pick cooking style, enjoy Algerian sides
Choose fresh seafood, pick cooking style, enjoy Algerian sides
"One of Astoria’s newer pick-your-own-seafood additions, this family-run corner spot stands out for Algerian and French flavors. Chef-co-owner Hamid Mekersi, whose cooking is shaped by his mother’s traditional Algerian home recipes and his sisters in the Couba suburb of Algiers, brings experience from now-closed NYC French restaurants La Pallet and Les Deux Gamin. The calamari Provençal takes the basic fried calamari dish to new flavor frontiers: the squid is lightly breaded and sauteed, but the olives imbue an eye-opening salty savoriness to the garlic and herbs. The moules marinière are steamed and sauteed with shallots, garlic, herbs, butter, and cream, the resulting sauce staying light as mussel juices create a delightful oceanic broth for dipping bread. Fried whole sardines come marinated in a traditional Algerian seasoning of paprika and vinegar, then deep-fried for crunchy, tangy bites, and the Algerian burek are golden-fried pockets that crackle outside with bouncy chunks of jumbo shrimp and cheese inside. Early on a Friday, seniors, couples, and young families fill the room; everyone heads first to the raw seafood bar, where Hamid’s son Mateen Mekersi walks customers through what’s available—four kinds of shrimp, Greek fagri (a limited catch of the day), branzino, monkfish, and oysters—and recommends cooking styles. Don’t forget the restaurant doubles as a retail market if you want to take seafood home, and it’s open seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m." - Caroline Shin
"Of all the spots on this list, Le Petit Pêcheur is the newest and quietest, so the Algerian restaurant (from the same owners as Merguez & Frites) is a good choice on an evening when you'd just like to walk in somewhere and eat fish without a side of birthday party. There’s never a line, so head right to the display case and point at everything you want until the person behind the counter’s eyes bulge. That’s when you know you’ve gone just far enough. If your spread doesn’t fit on the table, not to worry—they’ll just bring you another table." - willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
"Of all the pick-your-own-seafood spots in Astoria, Le Petit Pêcheur is the easiest to walk into. So on an evening when you’d just like to eat an amount and variety of fish that no human body should ever ingest all at once, it’s a good choice. There’s never a line (and often not many people here in general) so you can head right to the display case up front and point at everything you want until the person behind the counter’s eyes bulge. (That’s when you know you’ve gone just far enough.) Always get the octopus, which is singed on the edges and scattered with lots of oregano, but also the grilled scallops in a rich lemon and butter sauce, and some grilled shell-on shrimp, which taste like they deserve to be eaten on the beach somewhere. And maybe some fried sardines to crunch on in between bites of everything else. If your spread doesn’t fit on the table, not to worry—they’ll just bring you another table. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Pause Unmute Food Rundown Spicy Feta Dip Once you’ve picked out all your seafood, you’ll sit down and get a separate menu of starters, sides, and salads. Go for the spicy feta dip. The creamy blend of roasted red peppers, chilis, and feta is a great snack to return to in between fried sardines and saucy octopus. Greek Salad A chunky greek salad with a big block of feta on top and a few pepperoncini peppers on top for some tang. Always a yes. photo credit: Kate Previte Fried Sardines These barely breaded sardines are impeccably crunchy, with a meaty inside. photo credit: Kate Previte Grilled Shrimp The grill on these shell-on shrimp is commendable, and the blackened edges shatter in your mouth like potato chips. photo credit: Kate Previte Sauteed Scallops For something a little more delicate, try the sauteed scallops, with lots of garlic and a lemony butter sauce so browned it almost tastes like a browned butter dessert. Grilled Octopus The general rule for eating seafood in Astoria is that you’ve got to order the octopus, and a meal at Le Petit Pêcheur should be treated no differently. Theirs is covered in oregano, and each suction cup is charred. photo credit: Kate Previte" - Willa Moore
"A new Algerian-leaning seafood spot in Astoria from the team behind Merguez and Frites, housed in a fancy, cheerful room with an ocean-blue ceiling and Mediterranean evening-soundtrack music. Ordering is two-part — choose seafood from a case up front, then pick sides and drinks at the table — and the menu highlights include a smoky, lemon-forward calamari Provençal, a carefully charred grilled red snapper dressed with basil, cilantro, lemon and roast-garlic sauce, and a mix of Greek-leaning sides (tender lemon potatoes) and Algerian accents like hammis (roasted red-pepper dip). A standout is the golden-fried bourek, stuffed with two kinds of olives, tomato, peppers, parsley and a thin spread of super-creamy Laughing Cow cheese, available with shrimp or black bass." - Grub Street
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