Back in Business Again, Clarksville Seafood Doesn’t Disappoint
Clarksville Seafood reopened earlier this year. Photos by Kevin Gibson
UPDATE: CLARKSVILLE SEAFOOD CLOSED PERMANENTLY SHORTLY AFTER THIS POST WAS PUBLISHED.
In case you missed it, Clarksville Seafood is back open yet again.
The iconic little restaurant at 916 Eastern Blvd. in Clarksville has been around in various forms under various owners since sometime in the 1960s. Its latest owner was the previous owner of The Dock Seafood in Jeffersonville, Hubert Rocky. Unfortunately, Rocky died recently, but Clarksville Seafood remains open – hopefully for the long haul, this time, after reopening its doors earlier this year. It has had an on-again, off-again life for a number of years now.
The new version of the small fish house comes with a deep clean and a nice remodel. Growing up, my parents would get carry-out from Clarksville Seafood on the regular, and I remember standing in line with my Dad, peering into the bubbling fish tank in the small waiting area.
There were a couple of benches where we would wait after ordering at the counter. They would call out numbers, and people would excitedly show their tickets like they’d won the lottery. There was a life preserver on the wall bearing the restaurant’s name, in keeping with the quaint nautical theme.
And no one ever needed a menu at Clarksville Seafood, either; the food options appeared on a vintage menu board behind the counter, with several of the letters sometimes either missing or crooked. And I recall that the place had weird hours, only opening for maybe three or four hours a day around dinner time.
While I don’t know a ton about the restaurant’s history, I do know it was a descendent of a seafood chain dating to the 1950s called Cape Codder, which fizzled in spite of the fact that one of the owners was KFC founder Col Harlan Sanders.
Interestingly, it became a favorite of the regional pro wrestling circuit, and Louisville-born wrestling manager Jim Cornette devoted part of his website to Clarksville Seafood, gushing that, going back these days, “The first bite of fish is nirvana to Clarksville Seafood devotees. … One bite, and you’ll eat until you need medical assistance.”
I recently had lunch at the new-look Clarksville Seafood with my Dad, and it was something of a step back in time, even if the restaurant’s interior does look markedly different now. The exterior is the same: dull gray paint and what looks like it could have been a ranch-style home at some point (I don’t think it was), with the classic blue sign overlooking Eastern Boulevard.
Inside, it feels like the space has been opened up a bit from what I remember. The waiting area and counter are still there to greet you when you enter, but much of the hokey décor is gone. The old menu board has been replaced with a new version, with all the letters and numbers in place.
All in all, the restaurant just felt fresher, with new hardwood floors, new light blue paint, a nautical mural on one wall, all new tables and chairs. It’s still laid out the same as it always has been, just with a nice refresh.
My dad, of course, got the small “fish and fry” (some things never change), while I got the small fish with onion rings, narrowly talking myself out of the fried oyster dinner. That’s what I’ll get next time – I just wanted to see if the fish was close to what I recall eating in previous years.
The menu also offers clams, chicken tenders, shrimp, and sides range from basic fries to fried pickles, fried okra, fried mushrooms and cheesesticks. When you order a dinner, it comes with fries, coleslaw and hush puppies.
The “small” fish orders are $9.99, which sounds a tad on the pricey side until you see the portions. There were three fairly large pieces of crispy fried fish (cod, I assume, but don’t quote me on that) in each basket, while Dad’s basket overflowed with crisp, if basic, crinkle-cut fries and mine offered a pile of rings nestled just under the fish that I had no chance of finishing. Each meal also came with a large hush puppy. Thank goodness for air fryers.
The fish was better than expected. Is it the same? It’s close enough. Certainly the breading seemed familiar, although the pieces of fish might not have been quite as thick as back in the old days. Still, it was quality fish that was cooked exactly the way it should be. And it’s also true that you’re going to get enough to eat anytime you go to Clarksville Seafood. And those onion rings were delicious and well prepared to the point that I can’t recall having any much better than those in recent times. (Although, the rings I had a while back at the now-closed Check’s BBQ & Blues were pretty nice.)
It's good to have the staple fish joint back in the old neighborhood, and I know my dad is happy, because he goes at least once a week. I’m looking forward to going back with him. I guess I’m hooked. (Sorry.)
