Little Cleo’s Fish House Open at The Yard

Stepping foot into the new Little Cleo’s fish house in North Central Phoenix hardly feels like you’re in a Fox Restaurant. Sure, it has some recognizable design elements of Fox RC, but the low-key, East Coast vibe of this seafood restaurant makes you feel as if you’ve just found a hidden spot that only the locals know about up in the New England states.

Seafood restaurants can often be kitschy, but you won’t find any of that here. Instead, the interior shows off clean, white tiles against a warehouse-like setting with pub-style seating around the oyster bar. Soulful music of the 40s plays in the background, giving the petite restaurant a relaxed vibe with just a hint of swank. I could live here.

Little Cleo’s interior

For drinks, they’re already known for their Royales. Try the Grapefruit & Elderflower ($10) or Blood Orange and Pineapple ($8). If wine or beer is more your thing, they have plenty in way of that too.

Though the extensive selection of fresh oysters sounded tempting on our recent visit, we decided to aim for their small plates menu to start. We began with the Warm Jar of King Crab and Butter with Grilled Bread ($21). You can’t have dinner in a fish house without getting at least a taste of crab, so if you don’t plan to order it as a entrée, definitely start with this. I thought the sharable mason jar of truffle butter-poached King Crab was just enough for the two of us to share without being over indulgent. The sweetness of that crab bathing in warm, drawn butter was almost sinful. Each bite was perfect on the accompanying grilled bread. There’s something about Fox Restaurant’s grilled bread that always sucks me in! They know how to get just the right amount of char and grill flavor without using too much oil or crispify-ing the bread too much to the point of being difficult to eat.

Warm Jar of King Crab and Butter

Next, we tried the “Bacon & Eggs” dish ($12) made up of sturgeon bacon, a sunny side up egg, crème fraiche and greens on top of that grilled bread again. A definite standout in my opinion. The smokiness and texture of the sturgeon really took place of the bacon in this classic, breakfast-y dish—so much so, that I didn’t even miss the pig! Getting the perfect bite of “bacon”, egg, crème fraiche and some of that silky, bright yellow yoke to marry it all together was heavenly.

”Bacon & Eggs”

Lastly, we ordered the Crispy Frog Legs ($12) and let me say, if you’ve ever been too shy to try these little guys, this is the perfect place to start. Crispy-fried, they are tossed with fish sauce, roasted cashews and Thai chili “sap” for a huge pop of flavor. Absolutely my favorite dish of the night (as well as my dining companion’s). The “sap” creates this sticky, sweet glaze that caramelizes just out of the fryer… making them highly addictive. I loved the addition of the salty cashews for a salty-and-sweet combo, as well as crunch factor. The meat of the frog legs had great flavor all on its own—I almost couldn’t put them down.

Crispy Frog Legs

Side note: when all of the ‘legs’ are gone, toss the cabbage mix hanging out at the bottom of the bowl with some of the leftover glaze. You won’t want to waste any of that sauce!

Bottom of the bowl

If you’ve indulged too much in their oyster and small plate selections, they have plenty of choices on the Veggie portion of the menu as well as a few salads. For those who came prepared to feast, head straight to the entrees where you’ll find plates like Traditional Fish & Chips with Celery Seed Coleslaw ($17), King Crab Legs grilled with drawn butter ($38), and a Shrimp Po’ Boy ($13).

We opted to try the Albacore Tuna ($19) with smoked potatoes and housemade steak sauce. Two generous steaks of tuna were grilled just enough to leave the inside rare and plated with crispy smoked potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus and steak sauce drizzle. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical about the steak sauce, but its tangy tartness really ‘woke up’ the entire plate and well-complemented the tuna. Those potatoes though… mmmm.

Albacore Tuna

We also ordered the “Bouillabaisse” ($24) with scallops, mussels, shrimp, tomato, fennel and saffron. This really was a bowl of comfort, chockfull of seafood swimming in a rich, fragrant broth. The sea scallops were large and despite having a only a hint of caramelization (I would have preferred a bit more), they were cooked absolutely perfectly. And yes, there was more of my favorite grilled bread for sopping up all of the broth.

”Bouillabaisse”

I was tempted to pass on dessert only for the fact that I was more than full after such an indulgent meal… but apparently not too tempted enough to turn down a scoop of their housemade ice cream. I’ve heard mixed reviews about their cake donuts, so if you have any hesitation at all, GO FOR THE ICE CREAM. You won’t regret it. Not even a little.

The Cashew ($6) was incredible. Think rich, creamy butter-pecan but with salty, crunchy cashews sprinkled on top. If you’re a fan of sweet-and-salty desserts, you’ll love this one as much as I did.

Cashew Ice Cream

My dining companion chose the Chocolate Mint ($6), a grown-up version of Mint Chocolate Chip that most of us loved as a kid. I wasn’t most kids. I despised mint chocolate chip growing up and still haven’t found a fondness for any mint chocolate combos… until this. You won’t find that fake mint-flavored green ice cream here. Vanilla ice cream gets introduced to dark chocolate chunks and fresh mint. I loved the combo and could have eaten both of these scoops myself. Kinda wish they sold these by the pint!

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

All in all? If you have a hankering for fresh seafood (which can be hard to find around the Valley), find yourself at Little Cleo’s. The restaurant is petite and they don’t take reservations, so be prepared for a wait during peak dining hours (though I assure you, it’s worth it).

Little Cleo’s is located at The Yard in Phoenix at 5632 N. 7th Street and is open for dinner Monday-Saturday from 5pm-10pm. Learn more at foxrc.com.

*This meal was provided to us complimentary as a part of a media invitation. However, this has no effect on our opinions and comments regarding our experience. View our Disclosure Policy for further explanation.