Dirk’s Fish & Gourmet Shop

This place is a hidden gem. Being across from my work I’ve always seen it, but assumed it was just a fish market and wasn’t really interested. I wish I wouldn’t of waited so long! They offer a lunch menu during the week from 10am-​4pm. The Salmon burger is AMAZING! By far the best I’ve ever had. For only $ 10 you get a good size patty and a side of coleslaw! I will definitely be back!

BEST FISH STORE
i have went to this store several times and every time i still love. the service is outstanding as is the fish. all the staff are very friendly and can answer any question, also you can always ask for a sample if you are not sure but don’t worry you will not be disappointed with whatever you pick. as well the prices are fair to the quality of the product.
i am a huge fan!

Wow… Where do I even start? Sashimi grade tuna? Fresh lobsters? Incredible mussels? Strange little sea bugs you’ve never seen before? Check, check, check, check. The only place in the US I’ve ever seen sea beans (aka sea asparagus). Friendly advice and free samples every day. Incredible seafood salads and spreads. A smoking Big Green Egg with some kind of deliciousness on it in the parking lot every Saturday. Classes. A free lemon with every order. A strategically located Treasure Island tucked in a strip mall across the street where you can get whatever you need to complement the amazing seafood you just bought. Wow. I just love this place. We live in the Loop, but come up here to satisfy all our delicious ocean and river creature needs. There is no better seafood store anywhere.

MUST try the cocktail sauce. Always great service and helping me branch out to try new things/​recipes! Freshest of the fresh.

Disappointed the only Salmon option was farm raised Scottish Atlantic Salmon. The website makes you think that you will find sustainable seafood at this market but I question that entirely since they even carry farm raised Atlantic Salmon in the first place. Very bummed about that!

I went to Dirk’s tonight for the first time. Mainly because I was on my way home from work, had a headache and didn’t want to fight the grocery store rush. I’m glad I did. I bought a pound of Chilean sea bass and half a pound of scallops. I just got done eating the sea bass and it was fantastic. The guy who helped me was great. I asked him how to prepare it and he gave me very specific instructions. He even threw in their miso sauce, which was amazing, and a fresh bread loaf. All in all, very good experience! I will be back.

Quality seafood & AMAZING service. What more can you ask for? We’ve gotten incredibly fresh sashimi grade tuna & salmon and scallops & mussels here. Every experience coming to this shop gives me the warm fuzzies because everyone working there is having a good time and knows their product through & through. You just don’t see that anywhere else quite the same way. Keep up the good work & friendly shop!

Dirks Fish is excellent!
Christmas Eve we ate Oysters Florentine, Fish Gumbo, Alaskan King Crab Claws, Stone Crab Claws and medium Shrimp. Fresh and delicious!
The best Fresh Fish place in Chicago.
Dirks has many years of experience and his recipes are to try.
We could eat here every day if we lived around the corner.
I recommend all the delicacies above, especially the Oysters Florentine.
Twenty Stars–
The friendliest fish store around.

The seafood here is consistently as fresh as I’ve ever seen, and the staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. The only reason I’m not giving Dirk’s 5 stars is price — its prices are also consistently the highest, so I tend to go to another trusted seafood place for what I know I can find there. If you are less price sensitive, though, you will never go wrong making Dirk’s your go-​to place.

No doubt that Dirk’s is very pricey, but as long as you know enough about seafood to understand where the value is, it’s a good place to be. For example, if you’re buying scallops, the $ 40 per pound here doesn’t make a lot of sense when you can get them for $ 19 at Mariano’s. Neither of them are day-​boat anyway, so it’s just not worth paying double. However, if you’re looking for speciality items, excellent prepared foods, or seafood for raw preparation, you’re going to want to go to Dirk’s. Don’t risk the supermarket.

As a seafood lover I found this place to be top notch! Dirks offers high quality products and they have helpful staff that will make your dinner planning as easy as it can gets. They also offer a lunch menu, we have tried a couple of different items from it and so far I have never been disappointed.

I do consider this place the absolute go-​to for anything seafood! In fact, I drive quite a bit out of my way to go here and if I happen to be in the area for errands or whatnot, I never miss an opportunity to stop in. I’m a sucker for mussels and it’s just the best deal in town. All of their fish and seafood is fresh and gorgeous. The associates are beyond knowledgeable and helpful. Everyone is so super friendly. They put on great programming and send out regular newsletters. I just think they are the best of the best and they have such a nice neighborhood vibe.

Quality is great prepared food not so much. Every time I get the scallop roll it is not made with the lemon tobiko and is 6 pieces despite the menu saying it is 8. Then twice I was charged $ 10 fit it when the menu days $ 8. The size and the amount of fish in the rolls is drastically different depending on who you have make it. I would stay away from the salads. The uncommonly good shrimp salad is made with some of the toughest shrimp I have ever had which at those price points are annoying. The only thing that is consistent is there quality raw fish. Also there blackened tilapia sandwich is life changing. I will be back but will prolly speak up about inconsistency.

Iv’e got to say you could be in a seaside fishing village and you would not find any fresher fish or seafood, the products Dirks sells are of the highest quality. I have been numerous times throughout the years and have always had a excellent experience. It’s a great store to just wonder through for a while the people are helpful, friendly and very accommodating. I have bought the chilean sea bass many times and they always trim it to perfect size and a big fat even piece so it will cook evenly. I have used their miso marinade many times and it adds a great flavor, they also offer numerous other marinades for different fish. Other times I have not marinaded the fish at all, this is the true test of freshness and it passes with flying colors the flavor is fresh, the fish flakey the top comes out with a beautiful crust and it melts in your mouth like butter. Dirks has so much to offer in the way of seafood you just need to surf the web sight or go and check it out. They will order any fish that’s in season special for you which is awesome my only wish is they would have more of those special order fishes on hand daily as I don’t always plan ahead and its fun to try different stuff.

I get wary about cooking salmon since I always tend to overcook it but I made the best baked salmon after shopping here.
Seems to be party here on Saturdays; they offered some amazingly tasty samples of seafood gumbo and they have a grill going in front of the shop. We appreciated that the staff even looked to provide salmon slabs of even thickness with instructions on the label… certainly made it easy to time and bake.
Great find. Certainly curious to try their salads and dips next time. Unfortunately I missed the soft shell crab season which is what brought me here… oh well I guess I have to come back in the spring.

Terrific whitefish salad, best you can find away from the east coast. Easily the best smoked fish I’ve found in Chicago. Friendly, helpful staff. Admittedly not inexpensive, but absolutely worth it!

This is how you do it. Offer the freshest ingredients, have an educated staff, great customer service & delicious choices of seafood. I was lucky enough to to have Dirk assist me & he’s great. Offered me like 4 or 5 samples, was so passionate talking about fish. I had a groupon & got 3 entrees to go; lobster roll, shrimp seviche & a tuna sushi roll. Just had the lobster roll & it was delicious. I’ll definitely go back; wish there was one in Lakeview. Just a very pleasant experience.

We have bought fresh tuna here a few times before to make sushi and it is always super fresh and amazing! Today we came in for lunch to give some of their other stuff a try. We had the lobster roll, tuna sandwich, and their tuna sushi roll. Wow! Everything was great! We will be back to pick up lunch here more often!

This is a five star seafood shop. Amazingly fresh and the highest quality. It can be pricey but its worth it. I shop here every week without fail. Filled with little surprises in every nook… even their desserts are homemade and crazy good!
My one issue with Dirk’s is that there location is not convenient to us folks that work in the loop. This wouldn’t be so bad but they have recently been pulling all the fish way before closing time so you rush there only to find a small selection (everything has been already put in the back) and an annoyed staff that you are there 30 – 45 minutes before close. Last time is was 2 hours before close and things were put away early. And the staff was unhappy that myself and other customers had come in. Maybe business is so good they don’t need mine or others racing to get there from work. Not sure why this happens every week now. I even tried different days. Dirk we love your shop but please stop this!

My first experience at Dirk’s was when my boyfriend and I attended Dirk’s annual sushi-​making class. Dirk and his wife were incredibly friendly and clearly very passionate about selling and preparing healthy, quality food.
We were worried sushi-​making was going to be complicated, but Dirk made it incredibly easy with some example rolls and then set us up to roll our own! Before eating the dozens of rolls that we made (they give you enough supplies to feed an army!) Terry served a light salad with an incredible miso-​ginger dressing on it, which was incredible! They even sell it in-​store.
We have been back to Dirk’s since and are always greeted with a smile, friendly conversation, some delicious samples, and great service. The fish is always fresh, and Dirk’s makes it easy to pick up everything you need in one place (they sell all of the supplies for sushi… down to the fresh fruits and vegetables for your rolls… in-​store!) What a fabulous business and I look forward to many more trips to Dirk’s!

I will buy my fish here for my sushi from now on. Sure it’s a little pricey, but eating raw fish can be dangerous if not bought from a good place. Worth the price since I don’t have to worry about getting sick. They had all sorts of different sea creatures, i walked away with salmon and tuna and both were amazing.
Also a big plus is that they have a parking lot, so you don’t have to pay for street parking

If I could give Dirk’s 4.5 stars I would, however, as the half-​star is not an option, I gave it the over. You know why? Because Dirk’s deserves it, that’s why.
In order to fully explain the greatness of Dirk’s, it’s imperative for me to describe my state of being when I had entered the establishment.
Now the night prior was spent with a best friend of mine. The evening began at 5:00 pm with a couple of beers and some food, which turned into more beers and more food, which turned into whiskey flights and whiskey cocktails, which turned into getting home at 1:30 am after being convinced to head to a burlesque and comedy show.
The poor sleep and intense dehydration did not help the nausea that permeated throughout my body in the morning. No amount of ginger ale, crackers, Pepto, Tums, B-​6, B-​12, Gatorade, PediaLyte, McDonald’s Coke, or anything else, could cure the horrendous feeling. Not knowing what death feels like, considering I’m writing this review, leads me to believe what I was feeling was equivalent. Naturally, I was telling myself that I would never have a sip of alcohol again.
I had a date that day, for which we planned to indulge in one of my favorite meals: mussels and beer. Simple as it sounds, the mussels, the broth, the bread and the beer pairing just go together so perfectly. Rather than going to a restaurant we decided to go the DIY route. This inspiration is what brought us into Dirk’s for the first time.
Now I love fish. I can and will eat all sorts of water creatures for bevy of reasons ranging from taste to justifying my gluttonous eating habits. Already this would be a win-​win situation for me: lady friend, beer, sea food. If it wasn’t for the misery I was feeling, my emotions would have been akin to a child being told he was going to Disney World, except the latter would have likely more restraint (if anything imposed by a parent figure).
Poor posture, thin layer of cold sweat, and unshaven (me, not her), we walked into Dirk’s. I looked around and saw the various fish, spices and staff. «Hey guys, what’s up? How about a sample of some Alaskan King Crab? Here you go. What can I get for you?» That all transpired prior to us saying a word. Coupled with the king crab now in my belly, the seemingly never ending feeling of misery subsided at an exponential rate. It was similar to placing your hand out the window just before a summer rainstorm to feel a few drops at first followed shortly by walls of warm precipitation. Picture a woman twirling with joy in a summer storm in a soaked dress while staring up at the heavens. Now picture that woman to be be, without the womanly bits.
We perused the variety of options: crab, lobster, tuna, mussels, oysters, etc. It seemed endless. When we got to the other end of the store (mind you it’s not a terribly large place) a separate employee asked us «would you like some Alaskan King Crab?» «Oh thanks, we’ve already had a sample. It was awesome, though.» To which the employee replied «that’s the wrong answer,» and handed us more crab. It wasn’t forceful, it was courteous, and showcased that Dirk’s not only cares about their fish, but their customers as well.
We got the mussels and ½ pound of smoked salmon. I can’t say much more other than how utterly phenomenal both of these were. Fish can easily be of poor quality, especially when the concept of freshness comes into play. This was extremely fresh.
The only rationale for the ½ star as mentioned above is that SOME of their food is a little overpriced. Others are right in line (the mussels and salmon for instance).
I love Dirk’s. The fish is fresh and excellent. The staff is courteous and knowledgeable. Dirk’s not only provided me with a revived and rejuvenated sense of physical being after something I was sure I would never recover from, but with a reinforced sense of humanity as well.

Dirk’s specializes in high quality, exceptionally fresh fish, and you can really taste the difference. The staff is highly trained and can tell you everything you need to know for preparing and cooking your seafood.
It’s expensive, yes, but very worth it for the quality.
³⁰³⁄₃₆₅

Dirk’s last name might just be Diggler cause his seafood shop is hung with some of the freshest fish in town. Sure… it’s a tad expensive, but in Chicago it’s pretty amazing that they’re able to get stuff of this quality so far from an ocean.
Whether you go ceviche, the seafood gazpacho, spicy shrimp salad, or just something al natural you’re in for a pretty awesome experience. There’s not much seating so you’ll probably want to bring whatever you decide on home, but when you get there it most certainly is porn for your taste buds.

This place is certainly more expensive than other places you will look, but get over it.
You are going somewhere, where you know the source of your fish. You are eating higher quality food than some run of the mill crap you get from a farm– so the price you pay extra is worth it.
I went on the busiest day of the year (its seemed) Valentines Day. They were OVERLY helpful to tell me how to prepare the fish that I purchased, and gave recommendations for sides and whatnot too… Good stuff all around. Will go back.

This is one of the things I miss most in Chicago.
I can’t recommend this place enough. Coming from the east coast, I can attest that Dirk’s offers awesome seafood. I used to go here several times a week. I considered moving in and splitting rent.
No but really. Everyone that works here is super cool. They are informative and give you great tips on what to buy and how to prepare it. They offer samples and specials. They have host monthly cooking lessons. Their scallops are frickin YUUUUUGE (see photo). Yet still tender and sweet. My favorite things were the scallops of course, and their fatty scottish salmon. This stuff was fresh and melted in your mouth. I would seriously buy a hunk of it for dinner, but then could never resist it and would end up taking bites of it raw in my car haha! And usually I bought it to make sushi or sashimi. I am also a fan of their sushi (salmon mango roll!), salmon roe, «Sea beans» (also in photo), house made lox, and their spicy seafood gazpacho. They also make fresh soup (s) often, that can be bought hot or taken home from their freezer.
I always find parking in the lot because there are ample spaces in the plaza. The only thing is that good things like this don’t come cheap, but it was always worth the price. And like I said, they often had specials and you could get coupons through signing up for their newsletter (I think it was $ 5 off $ 25 usually). I also had a rewards card there, so every so often I would earn a free sushi roll!