The oyster bar at Oceanaire in Boston. The restaurant is designed to look like a luxury liner.

Oceanaire

After preparing a list of seafood spots in Boston for a friend celebrating a daughter’s birthday, it occurred to me others might have reason to need the same information. After all, it’s the season for Fenway baseball, the Boston Pops, graduations, and the swan boat rides in the Public Garden.

If you’re looking for a fine kettle of fish in a fun place, here are some ideas.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room is an elegant new spot in the old U.S. Trust bank across from Government Center and the Steaming Kettle Landmark. I see it as a steak house for fish with all the richness of décor, wine list and menu. But you might also think 1930s ocean liner with lots of attention paid to details and that’s the mood the owners want to impart. Oceanaire is the 15th in the Minnesota-based-chain which came up with the concept for power dining with seafood.

Private dining is in the former bank manager’s office.

The bar is long and elegant. A raw bar sits on one end and above it are blackboards heralding the freshest catches of the day, and a list of wines.

I have dined at Oceanaire and relished every course. Among the season’s specialties is the wild Alaskan halibut which is tender and succulent. It is also a fine source for omega 3 fatty acids which are thought to benefit a body in oh so many ways.

Don’t miss the Yukon potato-crusted halibut in a sage cream sauce with crispy prosciutto. I’d take it over just about any piece of beef or maybe even a dish of my beloved gnocchi. Seafood choices are long and varied and include everything from monkfish to Chilean sea bass. Dishes include Chesapeake Bay Style Crab Cakes, Jumbo Shrimp Scampi, North Atlantic lobster and Alaskan king crab legs. There are meat selections, too.

For dessert, try the amazing Boston Crème pie.

There are some local connections at Oceanaire. Assistant general manager Joshua Ferraro hails from Rhode Island and lives in Pawtucket. Among his previous stops along the food chain is Hemenway’s Seafood Grill in Providence. Executive chef/operating partner Dan Enos is a Johnson & Wales University graduate and also cooked at Hemenway’s before moving on to the Capital Grilles in Chestnut Hill and Phoenix.

Details: The Oceanaire Seafood Room, 40 Court St., (617) 742-2277, www.theoceanaire.com.

O Ya is one of the newer hot spots in Boston. You know the type, the place you can’t get in unless you think ahead and make a reservation weeks in advance.

Part of its celebrity is recent thanks to the news that its owner Tim Cushman was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs for 2008. Though Cushman and the other winners won’t be on the magazine cover until the July issue, the announcement was made on April 3.

For months though, local newspapers, food blogs, even Travel and Leisure magazine, have been busy singing its praises as a hip place on an almost deserted street near South Station. I haven’t been yet as they’ve been all booked the nights I tried for a reservation. It’s at the top of my to-do list.

The scuttlebutt is O Ya serves city’s best sushi as well as sashimi and dishes including warm eel and Santa Barbara sea urchin. But you’ll find seared diver scallops as well. There are non-seafood items on the menu as well including tea-brined spare ribs and wagyu beef. Premium sake occupies an important place on the wine list.

Best new chef seems a funny moniker to hang on Cushman. At 55, he has apprenticed at hotels and restaurants around the world including the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and Hostellerie de la Poste in France, according to Food & Wine. He also worked with top Japanese chefs including Nobu Matsuhisa and Hiro Urasawa. All that is why so much of the menu has an Asian bent.

Details: O Ya, 9 East St., (617) 654-9900, www.oya restaurantboston.com. Closed Monday.

It’s not so new anymore but I never miss a chance to dine at Great Bay, one of the Hotel Commonwealth’s anchor restaurants in Kenmore Square. It has an upscale style with lots of lovely diners, perfect service and fabulous food. Think Sex in the City with beautiful drinks.

The restaurant has its own sushi bar if you want to go that way. If choosing from the menu, it ranges from oysters to Confit Scottish Salmon.

It’s a great place to enjoy the ying and yang of a summer night. Enjoy a dinner at Great Bay and then head to Fenway Park for a baseball game. They are skilled at clearing out all 140 seats that fill for dinner at 5 p.m. by 7:05 game time.

Restaurant co-owners include Michael Schlow and Chris Myers and they have a Midas touch, whether working together or apart. Schlow’s newest restaurant will open soon at the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods while Myers is enjoying acclaim with his Boston bistro, Myers + Chang. The two began it all with Radius in the financial district.

Details: Great Bay, 500 Commonwealth Ave., (617) 532-5300, www.greatbayrestaurant.com.

More, please! These restaurant menus, and recent reviews and menus: projo.com/food

gciampa@projo.com