The views: stunning.

The deck: inviting.

The food: sensational.

The restaurant: Finz.

The hottest new restaurant on the North Shore has actually been around for almost twenty years.

Because Finz Seafood and Grill in historic Salem has a new home, and you just have to visit.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “Finz has been around since 2000, we’re located on Pickering Wharf.  We were in the boat basin of Pickering Wharf, we’ve now moved to the front of Pickering Wharf, with outstanding harbor views.”

That might actually be an understatement, because while Finz new spot on Pickering Wharf is only a couple hundred feet away from its original location, it feels like a world away.  And owner George Carey, made it his mission to take advantage of this prime real estate.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “We’ve had a lot of fun really recreating and really maximizing our views of the water.  We’re in historic Salem Harbor, which is wonderful.  We’re at the very head of the harbor. We have wonderful views of historic Salem and Marblehead.  We have outside dining, we also have a fire pit and couches if you want to just sit around have cocktails and enjoy, it really is a great location.”

On the inside, the restaurant is just as impressive, filled with natural light, an enormous forty-seat bar, and those gorgeous views from every seat in the house.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “We brought the building back to the original rafters, and the high ceilings, and the skylights, we grabbed a local artist and had wonderful wall frescoes painted.  It’s bright, it’s airy, and we really wanted everyone to be able to see the water at every seat in the restaurant, which is wonderful.”

Seafood is the star at Finz, and they offer it just about every way you can imagine, whether it’s shucked, seared, steamed, or sushi.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “The best thing about seafood is so many different ethnic cultures serve it.  So sometimes you feel Italian style, sometimes Asian style, sometimes classic, sometimes Cajun, so that’s the beauty of what we can do is we really try to offer the seafood dishes really a lot of different ways, fitting whatever mood you’re in.”

And if you’re in the mood to indulge, ‘The Tower’ is a great way to start.  This two-tiered beauty is filled with oysters, littlenecks, shrimp, a whole chilled lobster, and king crab legs.  For some European flavors, there’s Spanish Grilled Octopus with olives, or French Style Mussels with orange and fennel.  But for a undisputedly American seafood starter, nothing beats Finz Signature Buffalo Calamari.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “The Buffalo Calamari we’ve had since 2001.  We take a fresh, lightly fried calamari, we toss it in buffalo sauce with a blue cheese dressing.  It’s been a great dish, it’s been a local favorite, and it’s been really good for us.”

Another favorite is Finz delicious spin on nachos, piling house made potato chips with pico de gallo, spicy cheese sauce, sour cream, and tons of fresh crab.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “It’s crunchy, but you’re gonna get the flavor of crab rather than more typical nacho. It’s a seafood nacho, and it’s wonderful.”

Entrees at Finz run the gamut from tried and true classics to modern and creative.  If you’re looking for something familiar, there’s a traditional New England Clambake with a local lobster, mussels and clams, spicy chorizo, and corn on the cob.  Or try a dish so old school it’s literally named the Old School Clams and Linguine.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “We use fresh clams, white wine, garlic, it’s delicious. But it’s old school.  You need a napkin so you don’t get dirty, but it’s a wonderful dish.”

For meals with a more modern preparation, there’s pan seared Atlantic Salmon with mustard vinaigrette, Seared Yellowfin Tuna crusted with Sesame seeds and served with a warm rice cake and fresh avocado, and Baja Fish Tacos featuring fried haddock, shredded lettuce, cotija cheese, and cilantro creme fraiche.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “It’s great street food, served with local fresh seafood. So it really is neat.  It’s light, it’s more bright, it’s a great lunch dish and it’s also a great dinner dish, and it’s a dish we can share.”

But if you happen to end up at Finz and you just aren’t in the mood for seafood, don’t worry, because their Bacon Crusted Filet is outstanding.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “For those that don’t feel like seafood, our filet mignon is awesome.  It’s eight ounces, served with a nice Demi-glace sauce, with a bacon encrusted top.  It’s delicious and it really is a really tended piece of beef.”

Now that Finz is in a bigger spot than before, they’ve been able to add a whole new section to their menu, sushi, made right in front of your eyes at their stunning sushi bar.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “We wanted a sushi bar for quite a while.  So we really did it top notch, we have eight seats at the sushi bar.  It really allows us to offer a full sushi menu, not just one or two items.  It really is sushi done right.”

And the reason it’s done right is because George brought in a master sushi chef to make the maki.

George Carey – Owner, Finz: “Jay’s been doing sushi for over 30 years.  He’s owned his own restaurant and he’s really a master at the art and you can see it in his work, and you can it see you see it in how well the dishes are prepared.”

So whether you want to dine on great sushi and seafood, or simply feast your eyes on a beautiful view, you need to find your way to Finz.