Blu is the best. I go there pretty regularly so figured I should finally write a review. The dishes are always creative and changing. I tend to veer towards salmon but really anything I've had there is great, and I've tried a lot since I like to pick off the plates of my friends & family. The only sad part is that sometimes you get attached to a dish ... like the flourless chili chocolate torte (I have no idea what the name is) ... and then it goes away. But never fear - the new offerings are usually just as delicious. The atmosphere is good for sitting at the bar (alone or as a duo) or for a larger group. Super flexible. The waitstaff and bartenders have always been attentive, helpful, and fun to talk to. All this and the price-point is pretty low. Don't tell them this but I would pay more ;) p.s. try the crab mac & cheese if you can! Worth the indulgence, for sure.

I've been here twice in the last week and both experiences have been terrific. First, the important things.... specials. Some of the info I saw on here is old so I've included a picture of their current specials. This includes half off oysters for lunch and dinner every Monday and Tuesday, half off wine bottles under $55 on Wednesday, Thursday $5 sangria and Friday a catch of the day/whole fish. Solid deals. Now, our experience. The first night we went was Friday. We got the sangria, sampler platter app (w/ crudo, kokoda, and oysters), and the catch of the day. Everything was delish. The catch of the day did have bones (naturally), so if that'll bother you, ask beforehand. It's some work to eat a fish with bones but I must say that it was really moist and very well done. After our terrific dinner Friday, we decided to go back on Monday for half off oysters. This turned out to be a great decision... the oysters were excellent and very well priced. I was a little unsure how much they'd be since they weren't a set price (such as $1 for an oyster) but each dozen that we got was $15 once they took the 50% off so it was only a little more than a dollar for each one, which is a solid price. We also got the trout on our server's recommendation and it was so. dang. good. All in all, a terrific experience, cute restaurant, and great service. We'll be back.

I must say this first... wow! It takes a great place to get 5 stars from me. My waitress, Sophia, was top notch - a great sense of humor and spot on with her recommendations. I had the daily catch: North Carolina AmberJack with roasted potatoes, hericot vert, shrimp, and a beurre blanc sauce. Clean plate-just put it back in the cupboard. For dessert, it was Sophia's favorite, Coconut Cookie Sandwich with lemon goat cheese and blue berries. I will definitely be back the next time business brings me to Durham. Hurrah!

I agree with Kate W that 3 1/2 stars would be about right for our dinner experience as well. We liked it. It was good, but 4 seems a tad too high, and 3 a tad too low. I made reservations for Saturday night at 5:00 as we would be coming out of a DPAC matinee, and through DPAC we learned that we could bring our day-of tickets and get 10% off. Sounded like a plan to us! We arrived ten minutes early so we waited in the parking lot. At 5 we went to the door along with another couple who had been waiting in the lot as well. A few minutes later they unlocked the door. Honestly that's one of my pet peeves for restaurants. When they open a bit later than they're scheduled to open, knowing they have reservations, it just doesn't feel overly welcoming. Not a big deal though. We proceeded to have good service. We were both starving, so we started with a Caesar to share and they were nice enough to split it in the kitchen for us. Always a good touch! We were also brought two very thin slices of cold white bread with hard butter. The bread was fairly tasteless, even a bit gummy and the butter was hard to spread, but I was too hungry to care and down mine went. Salad was okay, but the menu said it was a chipotle caesar dressing and I couldn't detect any chipotle at all. Just a usual caesar dressing. For entrees, I had the Shrimp & Scallops with "arborio mozzerella" and arugula with grapefruit. It was light and all together made for some tasty bites. The perfectly seared scallops were the best part...loved them! There were three of them along with three shrimp. The arugula/grapefruit salad offered a nice acidity to the otherwise bland rice, but the cold salad on top of warm rice just made the rice cold. Also the menu mentioned prosciutto but I couldn't have told you it was in there. It was so light that this might be the first time ever that I finished an entree way before Husband did. He got the New York Strip. I know, I know, steak in a seafood place, wtf? He liked it okay though. Nothing thrilling, but cooked well. The blu cheese butter was very mild, whipped taters okay, and he let me have his few green beans (which I thought were very good). For drinks, I had a glass of Cabernet that was decent and reasonably priced at $8. He had a very good Manhattan. We also each had a decaf to go with a shared slice of Key Lime Pie, which was nice and tangy. So, while everything was good, it didn't seem $90 worth of good. (which was with the $6.85 discount and before tip). Others have mentioned happy hour. If they are offering it on Saturday nights, we saw no sign of it. Note: they have $7.99 lunch specials...I bet I would love that!

Oh my goodness. I am SO GLAD I came to Blu. I don't know if it's because I'm not a real Durhamite or because my friends just don't eat out very much, but Blu is so underrated (at least, in my acquaintance group). ONE friend recommended Blu as her favorite place in Durham, and so I dutifully went for restaurant week. I cannot express how absolutely thrilled I am that I found such a gem and how absolutely anguished I was when the food came out and I stared at it despairingly because I had left my camera behind. :'( Oh well, that just means I have to come back! Guess it's not such a bad thing after all. :D I pretty much just followed what Minerva T. ordered after salivating at her review. I ditto everything she said, but with two caveats: 1) the calamari is not very crispy at all, but the texture and taste of the squid really comes through in it and 2) the key lime pie with raspberry purée was disappointingly pedestrian. It was decent, but failed to follow the amazingly delicious seafood appetizers and entrées. My boyfriend got the catch of the day (roasted mahi mahi with mashed potatoes and tobacco rings), which was really good, but not as incredibly delicious as the shrimp & grits. The shrimps were smoky and flavorful, and the grits - oh my goodness. I've never had such amazingly delicious grits. I also tried raw oysters here for the first time, with some good convincing from both the waitress and my boyfriend. The service here was really good, actually; Laura (I think that's what her name was :x) was friendly and courteous, but not pushy. It was pretty funny because I was really nervous about trying the oysters and she kept coming around to check how we were doing. As a note, I absolutely loved the décor and ambiance; the three different rooms are very different, but they were all simply but stylishly decorated. I guess "stylish" isn't really the best word; it's a little whimsical and cute, but also slightly upscale. It's very hard to describe; all I know is that I felt utterly comfortable and it slipped into the space for an ideal date place that I never really imagined before. Overall, the food was phenomenal; everything that we got was presented perfectly to highlight the freshness and the flavor of the actual seafood. (Obviously, I'm totally in love with Blu).

How do you know when you've gone overboard with eating out? I'm headed over for a three-course meal at Blu Seafood, driving down 9th street in Durham As we turn the corner, what do I spy but the Bulkogi Taco truck! Oooh, ooh ooh! I park the car and I'm out like a flash making a beeline for the taco truck... My friend Allison, well aware of my food frenzied behavior, patiently asks me, "Ron, do you want a snack before dinner?" Self-control and iron-clad discipline thankfully kick in for me. I snap a couple of pics and sadly head away from the truck for I am the master of my domain... So what about Blu Seafood? They don't have bulkogi but what they do have is great food and service! The place was hoppin' tonight and our server Katie went through a long list of specials and additions to the Triangle Restaurant week menu, awesome. Everything sounded great but somehow I ended up with the exact same meal that Serena S. wrote about earlier PLUS a mac n cheese with crab. The calamari was a great start: lightly coated pieces of tender calamari with a light chili sauce showed a deft cooking hand. The mac n cheese had just a hint of delicate crab meat and wasn't overly rich, a great starter. The shrimp and grits were FANTASTIC! Super creamy soft grits with six plump shrimp and bacon?! Really well put-together dish. And the key lime pie wasn't bad at all, very tasty but it could have used a bit more lime tang. Presentation of all the dishes was also really well-done, Blu Seafood plates their food well. Service was quite good for a very busy evening and decor was basic white cloth. You can go to Blu Seafood quite casual or dress it up a bit, your call. All-in-all I was super happy with my meal and would definitely do a full-priced dinner here. It was so good that when we walked back to the car, Allison asked if I wanted an after-meal snack and I said no mas. Not much could stand between me and a bulkogi taco but a great dinner at Blu Seafood certainly did! But some day Bulkogi Taco truck, some day...