Where to Buy Tinned Fish and Seafood in Cleveland

If you’ve been seeing tinned fish everywhere you look lately, you’re not imagining anything. Despite being in existence for more than 300 years, canned seafood is having a big moment, both nationally and locally. Not only are the colorful tins appearing in larger numbers at imported foods markets, gourmet groceries and wine shops, they are landing on Cleveland restaurant menus for the first time.

The question that comes to mind for obsessive tinned fish fans like me is: What the heck has taken so long.

“I think a lack of knowledge, intimidation and a stigma are the three factors that are keeping us from experiencing this delicacy,” says Natasha Pogrebinsky, chef at South Side in Tremont. “I think in America we experienced tin fish as a last-resort food associated with poverty and not being able to get fresh fish. Many people don’t understand that there is such a thing as a tinned-fish delicacy.”

Tinned fish – or conservas – began its recent climb in American popularity during the pandemic, when many of us were forced to raid the dusty lower shelves of our pantries in search of sustenance. The shelf-stable foodstuffs proved ideal for shutdown-friendly activities like camping in the backyard, attending porch concerts and getting drunk while watching Tiger King. But it was social media that transformed the previously niche products into the latest viral trend.

Many Northeast Ohio shoppers were first exposed to tinned fish at markets and groceries that catered to specific cultures and ethnicities. In Ohio City, the Mediterranean Imported Foods store at the West Side Market has long been a haven for those looking for a taste of home.

“Back then, we were dealing primarily with European clients,” says George Kantzios, who used to own the store. “To many of our customers, this to them is dinner: a can of sardines, a piece of bread, a tomato – and can’t forget about the wine.”

These days, Kantzios runs Agora Foods International, an importer of Mediterranean specialty items that make their way to establishments all over town, including his Astoria Cafe & Market. Since opening day, the market steadily has increased its tinned fish inventory to keep pace with growing demand.

“When we opened Astoria six years ago, the average age of somebody buying products like these was in their 50s and we’ve seen that drop down to the late-20s to mid-30s,” says cheesemonger Tom Leguard. “I have to give the nod to TikTok and other forms of social media because it’s become one of the top-trending items.”

In addition to stocking approximately 40 different tins lovingly packed with anchovies, tuna, trout, mussels, sardines, squid, octopus, razor clams, cockles and other gems from the sea, Astoria recently began building boards around them for dine-in enjoyment. The seafood is paired with cured olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh vegetables, pickled peppers, lemons and crackers or bread.

Like Astoria, the Wine Spot in Cleveland Heights started off with just a few tins of seafood on display by the register. That small selection has blossomed into an entire shelving unit stocked with roughly 50 different cans.

“It was slow going at first, but over the years people definitely started to notice it more,” says staffer Abie Stefanchik. “A lot of that is hand-sell, talking to people about what the product is and why it’s not that $1.50 tin of sardines that you’d find at the grocery store.”

Customers can try before they buy thanks to tinned fish boards that include accouterments like olives, cornichons, pickled peppers, lemon and Spanish hot sauce. Platters can be built around any item in the selection. The prices vary considering that individual tins can range from $4 for sardines to $33 for sea urchin in brine.

To drink, Stefanchik generally recommends a crisp Spanish or Portuguese white wine or pilsner beer, but it really depends on the sauce the fish is in.

More and more Cleveland restaurants are adding canned fish to their menus, typically as shareable appetizers. Places like Alea, Cent’s Pizza and Pearl Street Wine Bar will soon be joined by the Judith and Evelyn.

South Side is one of the first local restaurants to consistently offer its guests tinned fish, which lately consists of Spanish smoked mussels – served in the can – with cucumbers, lemons and grilled rustic bread. For Ukrainian-born chef Pogrebinsky, tinned fish serves as both a taste of childhood and an icebreaker.

“I get to talk to diners about growing up eating those foods,” she says. “South Side makes its living off burgers, but I get to do specials, and opening people up to foods through a can of mussels is a conversation I get to have that I wouldn’t have had before.”

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