Fagan's Seafood Restaurant
996 Old River Road
(east bank of the Flats)
(216) 241-6116

The self-proclaimed Flagship of the Flats, Fagan's is set down the street from the Watermark, near the lift bridge. Since I've had brunch at both places, I'll be comparing the two restaurants on that basis.

The brunch at Fagan's contains standard breakfast fare as well as fresh mussels and crab legs. I particularly liked the crab legs. Some of the other dishes, however, were weak. They should rethink some of the casserole dishes - they're bland.

The desserts, however, were wonderful! Probably the best desserts I've had at a brunch since my trip to St. Louis. I liked the hot apple crisp and the creamy cheesecake. I just wish I had coffee to go with them, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Presentation could have been better. The traffic flow around the food tables was poor, leading to lines and congestion. I much prefer the omelette maker at the Watermark, but the omelettes were fine. I prefer having clean plates at the food table, rather than having to schlep clean plates from our table.

The service was, how can I put this, abysmal. No, no...unacceptably bad. Worse-than-none. Yep, all of those fit. Now service is a rare commodity in the Flats, that's a given. At a brunch, however, the server doesn't really have to do much. Get your drink order, bring clean plates, napkins, and the like, and keep your coffee brimming. After waiting entirely too long before being recognized as patrons, we got our drinks ordered. It took a half hour for our server to return and refill the coffee and tea! We had resorted to flagging down bus boys to get a damn cup of coffee! Worse, we had no water to wash anything down with, leaving us at our inadequate server's mercy.

For $16, I expect some service. Between the missing waitress and the long food lines, I have to say that Fagan's is a disappointment. My recommendation is to go to the Watermark or Hornblower's for brunch by the water. Save Fagan's for the evening.

I found the decor to be nautical and rustic.

When we arrived we were professionally greeted and treated very well. We were surprised to find such happy people since dining out in Cleveland seems to be harder than ever before.

Our service was wonderful, efficient & attentive. We found our dining experience, with all of our family from all over the U.S., to be friendly and a memorable experience. Thank you Fagan's for treating us so well and for making our reunion such a pleasant get together.

From the moment we walked in, the hostess was accommodating, our server was happy to serve us and the frequent visit from their manager made us feel so welcome. We were so impressed. Our guests left with such high regard for Cleveland that we had to send in our thanks to Fagan's in the Flat's and we hope to stop back again very soon.

We thought the price for the dinners were intact. In fact, we found that it would cost us just as much to make our meal at home. The ambiance was worth our journey to the Cleveland flats.

Thank you again Fagan's. We appreciate your kindness and hard work. The parking, we heard was horrible, but we found it to be easy. Cleveland has really grown up with the times and we will be back.