Among the old school classics on the menu at this legendary restaurant is a whole New Zealand pink snapper, cooked a la plancha. It's served butterflied, and finished in a lemon caper butter, alongside smashed and roasted fingerlings and a leek fondue. [Krieger]

A steakhouse may seem like an odd choice as one of the standout whole fish establishments, but Chef Christos Kalamvokis sources his branzino and dorade from his native Greece, and, at $27 per pound, it’s a great deal. He grills is whole and offers it up deboned with lemon, dill and capers. [Photo courtesy of 212 Steakhouse]

At his creative Venetian-Japanese hit, Chris Jaeckle offers a two-pound plus Mediterranean branzino for two, grilled whole with ginger, garlic, lemon, and stuffed with parsley, mint and chervil. It’s deboned and served with house-made, barrel-aged fish sauce. And just thanks to size along, the resulting fish is meatier and more flavorful that its smaller counterparts. [Krieger]

Though open less than a year, this Mediterranean restaurant has already become one of the most popular spots on the Upper West Side. Whole, meaty branzino flown in from the Mediterranean are stuffed with rosemary and garlic, drizzled with a lemon and olive oil dressing, sprinkled with sea salt, and finally roast in a clay oven. [Photo courtesy of Bustan]

At Marc Forgione's Laotian-leaning restaurant, whole Sea Bream is scored, floured and fried until the skin is super crisp, then glazed with a caramel fish sauce and served with tamarind-peanut sauce and crispy shallots. It also comes with a mound of lettuce leaves, which diners are meant to wrap chunks of fish with. [Photo courtesy Khe-Yo]

Dorade flown in twice a week from the Mediterranean is the whole fish of choice at this Soho favorite, which is still hopping after ten years. Chef Josh Capon removes the inner skeleton and rubs the inside with fresh herbs and olive oil. He then seasons the skin, grills it, and finishes the fish with lemon shallot vinaigrette and fresh thyme. [Krieger]

It's hard to find a fresher fish dinner than the truite au bleu at Hugue Dufour's Montreal-style Long Island CIty steakhouse, where trout is kept swimming in a cement tank in the kitchen. Once ordered, a chef fishes one out, kills and cleans it, then bathes it in white wine vinegar, which reacts with enzymes in the skin and turns it blue. The trout is poached with court bouillon, potatoes, and cabbage, then dressed with brown butter, remoulade, and chives. [Marguerite Preston]

Along with cheese pizzas and naan, Danny Bowien is cooking whole fish in the wood fired oven at the newly opened Mission Chinese. It's cooked "drunken style," dressed with charred, pickled chilies, fresh turmeric, and Szechuan peppercorn oil. [Ben Jay]

Remarkably fresh, oversized Mediterranean branzino is grilled simply with olive oil and capers, then fileted tableside at this cozy restaurant. As a bonus for these winter months, the dining room has a roaring fire in the back.