Seafood restaurants in The South
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Lilly's Bistro
Chef Kathy Cary creates 'Kentucky tapas' (think catfish spring rolls, chorizo spoonbread) at this eclectic upscale eatery, a longtime Bardstown Rd favorite. The three-course lunch menu ($15) is a steal.
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Poogan's Porch
Dine on sherried crab soup and toast points in the dim, floral- patterned environs of this supposedly haunted Victorian mansion, tucked away on a downtown side street.
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Drago’s Seafood Restaurant
You used to have to truck out to Metairie to enjoy the oyster creations of Drago Cvitanovich, one of the many Croatian immigrants who brought a heady knowledge of shellfish from the Dalmatian to the Gulf Coast. Now Drago’s has an outpost in the downtown Riverside Hilton. The surf-and-turf menu is alright (we like the ‘Shuckee Duckee’ – a duck breast topped with oysters), but the real draw are the charbroiled oysters, dripping with butter, garlic, parmesan and their own juices after kissing an open fire. It’s one of the better business lunches around, by dint of taste and price.
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Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant
The old school of American seafood cookery believes in the following: fry it, then serve with a lemon wedge. That sounds a little simplistic, we know, but believe us: when chefs perfect the art of batter-frying there are few better ways to consume something from the sea. The cooks at Jack Dempsey’s are in that hallowed, great fry-and-broil fraternity. You may not think there’s a lot of art or pretty edges to a catfish platter and fries, but bite into that firm flesh overflowing with salty, delicious grease and you’ll realize this kitchen is working in its own rarefied air.
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Shucks!
So close to Vermilion Bay and the Gulf, it’s no wonder that Abbeville, 21 miles southwest of Lafayette, is known for oysters. Until recently, you could take your pick of three oyster-shucking restaurants within two blocks. At the time of writing, legendary Black’s had been sold and remained empty. You can still suck ’em down in Dupuy’s Oyster House (337-893-2336; 108 S Main St), first opened here in 1869, and at the newfangled Shucks!. Look up more information at the Vermilion Parish website: www.vermilion.org.
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Dupuy’s Oyster House
So close to Vermilion Bay and the Gulf, it’s no wonder that Abbeville, 21 miles southwest of Lafayette, is known for oysters. Until recently, you could take your pick of three oyster-shucking restaurants within two blocks. At the time of writing, legendary Black’s had been sold and remained empty. You can still suck ’em down in Dupuy’s Oyster House, first opened here in 1869, and at the newfangled Shucks! (337-898-3311; 701 W Port St). Look up more information at the Vermilion Parish website: www.vermilion.org.
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Wreck of the Richard & Charlene
It's practically impossible to find, but don't give up! This unmarked warehouse, down a dirt road overlooking Shem Creek in suburban Mt Pleasant, has what many consider the best fried seafood in the state. Kick back in a plastic chair with a free bowl of boiled peanuts while you wait; finish with the key lime bread pudding. No credit cards.
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Merchant's
In a renovated 19th-century hotel in the heart of the District, this clubby bistro has gleaming parquet floors, white tablecloths and a mahogany bar overlooking Broadway. Splurge on ritzy, old-school fare such as steak au poivre (pepper steak) and chicken Louis. The downstairs Grille has cheaper, more casual eats.
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Taylor Grocery
Be prepared to wait – and to tailgate in the parking lot – at this splendidly rusticated catfish haunt. Get your cat fried or grilled, and bring a marker to sign your name on the wall. The joint is about 7 miles from downtown Oxford, south on Old Taylor Rd.
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1921 Seafood & Oyster Bar
Don’t let the fun neon signs and stuffed marlin on the shack’s wall fool you: the seafood here is serious stuff. In season (February through May) the boiled crawfish served are caught in area bayous, not in the region’s fish farms. And the gulf shrimp are huge.
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Walls Bar-B-Que
Adventurous barbecue-lovers, keep looking until you find this glorious 'cue hut' on a tiny alley between E York St and Oglethorpe off Price St. Once you arrive, order a baseball-size mound of deviled crab - watch out for shell bits - and the juicy smoked pork of your hog-heaven dreams.
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Casamento’s
This is as good as oysters get in New Orleans: a 1949 soda shop-esque sparkling white interior and a big man behind a marble counter shucking shells to order. Get your raw boys with a beer, or try the famous oyster loaf (a sandwich of breaded and fried oysters on white bread).
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Hymel’s Seafood
A local favorite for more than 40 years, this former filling station packs in the patrons. A platter of soft-shell crab or turtle sauce piquant (a stew) might be among the weekday lunch specials. It’s 4 miles downriver from the Sunshine Bridge.
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Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar
Oysters go down easy at this friendly restaurant and raw bar (emphasis on the 'bar'), as do the excellent soft-shell crab sandwiches and sky-high, homemade key lime pie. Don't be shy about ordering a beer before noon; the locals aren't.
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Hank's Seafood Restaurant
Dark wood, tinkly piano music and fine, fine fish mark this Charleston standard, a 1940s-style fish house specializing in rich seafood classics like Oysters Casino and shrimp linguine.
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Lee's Inlet Kitchen
Lee's Inlet Kitchen has been a Murrells Inlet mainstay since 1948. It serves massive platters of scallops, deviled crab and hush puppies in a huge cottage-style building.
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Duffy Street Seafood Shack
This place has a divey, peanut-shells-on-the-floor ambience and a raw bar 'happy hour' with 30¢ shrimp.
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Hot & Hot Fish Club
This crazy-awesome Southside Birmingham restaurant – one of the South's best – will bring you to your knees hollerin' Gastro-Hallelujah's! Chef Chris Hastings was a James Beard Best Chef in the South finalist three years in a row – his daily-changing seasonal menu (including cocktails) is a knockout (the vanilla bean-infused lemonade with sweet tea vodka might be the best cocktail ever). Best seat in the house? The lengthy chef's counter, where Hastings chats up the guests while his unbelievably diverse and chill sous chefs work his creations into culinary genius.
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Goin' Coastal
Atlanta needs another holy ethics-toting restaurant like it needs more traffic; but great seafood is still pretty off the radar here. That changes with this casual neighborhood seafood place in the heart of the Highlands run by a bunch of good ol' fishing buddies. Fresh blackboard catches of the day supplement stunning staples such as lobster tacos ($18), coastal trout ($24) and a heap of delicious sides (creamy grits, jalapeño corn-bread pudding). It only serves eco-acceptable fish and uses hydroponic greens grown with reclaimed water from high-tech urban farms inside reused shipping containers. Futuristic, fun and fabulous.
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Flying Fish
The idea was hatched out of East Texas, but the catfish at this down-home seafood place walkable from Clinton library is classic: you can get it grilled, but you know deep down fried is the only way to go, served with (fried) fries and (fried) hush puppies. When in Rome, folks, when in Rome...
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Acme Oyster & Seafood House
They still shuck oysters to order here, which is a beautiful thing, but when Acme gets busy – which is fairly often – it serves them up pre-shucked. This heresy encapsulates the dance with quality Acme engages in: trying to stay true to its roots as one of the Quarter’s oldest operating seafood joints, but within dangerous proximity of the undiscerning crowds from nearby chain resorts. It’ll even serve gumbo in a bread bowl – nice if you’re from California, but pure madness to local food purists. That said, when Acme is on, it’s on; for midrange solid seafood this is good stuff, but don’t expect the authentic Louisiana bounty of the Gulf you may have been…
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