Most Popular Seafood Restaurant in Every State

Like its siblings, the Mobile outpost of this 11-locations Gulf Coast seafood restaurant serves fresh-shucked oysters in several preparations, crab and shrimp dip, fried crab claws, herb-crusted grouper, boiled deep-water Royal Red shrimp, and many other fish and shellfish preparations.

Using as much local seafood and produce as possible (including Alaskan oysters, scallops, and red king crab legs), Haute Quarter Grill is hailed by Yelp users for its delicious food, exceptional service, and great wine selection.

Poke bowls, seafood sandwiches, and sashimi or smoked fish platters are on the menu at this fish market restaurant. Fresh fish, sold by the pound, includes everything from New Bedford scallops to harpoon-caught swordfish from the company’s own Pacific Coast boat (the Chula).

It’s Southern all the way at this casual Little Rock bistro that offers plenty of fish and shellfish, including fried green tomatoes with crabmeat, shrimp or catfish po-boys, and seared redfish with garlic grits.

This Orange County “fish & lobster house” (as they call themselves) features lobster sriracha mac and cheese, garlic parm lobster fries, and lobster quesadillas, as well as a more traditional lobster roll, which is “awesome” according to Yelpers. Salads, fish sandwiches, and daily grilled fish specials (with or without a flat iron steak on the side) are also available.

Pizza and oysters might not be a classic combination, but those are the specialties at this taverna (there is a second location, with a winery attached, in Littleton). Yelp reviewers rave about the chargrilled oysters, which come in four variations, above all. The menu also lists tuna crudo, lobster gnocchi, and shrimp Fra Diavolo, among other seafood specialties.

Part of a six-unit chain in the Midwest and on the East Coast, this Kansas City-style steak and seafood emporium offers plenty of fish and shellfish — including oysters, fried calamari, lobster cobb salad, and daily fresh fish — as well as signature steaks and other entrees.

Part of an 11-restaurant Delaware restaurant group that includes four Big Fish Grills, this iteration of the concept is located in the Riverfront development along the Christiana River. The oysters, pumpkin crab bisque, fried seafood combo, and Costa Rican tilapia are among the dishes Yelpers have praised.

Part of a small Florida chain, this Peruvian restaurant specializes in ceviche (13 varieties plus two combination ceviches are offered) and the related tiraditos (seven kinds), but also serves a full menu of other Peruvian specialties, both seafood and meat.

This casual New American “hidden gem” (according to one Yelp reviewer) features plenty of seafood, including tuna tataki, blackened wasabi mahi mahi sandwich, Creole shrimp and grits, crabmeat-stuffed blackened salmon, and more.

This is one of six Roy’s locations around Hawaii, all of them under the ownership of founding chef Roy Yamaguchi. The seafood choices on the fusion-style menu range from unconventional sushi and poke to such fish as macadamia nut-crusted mekajiki (broadbill swordfish) and spicy garlic buttered Kauai prawns.

Meat may be the focus at this elegant Boise steakhouse, but there’s plenty of seafood, too. Pacific oysters, Dungeness crab cocktail, sauteed pink abalone, grilled Hawaiian swordfish, and pan-seared Atlantic scallops are among the choices.

With a small menu approximately evenly divided between meat and seafood, this Latin-inspired wine bar offers Creole jalapeno shrimp, crab cakes with remoulade, and “Latin lobster,” a lobster tail dipped in cilantro-citrus vinaigrette, among other dishes.

“Bringing the Best of the Sea to Indy,” according to their website, Caplinger’s on Shadeland Avenue, part of a three-unit local chain, combines a fish market and a casual counter-order restaurant. Yelp reviewers praise the soft shell crab and grilled fish sandwiches, the lobster roll, and the fried whitefish, among other dishes, and the restaurant will prepare any fish bought from their market cases at no extra charge.

Crab cakes with green tomatoes, a smoked fish assortment, potato-crusted salmon, and bouillabaisse are among the seafood offerings at this wood-panelled, high-ceilinged restaurant and lounge.

At this flagship of the small East Coast and Midwestern chain named in honor of legendary Kansas City restaurateur Joe Gilbert, there’s a good selection of seafood, but even the steaks may be garnished with such extras as Georges Bank scallops, lobster tail, or king crab legs.

Fresh Prince Edward Island mussels in six different preparations, served with local-baked artisan bread, are the big draw for seafood-lovers at this surf-and-turf establishment (one of two locations in Louisville). Fish tacos, seafood sliders, and sweet and spicy calamari round out the non-meat choices.

Yelpers love this big, warmly furnished NOLA seafood palace for its “amazing” lobster bisque, “famous” lobster dumplings, barbecue shrimp and grits, John Dory with asparagus and blue crab, “scalibut” (halibut in a crust of thinly sliced scallops), and more.

The menu of fresh, often local seafood changes daily here, but there’s always an impressive selection of oysters from Maine and elsewhere, and other dishes might include fluke ceviche, lobster stew with coconut and green curry, a brown butter lobster roll, and a fish sandwich.

This old-style oyster house specializes in what the website calls “traditional and modern Maryland, Mid-Atlantic, and New England seafood.” There’s a serious raw bar, and the menu also highlights such dishes as crispy Point Judith calamari, fried Long Island Sound oysters, Chesapeake rockfish, and a 5-pound Maine lobster stuffed with scallops, shrimp, and crab (to serve four to six).

Customers regularly wait in line (no reservations are accepted) at this small seafood bistro for the well-reviewed clam chowder, lobster roll, and Neptune johnnycake — a kind of fish pancake topped with smoked fish and caviar.

Steaks and a few Italian dishes aside, Mr. Paul’s offers plenty of seafood choices, including Chesapeake Bay oysters both raw and Rockefeller, broiled shrimp Caesar salad, sauteed Lake Erie perch, and macadamia-nut-encrusted walleye. Gulf shrimp or frogs’ legs may also be added to any of the steaks.

This steakhouse chain has 59 locations and features abundant seafood on its otherwise meaty menu. Lobster and crab cakes, tuna tartare, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, and citrus-glazed salmon with marcona almonds are just some of the fish and shellfish dishes served, and there is a seared tenderloin with butter-poached lobster tails for what the restaurant calls “the ultimate steak and seafood experience.”

Yelpers love the Royal Red shrimp here (“like mini lobsters hiding in shrimp clothing,” writes one), and the oysters get good reviews, too. One of an 11-unit Gulf Coast seafood restaurant chain, this Half Shell, like the others, also serves crab and shrimp dip, fried crab claws, herb-crusted grouper, and a good assortment of other fish and shellfish dishes.

This casual Cajun/Creole seafood restaurant and music venue serves oysters 10 ways, along with Gulf Coast peel-and-eat shrimp, lobster po’boys, crawfish etouffee, blackened ahi tuna fajitas, and more. Yelp reviewers call it “a definite must” and “weird in a good way.”

Despite its somewhat generic-sounding name, Montana Fish Company is a Japanese restaurant specializing in sushi and sashimi. A poke tuna bowl and black sea bream ceviche are also served, and in addition to more conventional sushi preparations, there are such specialties as the M.F.C. roll, a combination of seared wagyu tenderloin, Hokkaido scallop, snow crab, tempura shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms.

Crispy buttermilk clam strips, Yukon gold “chowder” fries with bacon and clams, smoked salmon carbonara, and yellowfin tuna sliders are among the more unusual seafood dishes here, though more conventional preparations like shrimp cocktail, trout meuniere, and a selection of fish simply grilled or blackened are also available.

Mexican seafood in many forms fills the menu here: three kinds of aguachile (a ceviche variation); Mexican-style seafood cocktails; tacos made with marlin, octopus, shrimp and more; octopus, shrimp, or fish tostadas… And Bajamar serves “the freshest fish you will find in Vegas,” according to one fan on Yelp.

New Hampshire: Hooked Seafood Restaurant

Sister restaurant and next-door neighbor to Ignite Bar & Grille, Hooked has an extensive raw bar, and serves such full-flavored specialties as Costa Rican fish tacos, calamari tossed in cayenne lime aioli, and Aegean haddock piccata, as well as a cioppino beloved of Yelp users.

A meal at this BYOB urban seafood shack might start with Buffalo shrimp bites, seafood gumbo, or polenta poppers (“our bite-sized take on shrimp & grits”), then proceed to crab cakes, fried oysters, or a choice of shrimp, scallops, or three different kinds of fresh fish, any of them served blackened, fried, or grilled.

Pasta is the focus here, but most varieties can be prepared with shrimp. There are also two versions of calamari; shrimp scampi and spicy steamed mussels; and salmon in four forms.

One of 15 Del Frisco’s restaurants around the country, this Manhattan establishment honors the common steakhouse tradition of serving plenty of seafood as well as meat. A shellfish plateau includes king crab legs, jumbo shrimp, and crab claws. There’s a shrimp tasting involving three different sauces, and; the jumbo crab cake comes with Cajun lobster cream sauce. Salmon, tuna, Chilean sea bass, and more are among the entrees.

The seafood specialties are scattered throughout this Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant, but Yelp reviewers single out such dishes as the Key lime mahi mahi, surf and turf burrito, spicy shrimp tacos, and spiced calamari, among others.

Seafood dishes join the meat choices at this “casual fine dining” restaurant. Rare seared ahi tuna, day boat sea scallops with house bacon and lobster red curry sauce, lobster fettuccine, and lemon-grilled wild Alaskan coho salmon — as well as a daily fish special — are among the offerings. “Phenomenal food” and “so good” enthuse Yelpers.

“Best sushi in town,” “fabulous sushi!,” and “a must visit for all sushi lovers,” according to Yelpers. Beyond the extensive sushi and sashimi offerings, there are numerous cooked fish and shellfish dishes and even several Korean seafood specialties.

Louisiana-style boiled seafood — crawfish, king crab, snow crab, clams, and head-on shrimp — is the focus here, but there are also seafood po’boys, crab cakes, crab or crawfish wontons, fried oysters or catfish, and plenty of other fish and shellfish choices.

Styling itself “a petit restaurant,” this casual place in a Portland suburb lists smoked salmon mousse and prawns Pernod on its small printed menu. It also features “market-inspired” seafood specials, such as Dungeness crab cakes or halibut, nightly, and hosts an annual fall Maine lobster festival.

Born in New York City’s East Village in 2009, Luke’s Lobster has expanded to some 43 locations (including food trucks, food hall installations, and brick-and-mortar restaurants) all over America and in Japan and Taiwan. Luke’s Rittenhouse location, one of two in the City of Brotherly Love, serves the typical Luke’s menu of lobster, crab, or shrimp rolls, lobster grilled cheese, and chilled lobster tale.

Caribbean and Mediterranean flavors are prominent in such Red Fin dishes as oysters with mango mignonette, Caribbean scallops with stir-fried chorizo rice, and seafood paella. Lobster mac and cheese, fish tacos, and crab quesadillas left one Yelp reviewer “content and happy” last summer.

A “chipper” and pub combination, The CODfather serves an appropriately limited menu of fish and chips (of course) with house-made tartar sauce, fish sandwiches on toasted sesame seed hoagies, and the traditional accompaniments of mushy peas and curry sauce (plus sausage rolls and savory pies for the non-piscatorially inclined).

This old-school Chinese restaurant is surprisingly good, say Yelp reviewers. The extensive menu offers more than about 20 dishes — Hunan-style crispy shrimp is one of the chef’s specialties — plus combinations involving crabmeat and scallops.

A “Southern coastal grill” roughly 350 miles from the nearest seacoast, 1885 serves shrimp and grits, shrimp and crawfish étouffée, fried flounder, and North Carolina rainbow trout, among other fish and shellfish dishes, and salmon or shrimp may be added to any of the salads.

Chef Tyson Cole’s original Uchi in Austin spawned the offshoot Uchiko there and an Uchi in Houston, and this outpost opened in the Dallas Arts District in 2015. The fare is Japanese, often through a contemporary American filter, with fresh seafood flown in daily from Japan. Sushi and sashimi are joined by such creations as thin-sliced flounder with candied quinoa and ocean trout with coconut milk, grapes, and fennel.

The “dock to table” wild-caught seafood served here includes Hawaiian monchong (also called pomfret) and mahi mahi and Maine scallops. The steak side of the menu here concentrates on acclaimed Snake River Farms American wagyu beef, with which Harbor offers the possible accompaniments of shrimp, crab, lobster, lobster tail, or scallops.

Another restaurant equally strong in both steak and seafood, reminding one Yelper of the “great steak and seafood houses of 20 years ago.” Another called the clam chowder “amazing.” Scallops St. Jacques, horseradish salmon, and twin lobster tails are among the other seafood dishes.

This popular Tidewater establishment is devoted largely to local seafood, including fried Eastern Shore oysters, crab soup, broiled lump crab cakes, and a daily fisherman’s catch (grilled shark stuffed with crab and shrimp was a special around Labor Day last year).

As its name suggests, it’s all about the chowder at this seafood stop in Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market (there is a second location at the nearby Pacific Place Center). The soup took first place at the Great Chowder Cook-Off in Newport, Rhode Island, for three years in a row, before being retired from the field and getting inducted into the competition’s Hall of Fame. Lobster and Dungeness crab rolls, fish and chips (including a salmon version), and fish tacos fill out the menu.

Yelp reviewers love this place. “Oh.My.Gosh!!!,” “Never had a bad meal,” and “We eat here at least once a week!” are among the comments. The gumbo gets particular shoutouts. Jambalaya, shrimp and chips, salmon burgers, king crab legs, and pan-seared sea scallops are among the other dishes offered.

An extensive retail fish market and a true oyster bar are part of the scene here, and the menu seems to go on forever. Bouillabaisse is a specialty; six varieties of fish are available Milwaukee fish fry style; there are fish sandwiches and tacos; and the appetizer choices range from herring in cream sauce to smoked salmon on a stick to a calamari Caesar.

Though seafood isn’t mentioned in the name of this 10-unit chain, there’s plenty available on the menu, including crabmeat-stuffed mushrooms, fried Louisiana-style catfish, cedar plank salmon, shrimp and scallop pasta Alfredo, and fresh grilled fish of the day (a sample selection: Hawaiian marlin, British Columbian salmon, and ahi tuna from the Philippines).