Dallas may be hundreds of miles away from the nearest coastline, but that doesn’t stop the city from being a prime destination for fresh seafood. Home to modern brasseries with South African influences, beachfront-inspired seafood shacks, and suburban gems with butter-soaked seafood platters, the city is bountiful when it comes to finding great seafood. Whether it’s boiled, fried, grilled, or stuffed in a roll, Dallas has it all. Consider this guide for a top-quality exploration of Dallas’ best seafood dishes.
Red Crab Juicy Seafood
This Florida-based chain, known for its indulgent seafood boils, has three DFW locations. Find heaping platters of plump head-on or head-off shrimp, hearty king crab legs, and savory green or black mussels with corn, potatoes and sausage drenched in Cajun sauce, lemon pepper, or garlic butter. Be adventurous, and combine all three for the mouth-watering Juicy special… and if you can handle it, make it spicy. Red Crab Juicy Seafood offers five spice levels, ranking from no spice to extra hot, with the medium known to cause a sweat. Multiple locations, redcrabseafood.com
Dock Local
Dock Local entered the Dallas dining scene in 2020, courtesy of service industry veteran Brett Curtis. Along with its mouthwatering lobster rolls, the food hall puts an innovative spin on classic coastal fare and goes the extra mile with housemade sauces and specialty Dockside pickles and “crab” chips. The Lobster Grinder ($20) is a staple of the menu. Lobster, Langostino lobster tails, shrimp, lobster claw, and knuckle meat are tossed in light mayo and generously stuffed into a fluffy roll before being topped with herbs, a drizzle of house sauce, and melted butter. 211 S. Akard St., Dallas, thedocktexas.com
Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar
Brothers, Greg and Nik Katz, bring a little bit of Green Point to Dallas with Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar. The suburb of Cape Town, South Africa is where their grandparents live, and the duo’s restaurant gives Dallasites a little taste of the beachside town, with a dash of New Orleans, and a whole lot of the Gulf. The seafood gumbo ($15) is a must, and the La Perla Platter ($65) serves as a great sampling, combining four each of the oysters, jumbo cocktail shrimp, and crab claws with a serving of red snapper and shrimp ceviche. 3219 Knox St., Dallas, greenpointdallas.com
S.&D. Oyster Company
For 47 years, restaurateur Herb Story was at the helm of S.&D. Oyster Company. In 2023, he passed the torch to the co-owners of Rex’s Seafood, another local seafood institution and fan-favorite. It was a smooth transition, and S.&D.’s loyal fanbase remains. The dining room inside the 130-plus-year building boasts classic red gingham tablecloths and exposed brick, offering a charming setting in which to dine. Guests can also take to the courtyard, a breezy and ideal space to slurp freshly shucked oysters or a serving of New Orleans Bar-B-Q shrimp ($10). 2701 McKinney Ave., Dallas, sdoyster.com
Aw Shucks
For more than four decades, the Peterson family has brought a little bit of the beach to the greater Dallas area. Aw Shucks has grown from a beach-front inspired shack on Lower Greenville to five locations across North Texas under the Aw Shucks and Big Shucks names. Gulf oysters from Jeri’s Seafood are served on ice by the half dozen, and a make-your-own cocktail sauce bar adds to the experience. Highlights of the menu include the house specialty shrimp cocktail ($10) served in a chilled beer mug; whole Mississippi catfish; and showstopping seafood boils. The Shucks boil comes with a pound each of snow crab and head-on shrimp, a half pound of sausage, corn, and potatoes. Drench it in Aw Shucks spicy garlic seasoning for a bold punch of flavor. Multiple locations, awshucksdallas.com
