If you’re looking for the best places for the most delicious seafood in Gulf Shores, Alabama, we have you covered.
We spent weeks researching, and five days eating nothing but seafood to determine the best places to get local gulf fish and seafood.
Join us on our getaway to the sunny shores of the gulf coast of Alabama.
The sand is powder white, the beaches are pristine, and the fresh fish and seafood are plentiful.
If you’re looking for the ultimate guide to delicious seafood on the Alabama gulf coast, visit these favorites of ours.
Voyagers
By far, the best food we ate in the Gulf Shores region was at Voyagers Restaurant.
Not only did this high-end seaside restaurant mix up the best craft cocktails, but the food on the exquisite dinner menu was nothing short of stellar.
The dining room overlooks the shore but it is a more formal dining scene than most of the restaurants on the Alabama gulf coast.
It’s one of the best restaurants to celebrate a special occasion or a fancy date night.
We started with some broiled oysters. There are four types to choose from, but we couldn’t resist the “Frenchie’, local oysters filled with foie gras and bone marrow butter.
They were rich, tender, and full of flavor.
We were elated to learn that the chef is sometimes able to get lionfish in to add it to the specials menu.
Lionfish is a colorful, venomous fish that is currently overpopulating water in the Caribbean and the gulf of Mexico.
It is also our favorite fish and often difficult to find on menus since the fish needs to be speared to be harvested.
The lionfish was served raw as a crudo with tiradito, pea shoots and boiled peanuts.
While a seemingly unlikely combination, we loved the soft boiled peanuts contrasting with the delicate fish flavor.
If lionfish isn’t on the menu, they almost always have a tiradito on the menu.
We also tried the current seasonal tuna tiradito. It was perfectly balanced between sweet and heat with fried jalapeno slices and compressed watermelon.
Another star on the menu is the chicken fried lobster tails. It was one of the best things we ate all trip and it will be hard to ever go back to chicken fried steak!
Living in Texas, we know our way around anything chicken fried (we even figured out how to make homemade chicken fried steak in the air fryer!) but never have tasted chicken fried lobster.
It is a gamechanger!
The savory, salty batter works so well with the light, sweet flesh of the lobster.
It’s the best way to enjoy the chicken fried batter without being too weighed down.
While we are focusing on seafood for this trip, if you’re looking for red meat, it would be a disservice to not tell you about their premium steak options, some of which are from a local Alabama wagyu farm.
Finally, we ended a terrific meal with an even more terrific dessert.
A basque cheesecake made with pistachio and topped with caramel and pistachio brittle is essentially the dessert of Karen’s dreams and it did NOT disappoint.
27200 Perdido Beach Blvd #3205, Orange Beach, AL 36561
Jesse’s Restaurant
Just west of Alabama’s gulf shore is the town of Fort Morgan and where you’ll find Jesse’s on the Bay.
The building has been a part of the bay for 75 years, but when Jesse’s restaurant opened in 1999, they updated the decor and turned Moore’s Store into a restaurant.
Jesse’s is named after the shopkeeper of Moore’s Store who never missed a day of work in 60 years.
Today, the restaurant features a large wrap-around deck and a wall of gorgeous windows that display the pristine bay in Fort Morgan.
The Admiral oysters are hyper-local, being harvested just a few miles away.
They were served with a flavorful mignonette loaded with Asian flavors.
We also ordered the crab and tasso gratin dip.
This rich dip was served with rolls and loaded with cheesy cream.
Finally, we savored the local shrimp and cheese grits. This southern staple was packed with flavor, making it apparent that the grits were made with love.
This dreamy place on the bay is perfect for date night, without being too expensive.
If you are looking for top-tier beef, the steaks are dry aging right in the waiting area, which would be a delicious addition to all the seafood we savored.
1631 Crosswinds Ct, Gulf Shores, AL 36542
Fire Smoked Fish Company
The Fire Smoked Fish Company specialty market looks unsuspecting from the somewhat humble storefront, but some of the best food we ate in the gulf came from this local smokehouse.
The smoked salmon dip would rival any fish dip from a Michelin-starred eatery. The salmon is smoked and mixed with their homemade remoulade.
The remoulade has a nice kick of mustard and it is so good we were literally eating it by the spoonful.
While we were there the chef was pulling off some cajun Alabama redfish and local triggerfish from the smoker.
Redfish isn’t always our favorite filet of fish, but we were in awe how delicious it was off the smoker.
It was definitely our favorite of all the cajun-style seafood dishes we ate.
The fish is definitely the star at Fire Smoked Fish Company, but it should be known that they also offer smoked sausage and some massive smoked pork chops.
The sausage is juicy and slightly sweet, with a kiss of smoke.
This is not a dine-in establishment, so pick up some smoked fish, a tub of fish dip, and a variety of side dishes at the counter and bring it home or to head to a picnic table for a luxury picnic with great food.
1544 Gulf Shores Pkwy, Gulf Shores, AL 36542
The Perch
The Perch is located at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in the heart of gulf shores and it’s one of the best places to enjoy a view of the ocean from a rooftop.
The first order of business was sipping on their coconut margarita while taking in the views of the coast.
This cocktail was garnished with a toasted coconut rim and was perfectly flavorful, not too sour, not too sweet.
Next, we really enjoyed the champagne poached shrimp cocktail.
The shrimp were plump and sweet.
For our main courses we knew we had to order their specialty, the whole fried fish.
The catch of the day changes depending on what fish was caught that day.
During our visit, they were offering a whole fried flounder, but more often than not you might find them serving up a fried fresh snapper or redfish.
We also savored the colassial Alabama gulf shrimp.
We imagined that this would be served on a skillet in garlic butter, but it actually came on a slice of sourdough topped with a tomato jam, like a tartine, which was surprisingly a favorite!
21196 E Beach Blvd, Gulf Shores, AL 36542
Zeke’s Restaurant
Zeke’s Restaurant is located in the marina vs the gulf coast, but that doesn’t mean that the view is any less charming.
We relaxed on the massive patio on the marina, watching boats come in and pelicans fly across the sunset.
Zeke’s served up really good food and it is a true local favorite.
Their seafood boil is a gigantic seafood platter complete with the freshest seafood.
The serving size was HUGE and loaded with local gulf boiled shrimp, crab legs, PEI mussels, red potatoes, corn on the cob, and local Conecuh Alabama sausage.
It’s the best way to enjoy a seafood feast!
We also couldn’t resist the surf and turf burger. The high quality burger meat featured Alabama wagyu from a local farm and it was topped with lobster and a gulf coast aioli.
While technically the lobster wasn’t local to the gulf, we think it still counts since the beef was super local.
26619 Perdido Beach Blvd, Orange Beach, AL 36561
Murder Point Oyster Company
Who doesn’t love an oyster bar?
Murder Point Oyster Company is the premium oysters coming from the gulf.
They are harvested in the bay, but you can get them shucked at their Murder Point Oyster Company location in The Wharf.
“Oysters worth killing for” is their slogan and they are without question the best oysters you can get from the gulf.
To be transparent, we typically prefer East coast or West coast oysters over oysters from the Gulf, but if we’re going to savor Gulf oysters, we always look for Murder Points.
You can find Murder Point Oysters on many menus across the shore (and also all across the country), but head to their storefront for a quick snack while you’re wandering around The Wharf complex in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Choose from raw oysters on the half shell or oysters that have been grilled with cheese and butter.
We had both types and each of the options were delectable.
23101 Canal Rd F-123, Orange Beach, AL 36561
Cobalt the Restaurant
Cobalt the Restaurant is located in the marina, but still offers a lovely patio with views of boats and sugar-sand Bird Island.
They offer a casual dining setting while still getting your seafood fix.
The fried crab claws are a seafood favorite in gulf shores, so of course we needed to start off our meal with those deep-fried, bite-sized crab morsels.
Like most gulf restaurants, there was no shortage of fresh or broiled oysters, including their creole casino broiled oysters.
Oysters are topped with tasso, cream cheese, gouda cheese, red bell peppers and jalapenos.
They were served with bread and tasted like a mix between pimento cheese, a jalapeno popper, and a broiled oyster.
We also tried the scallop and crab cakes, a meatier version of a traditional crab cake served over slaw and a green tomato sauce.
28099 Perdido Beach Blvd, Orange Beach, AL 36561
Flora-Bama
Flora-Bama is an icon on the gulf shores.
While they serve up a variety of food offerings at the Oyster Bar, from raw options, to those baked with butter and parmesan, to cajun style, to Oysters McClellan, which is topped with butter, gruyere cheese, bacon and green onions.
Enjoy their oysters alongside other pub-style food while you look out at the coast and cool off with their famous Bushwhacker cocktail.
This frozen specialty drink is a milkshake-like blend of coffee liqueur, rum, irish cream, vodka, amaretto, and coconut cream.
This iconic landmark offers live music every single day across multiple stages and is always showing their guests a good time.
It’s evident by the hundreds of bras strung up on lines across the main bar: a donation from ladies who are enjoying the party so much they don’t have a care in the world.
They do offer an easy-going atmosphere, fun for the whole family up until 9pm, and then it converts to an adults-only establishment.
When we visited during the day, kids and adults alike were being entertained by the free bingo games inside.
Grab a plate of oysters and a cold beer and listen to live music while you straddle both Florida and Alabama’s gulf coast.
17401 Perdido Key Dr, Pensacola, FL 32507
CoastAL
If you love key lime pie, be sure to order CoastAL’s frozen key lime pina colada cocktail.
Located in the city of Orange Beach and stretched across the shore, CoastAL has their main restaurant right next to their beach bar.
A courtyard with more tables and a live music stage connect the two.
Both spots are a waterfront restaurant, with the beach bar offering a slightly more easy going environment and more casual menu.
While dining at the beach bar we paired the key lime pina colada cocktail with a serving of their tuna poke nachos.
These tuna “nachos” were so big, they could easily feed 3-4.
It’s a great spot to hang out during the day for a tasty seafood lunch.
25722 Perdido Beach Blvd, Orange Beach, AL 36561
While we have spent a lot of time on the Texas gulf shore, we were floored by how incredible our visit to the Alabama gulf shore was.
The sand was whiter, the ocean was bluer, and the seafood tasted sweeter and cleaner.
You will not be disappointed by your trip to the Alabama gulf coast or in any of the seafood you devour while you’re there!
Check out Visit Alabama’s resources for even more information when planning your trip.
Love Southern Cuisine? Try these Southern-inspired Dishes:
- Southern-Style Seafood Boil Recipe
- The Best White BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Southern Corn Pudding with Brown Butter
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- A Healthier Peach Crisp Recipe
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