Best Lobster on Cape Cod — Lobster Rolls, Clam Shacks & Seafood

Cape Cod’s seafood culture is built on lobster. Fresh lobster arrives daily at dozens of shacks, raw bars, and restaurants. A proper Cape Cod visit requires eating lobster at least once—ideally multiple times, in different formats. The lobster roll debate (warm butter vs. cold mayo) is regional religion. The best clam shacks focus on freshness and simplicity. Arnold’s Lobster & Clam Bar and The Lobster Pot define Cape Cod seafood eating. Both are essential stops.

Best Seafood in New Orleans — Oysters, Crawfish & Gulf Shrimp

New Orleans seafood is not a category—it’s a way of life. The Gulf delivers oysters year-round, crawfish in spring, shrimp that’s so fresh it barely needs more than salt, and fish that tastes like the ocean was just three miles away. The best seafood spots in the city treat these ingredients with respect, let them speak, and don’t overthink it. Garlic butter, hot sauce, crusty bread, and cold beer are the only additions you need.

Best Restaurants in Cocoa Beach

The Space Coast’s food scene centers on fresh Atlantic seafood, laid-back surf-town cafés, and a few waterfront spots that justify driving past the Cape Canaveral chain restaurants.

Seafood

Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill (Port Canaveral) — Waterfront dining overlooking the cruise ship terminal. Fresh catch, stone crab (seasonal), and tropical cocktails. Watch the ships come and go.

Grills Seafood Deck (Port Canaveral) — Two-level restaurant right on the marina. Raw bar, steamed shrimp, and fried fish baskets. The upstairs deck has the best views.

Best Restaurants in Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach has a food scene that surprises people. Behind the boardwalk corn dogs and hotel buffets, there’s serious seafood, local institutions that have been serving for decades, and waterfront dining that rivals anything on the Florida coast.

Seafood — The Reason You’re Here

Inlet Harbor (Ponce Inlet) — Waterfront dining right on the inlet. Watch fishing boats come in while you eat grouper, shrimp, and fresh-catch specials. The blackened fish tacos and peel-and-eat shrimp are local favorites. Sunset views are outstanding.

Best Restaurants in Destin

Destin is the World’s Luckiest Fishing Village — and that means the seafood here is about as fresh as it gets. Charter boats dock at the harbor every afternoon with the day’s catch, and it’s on your plate by dinner.

Waterfront & Harbor

AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar (HarborWalk) — The center of Destin’s dining scene. Waterfront bar, raw oyster bar, and a massive deck overlooking the harbor. The fried grouper sandwich and the oysters on the half shell are the standards. Live music most evenings.

Best Restaurants in Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach’s food identity is Calabash-style seafood — lightly breaded, fried golden, and served in portions that dare you to finish. But the Grand Strand dining scene goes well beyond the all-you-can-eat seafood buffets on Restaurant Row.

Calabash & Seafood

The Original Benjamin’s (North Myrtle Beach) — The biggest Calabash-style seafood buffet on the Grand Strand. 170+ items across multiple stations. Crab legs, fried shrimp, oysters, and a dessert section that’s its own meal. The building is enormous and themed with a pirate ship.

Oceanside is a laid-back beach town 30 miles north of San Diego with a revitalized downtown and excellent fresh seafood. The pier, harbor views, and casual vibe make dining here fun—expect excellent fish tacos, briny oysters, and cold craft beer.

Seafood

353 Pacific (Downtown Oceanside) — Fresh fish, perfectly grilled or fried. Lobster, fish tacos, and ceviche with ocean views. Busy for good reason. $$

Oceanside Pier Cafe (At the Pier) — Right on the pier itself. Fish and chips, grilled mahi, shrimp baskets. Watch surfers while you eat. $$

Best Restaurants in Panama City Beach

PCB’s food scene has grown beyond the typical beach-town chains. Fresh Gulf seafood, a growing waterfront restaurant row at Grand Lagoon, and several locally-owned spots deliver genuine quality.

Seafood

Captain Anderson’s — The most famous restaurant in PCB. Open since 1967. Fresh Gulf seafood, their own fishing fleet, and a wine list that’s won awards for decades. The charbroiled grouper and the snapper are outstanding. Reservations recommended.

Best Restaurants in Seattle

Seattle’s food scene is anchored by the Pacific Northwest’s extraordinary seafood — salmon, Dungeness crab, oysters, geoduck — combined with strong Asian influences from the city’s large Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese communities.

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Chowder — Award-winning clam chowder and seafood bisques. The New England clam chowder is the standard, but the smoked salmon chowder is the sleeper hit. Small space, long line, worth it.

Best Restaurants in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach dining is defined by two things: the Chesapeake Bay (oysters, blue crab, she-crab soup) and the Atlantic (fresh catch, oceanfront dining, and a boardwalk scene that’s evolved beyond corn dogs).

Seafood Institutions

Waterman’s Surfside Grille (oceanfront) — The restaurant that invented the Orange Crush cocktail (fresh-squeezed oranges, orange vodka, triple sec, Sprite). Beyond the signature drink, the she-crab soup and blackened tuna are excellent. Oceanfront patio seating.

Best Restaurants on Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head’s food is anchored by Lowcountry cuisine — shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, and fresh oysters.

Fine Dining

Michael Anthony’s — best Italian. Charlie’s L’Etoile Verte — French-Lowcountry. The Old Fort Pub — romantic Skull Creek views.

Casual

Hudson’s Seafood on the Docks — fresh-off-the-boat overlooking Port Royal Sound. Skull Creek Boathouse — sunset views. One Hot Mama’s — ribs and rock-and-roll.

Breakfast

Signe’s Heaven Bound Bakery — the best breakfast on the island. Harold’s Country Club — a dive institution.