Every U.S. state has its own unique take on seafood, featuring a variety of areas from coastal fishing villages to culinary-rich cities. America’s seafood traditions are diverse; You can find buttery lobster rolls in Maine, spicy Gulf shrimp in Louisiana, or fresh-caught salmon in Oregon. Local marine life and regional flavors create dishes that reflect each state’s culture, making seafood one of the most delicious ways to explore the country.
Finding the best seafood in every state means remaining open to the vast number of options, including hidden gems, award-winning restaurants, and local fish markets. Some states are home to well-known favorites that define the area, while others surprise travelers with menu items they didn’t expect. These excellent spots highlight the freshest flavors each state has to offer. Whether you’re planning a food-inspired road trip or traveling to one specific region, this guide will lead you to the top seafood destinations across America.
24/7 Tempo consulted lists, ratings, and reviews from various food-centered websites including Michelin Guide, as well as numerous local and regional sites to determine the top seafood restaurant in every state. Sushi bars and informal seafood shacks will be the subject of future stories, so were omitted from the final results, though some of the restaurants listed may include sushi on their menu.
Alabama: Doc’s Seafood
- Location: Orange Beach
- Dishes to try: Fried shrimp, crab (fried, grilled, or baked), hush puppies
Alaska: Bridge Seafood Restaurant
- Location: Anchorage
- Dishes to try: fresh Alaskan seafood, including tanner crabs, halibut, Alaskan oysters, tiger prawns, salmon, and of course king crab legs
Arizona: The Salt Cellar Restaurant
- Location: Scottsdale
- Dishes to try: halibut ceviche, shrimp toast, halibut cheeks, Baja shrimp
Arkansas: Eat My Catfish
- Locations: Little Rock, North Little Rock, and five other Arkansas locations
- Dishes to try: fresh fried catfish, boiled crawfish, shrimp (blackened, boiled, or fried), and po’boys, with sides like fried okra and hush puppies
California: Providence
- Location: Los Angeles
- Dishes to try: Tasting menu which included uni egg with warm yolk and champagne beurre blanc and Norwegian king crab with sweet pea, sea urchin, and aged ham broth
Colorado: Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar
- Location: Denver
- Dishes to try: Raw bar features a proprietary oyster – the buttery and low-salinity Emersum, tuna poke, crawfish gumbo, seared scallops
Connecticut: The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood
- Location: Rowayton (Norwalk)
- Dishes to try: salmon and tuna tartare, chowders and bisques, steamers, crab cakes, popcorn shrimp, smoked fish dips, steamed lobsters
Delaware: Feby’s Fishery
- Location: Wilmington
- Dishes to try: fried and steamed platters, seafood pasta, lobster tails, lump meat crab cakes, and raw bar appetizers
Florida: Joe’s Stone Crab
- Location: Miami
- Dishes to try: stone crab claws and crab bisque, conch fritters, coconut shrimp, fried grouper
Georgia: Steamhouse Lounge
- Location: Atlanta
- Dishes to try: award-winning lobster bisque, raw oysters, stuffed grouper, fried catfish, grits, and po’boys, roasted and chargrilled oysters
Hawaii: Mama’s Fish House
- Location: Paia (Maui)
- Dishes to try: oysters with mango-lilikoi mignonette, macadamia nut crab cakes, uku (blue-green snapper) baked with coconut, sweet potato, and charred pineapple
Idaho: Fresh Off the Hook
- Location: Boise
- Dishes to try: halibut fish and chips, shrimp scampi, clam chowder, warm teriyaki shrimp salad, salmon BLTs, butter pecan trout, and crab muffins
Illinois: Shaw’s Crab House
- Locations: Chicago and Schaumburg
- Dishes to try: oysters Rockefeller, Alaskan king crab, parmesan-crusted haddock
Indiana: Paula’s on Main
- Location: Fort Wayne
- Dishes to try: almond-crusted walleye with jalapeño tartar sauce, blackened swordfish with horseradish, crispy shallots, and chive mashed potatoes
Iowa: Waterfront Seafood Market
- Locations: West Des Moines and Ankeny
- Dishes to try: raw bar appetizers, fried baskets, pastas, po’boys, halibut royale, Maryland-style crab cakes
Kansas: Mad Jack’s Fresh Fish
- Location: Kansas City (KS)
- Dishes to try: Fried catfish, basa, frog legs, red snapper
Kentucky: River House Restaurant & Raw Bar
- Location: Louisville
- Dishes to try: blackened ahi tuna with tomato ginger chutney over a crispy parmesan grit cake, crispy grouper cheeks over crab and chive risotto with bok choy and smoked shrimp vinaigrette
Louisiana: Pêche Seafood Grill
- Location: New Orleans
- Dishes to try: steak tartare with oyster aïoli, baked drum with mushroom broth, and calas (rice fritters), spicy ground shrimp with noodles
Maine: Eventide Oyster Co.
- Location: Portland
- Dishes to try: Maine oysters, crab claws, and clams, lobster stew, clam chowder, New England clam bake, brown-butter lobster roll
Maryland: The Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant
- Location: Baltimore
- Dishes to try: East and West Coast oysters, Maine lobster cocktail and sturgeon caviar, crab cakes
Massachusetts: Neptune Oyster
- Location: Boston
- Dishes to try: spicy cioppino with shellfish saffron rice, whole mackerel with Basque pepper stew and fennel, sea scallops with fava beans, pancetta, and kelp butter
Michigan: Joe Muer Seafood
- Locations: Detroit and Bloomfield Hills
- Dishes to try: deviled crab balls, lobster corn dogs, tiger shrimp with shaved garlic
Mississippi: Caet Seafood / Oysterette
- Location: Ridgeland
- Dishes to try: shrimp and grits with tasso, corn, and mushrooms, jumbo scallops with white truffle risotto, green tomato pico, and tomato parmesan broth
Missouri: 801 Fish
- Location: Clayton
- Dishes to try: Russian osetra and American hackleback caviar, seared tuna and scallops, lobster tail risotto
Montana: Feast Raw Bar & Bistro
- Location: Bozeman
- Dishes to try: crab cakes, bison carpaccio, halibut with jasmine sticky rice, mango salsa, and coconut sauce
Nebraska: Plank Seafood Provisions
- Location: Omaha
- Dishes to try: oysters Rockefeller, crispy alligator, blackened catfish with dirty rice and creole beurre blanc, walleye puttanesca
Nevada: Lakeside
- Location: Las Vegas
- Dishes to try: fresh langoustine, Hawaiian mahi mahi, Ligurian octopus, and Mediterranean pink rock lobsters
New Hampshire: Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café
- Location: Portsmouth
- Dishes to try: scallops with lobster risotto and broccolini, haddock piccata, New England clam chowder chowder.
New Jersey: Sol-Mar Restaurant
- Location: Newark
- Dishes to try: seafood paella, clams in garlic sauce, octopus salad, bacalhau à Brás (salt cod with matchstick potatoes, scrambled eggs, and black olives)
New Mexico: El Zarandeado
- Location: Albuquerque
- Dishes to try: whole fried mojarra, molcajetes (dishes served in a volcanic stone mortar), ceviche, caldo de siete mares (fish stew)
New York: Le Bernardin
- Location: New York City
- Dishes to try: thin-sliced yellowfin tuna layered with foie gras, baked striped bass with baby leek mousseline, seafood-based tasting menus
North Carolina: Captain Tom’s Seafood Grill & Bar
- Location: Kernersville
- Dishes to try: flounder filets, popcorn shrimp, she-crab soup
North Dakota: Beer & Fish Co.
- Location: Fargo
- Dishes to try: oysters, lobster rolls, bang bang shrimp
Ohio: Frank’s Fish & Seafood Market
- Location: Columbus
- Dishes to try: fried platter, po’boy, gumbo, lobster bisque, salmon salad, clam chowder
Oklahoma: Brent’s Cajun Seafood & Oyster Bar
- Location: Edmond
- Dishes to try: boudin, crawfish, shrimp etouffee, seafood jambalaya, gumbo, po’boy, breaded catfish filets
Oregon: Jake’s Famous Crawfish
- Location: Portland
- Dishes to try: crawfish étouffée, parmesan-crusted steelhead, seafood fettuccine, crab-and-shrimp-stuffed salon
Pennsylvania: Vernick Fish
- Location: Philadelphia
- Dishes to try: mushroom-crusted fluke with morels, peas, and spring onion butter
Rhode Island: Matunuck Oyster Bar
- Location: South Kingstown
- Dishes to try: jambalaya, po’boys, passion fruit oysters with cucumber and salmon roe, lobster pizza on naan bread with mascarpone, arugula, and prosciutto
South Carolina: 167 Raw
- Location: Charleston
- Dishes to try: lobster rolls, tuna burgers, and swordfish pastrami
South Dakota: Jambonz Deux
- Location: Rapid City
- Dishes to try: crawfish étouffée, oysters served fried, roasted, on the half shell, or shooter-style in a shot glass with cocktail, lemon, and spices
Tennessee: Henrietta Red
- Location: Nashville
- Dishes to try: poached scallops with horseradish mousse, red shrimp with charred onions, wilted greens, boiled peanuts, and orange butter, smoked whitefish hand pies
Texas: Hai Cang Harbor Seafood Restaurant
- Location: Houston
- Dishes to try: ginger scallion lobster, soft-shell crab with butter, spotted prawns with tamarind sauce, razor clams with basil leaves
Utah: Current Fish & Oyster
- Location: Salt Lake City
- Dishes to try: char-grilled sea bass with chili buttermilk whey, yu choy greens, and roast tomato, fish stew loaded, with scallops, prawns, mussels, and fish, accented with peanuts and serrano pistou in a coconut lemongrass broth
Vermont: Anchor Seafood Restaurant
- Location: Wilmington
- Dishes to try: lobster rolls, chowder, fried clams, seared ahi tuna, crab and shrimp rangoon, baked stuffed haddock
Virginia: Merroir
- Location: Topping
- Dishes to try: locally raised oysters and Chesapeake Bay crabs
Washington: The Walrus and the Carpenter
- Location: Seattle
- Dishes to try: fried oysters with cilantro aïoli, grilled sardines
West Virginia: Just in Time Seafood
- Location: Martinsburg (closed for the fall/winter 2024 season – will reopen Spring 2025)
- Dishes to try: fresh grouper, snapper, cod, salmon, soft shell crab, fried catfish, hushpuppies, grilled fish and shrimp tacos
Wisconsin: St. Paul Fish Company
- Location: Milwaukee
- Dishes to try: lobster rolls, Baja fish tacos, seafood sandwiches, fried and grilled fish, raw oyster platters, fried walleye
Wyoming: Rocky Mountain Seafood
- Location: Afton
- Dishes to try: halibut tacos, salmon parmesan, clam chowder
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Courtesy of Isabel P. via Yelp.