Seafood abounds in South Louisiana and in New Orleans especially. Boiled seafood is so popular here that during crawfish season you can buy them by the pound, cooked, right at the grocery store. Whether you’re looking to get messy with a big platter of boiled seafood or you’re wanting something more elevated, there are dozens of good places to try in and around town. Here are 10 noteworthy places serving the best seafood in New Orleans.
Bevi Seafood Company
The seafood platters at Bevi Seafood Company (236 N Carrollton Ave) are the main draw, but they also offer po’boys and other classics. On top of stellar fried shrimp and fried catfish, you can choose from crawfish, crab, or shrimp boils or sit down for a plate of oysters. Softshell crabs are great in season but the BBQ Shrimp, slathered in beer sauce, are a must-have.
Insider’s tip: Bevi is also one of our top picks for the best po’boys in New Orleans!
Cajun Seafood
With an extensive po’boy menu, fried rice, gumbo, and even yakamein (beef noodle soup), you can also bring your seafood-squeamish friends to Cajun Seafood (1479 N Claiborne Ave). No-frills and nothing complicated here. Just a large menu of great boiled and fried seafood platters.
On warm days it can get rowdy, and the wait can carry into one to two hours, but it’s worth it if you’re there for a large haul of goods. Try every variety of crab imaginable, fried softshells and oysters, and shrimp pasta.
Still hungry? On your way out, grab a stick of crawfish boudin – an ingenious sausage made with crawfish, spices, and rice – for “dessert.”
Poke-Chan
For something a little different than typical Louisiana fare, head to Poke-Chan for some of the best poke you can find. On top of quality build-your-own bowls (they cut their own fish in the back), expect rotating specials like deep-fried yellowtail collar and salmon croquettes. The takoyaki (fried octopus) and unagi-don (eel and rice) are some of our favorites. We also recommend grabbing a taiyaki (ice cream in a fish-shaped wafer) on your way out for dessert.
Frankie and Johnny’s
Frankie and Johnny’s (321 Arabella St) was opened in 1942 by brothers-in-law Frankie and Johnny. This neighborhood hangout is just down the way from Domilise’s. Crawfish season here is buzzing. So expect beer-chugging, shell-picking crowds when the weather’s nice. In addition to the exceptional boiled shrimp, they have crab cakes, fried shrimp, and fried catfish. Do not leave without chucking down a few of their standout chargrilled oysters (best enjoyed with a couple of beers.)
Big Ez Seafood
With locations in Harvey, Kenner, and Gretna, Big Ez Seafood is a hotspot for boiled seafood and they carry every boil imaginable. Go during the week during off-peak hours or expect a wait. Best enjoyed with several people, order bagfuls of mussels, several kinds of crab, crawfish, and shrimp. You can choose from several boil seasonings but their specialty is the popular Viet-Cajun mix. They have some of the best fried oysters in town and it is mandatory that you grab a few deep-fried soft-shell crabs to dip in their house cajun aioli.
Mukbang
Uptown restaurant Mukbang Seafood melds Louisiana classics with Southeast Asian flare. On top of the usual seafood by the pound and po’boys, you can eat unique offerings like crawfish eggrolls, blackened catfish with garlic noodles, and cajun fried rice with catfish. All boiled seafood can be tossed in spicy cajun seasoning, garlic butter, or the house Mukbang mix. If you’re extra hungry, grab an order of clams tossed with the garlic butter AND Mukbang mix.
Mosquito Supper Club
For a uniquely Louisianan experience, Uptown’s Mosquito Supper Club (3824 Dryades St) offers a seasonal, seafood-heavy menu that changes weekly. Chef Melissa Martin delivers delectable gumbos of locally caught seafood, shrimp boulettes, jambalaya, oyster soup, and fried soft-shelled crab among other specialties. Martin prides herself on her personal relationships with her local purveyors and also has a James Beard award-winning cookbook that’s a must-have for professional and amateur cooks alike.
GW Fins
For a supreme seafood dining experience, head to GW Fins in the French Quarter. The menu changes daily based on the catch and they source a large part of their menu from the Gulf. You’ll find cuts here you won’t anywhere else – like their must-get tempura fin wings. Other standouts include the lobster dumplings, duck crackling crusted drum, and the signature Scalibut – halibut rimmed with scallops.
Seafood Sally’s
Located in Uptown, this venture from the owners of industry-favorite Marjie’s Grill offers a mix of creative fare and classic seafood plates. Get the Louisiana Crab-Santhemum (lump crab and crab fingers with crab fat lemongrass chili butter), BBQ blue crabs, or chilled boiled lake crabs. As with most seafood joints in New Orleans, Seafood Sally’s does chargrilled oysters but they’re particularly worthwhile here.
LUVI
Another industry favorite, chef Gong has built a reputation for both creative flare and meticulous quality with Luvi. On top of a slew of Asian-themed vegetable and meat dishes, Gong has some of the most compelling seafood in the city.
Try the fried tuna meatballs, any of his various fish-collar specials (including the hamachi), or his rotating raw bar specials. For $50, you can order an omakase-style “Feed Me” option where chef Gong will feed you his best catches of the day, complete with wine or sake pairing.
Born in Louisiana and residing in Northwest Arkansas, Joshua is a chef who loves to cook as much as he loves to eat. When he’s not recipe testing or exploring the restaurant scene, he hosts bar trivia and dabbles in film photography. He has a dog and a cat and his favorite thing to eat is Thai food.