The best seafood restaurants in Orlando to check out right now

Todd English’s Bluezoo is a AAA Four-Diamond award-winning restaurant at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. The restaurant focuses on supporting farmers, which is evident through the menu. Starters here are big enough to share, and I love the crab nachos piled high with big pieces of lump crab meat, and the Thai moules frites made with sustainable mussels. For mains, the whole roasted fish is another sharable option, but if you want your own entree, the lobster bucatini with chervil butter or the tempura fried Cantonese lobster are always a hit.

The Osprey serves modern coastal cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere in the Baldwin Park neighborhood of Orlando. The restaurant has an impressive raw bar menu filled with items like freshly shucked oysters from Florida and the Mid-Atlantic served with champagne mignonette and cocktail sauces, as well as shrimp cocktails and seafood towers. When it’s time for entrees, be sure to ask your server for suggestions because the menu is seasonal and changes often, but the fish and chips are always a staple for me.

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For over 25 years, people have been venturing from all over Orlando to get fresh seafood from High Tide Harry’s. Every day, the restaurant's team sources the best seafood to create dishes with grouper, mahi, and tuna. You can also pick from a menu filled with clam strips, which most Floridians prefer for clams. For landlubbers, there’s also steak, chicken, and pasta on the menu.

While it may be known for its steaks, Sear + Sea Woodfire Grill at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek is worth driving across town for its seafood dishes. Start with a refreshing appetizer like tuna crudo with mojito compressed watermelon, shrimp cocktail, or a shellfish platter. Mains at the restaurant are just as delightful as the appetizers, with dishes like branzino with salsa verde, fresh catch with gochujang butter, and uni gnudi. Pair any of this with one of the restaurant’s 1,200 bottles of wine for an exceptional meal.

Since 1950, Lee and Rick’s Oyster Bar has served fresh oysters to locals in central Florida. What started as a nine-stool hot spot now has 50 seats, but the menu has expanded beyond just raw or steamed oysters. You can get everything from shrimp and snow crab to crawfish and gator bites. Just be sure to walk in early if you want to get one of the prized seats at the bar so you can watch the oyster-sucking action in real-time. The bar is also the only spot to get buckets of raw or steamed oysters, which is great for sharing.

Nestled in a corner of Disney Springs is The Boathouse, where the fish is guaranteed to be caught less than 36 hours before making it to your plate. The restaurant has ample indoor and outdoor seating. If the weather is nice, definitely ask for a seat on the patio, which overlooks the lake at Disney Springs and is a prime spot to watch the Amphicars (cars that swim!) on the lake. The raw bar oyster options are delectable and are on display right when you walk into the restaurant. No matter what seafood dish you choose to get, be sure to get a side of truffle fries, which come with a zesty lemon aioli to dip.

With two locations in the city, Boston Lobster Feast is ready to serve you no matter what area of town you’re in. The restaurant is known for its all-you-can-eat lobster feasts for $68. The meal starts with a cold bar, where salads and sauces are abundant. Be sure to try the lobster and shrimp salad for a taste of the Northeast. Then the raw bar has a small selection of sushi and raw seafood items. There are three soup options and a huge list of entrees to pick from including whole lobster, snow crab legs, fried calamari, and oysters Rockefeller. Of course, no seafood dinner is complete without hushpuppies (fried cornmeal balls, often with diced onions), which are cooked to order.

If you’re looking for a fun place to enjoy views of the water, fresh seafood and an umbrella-clad libation, Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar is the spot. With three locations around Central Florida, there are plenty of options. The menu has seafood delights like smoked fish dip, poke bowls, fish tacos, and coconut shrimp. Pair your meal with a hurricane cocktail for a full tiki bar experience.

In the Winter Park neighborhood, Boston’s Fish House has been serving hungry customers craving New England-style seafood since 1988. On the menu, you’ll find things like New England steamer clams, lobster bisque, whole belly clams, and chilled lobster salad sandwiches. If you’re looking for a taste of the South, though, consider the fried catfish sandwich, where the filets are served golden brown and crispy on a baked sub roll. The cozy restaurant has a distinctly nautical theme without being too over-the-top fancy for the type of seafood they are dishing out.

One of the prime seafood restaurants in the city is nestled within Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Narcoossee’s is set along the banks of Seven Seas Lagoon in its own building away from the resort's main lobby. The waterfront restaurant features a host of local seafood, showcased in dishes like chilled seafood towers and a unique ocean-inspired charcuterie board loaded with lobster sausage, octopus capicola, and ahi tuna pastrami. Entrees highlight the sea's bounty with classic surf and turf, blackened redfish, gulf shrimp bucatini with house-made pasta, and plancha-seared scallops with Parisian-style gnocchi.

With locations around Orlando and its outlying areas, Mr. & Mrs. Crab welcomes guests to try succulent seafood. The restaurant is known for its seafood boils, which can be completely customized, from the seafood inclusions like king crab, blue or green mussels, and shrimp to the seasonings, spice level, and sauces. If you don’t think you can finish an entire boil, consider the fried baskets with options like fried shrimp, oysters, or catfish, which are served hot and crispy.

Florida fish camps are the inspiration behind Reel Fish Coastal Kitchen and Bar. Almost all of the fish on the menu are sustainably sourced from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The restaurant boasts a fantastic happy hour on Tuesday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm. Cocktails and glasses of wine are under $7, while oysters, fish tacos, clam strips and half pounds of peel-and-eat shrimp are all under $11. And don’t forget to check out the blackboard for daily specials beyond what’s on the menu.

Another Disney Springs location worth venturing into the tourist area of town is Paddlefish. The restaurant is located right on the lake of Disney Springs and looks like a giant paddlewheel boat. Paddlefish is known for its jumbo lump crab-topped fries, which come loaded with fresh lump blue crab and Louie dressing. I also love crab guacamole, a great shareable appetizer with plenty of flavors from jalapeños and cilantro and a mound of blue crab on top. There’s ample indoor and outdoor dining, but we love the rooftop bar area, which boasts excellent views of Walt Disney World and the downtown skyline.

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Ocean Prime is known for its steaks and seafood served in a swanky upscale setting for an elegant date night or a fancy night out with friends. The menu features a small sushi selection and raw bar using only the freshest fish and shellfish. One of our favorite entrees is the blackened snapper, which comes with a sweet and savory corn spoon bread. Throw in a few extra sides from the a la carte menu, like the smoked gouda tater tots or lobster macaroni and cheese made with Tillamook cheddar cheese.