Austin Axis Guide to Seafood
Version .90b
Last updated on October 9, 1995
Austin Axis welcomes all comments about Austin-area seafood. Please send remarks to:
Brian Combs ([email removed])
Comments will be attributed to their author, unless he or she requests otherwise.
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Captain John's Seafood
2021 Guadalupe Street
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 474-5823
Reader Remarks
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Captain's Seafood and Oyster Bar, The
5700 North IH 35
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 452-1417
Reader Remarks
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Catfish Parlor
North
11910 Research
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 258-1853
South
4705 East Ben White
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 443-1698
Reader Remarks
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Catfish Station & More
418 East Sixth Street
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 477-8875
Reader Remarks
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City Grill
401 Sabine Street
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 479-0817
Reader Remarks
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Deep End Restaurant
2219 Westlake Drive
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 327-9500
Reader Remarks
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Gilligan's Seafood
407 Colorado Street
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 474-7474
Reader Remarks
Tom Painter (3/27/95)
I generally highly recommend Gilligan's for seafood to everyone that asks.
I say "generally" because there might be a before and after story here. It
used to be a very nice quiet place to eat. Then for some reason, they
decided to make it more appealing to the masses. They shoved the bar
against the wall, added cocktail tables and a piano. The crowds came. The
food is still good, but the place got real noisy and crowded, so I'd
recommend a weekday visit. I have been there many times and enjoy their
grilled fish dinners. The exact entree's escape me now, but I'll go back
and refresh my memory and this list. Gilligan's puts out what I would call
a Carribean seafood fare. The sauces and preparation methods lean towards
the sweet and fruity or light vegetable. The portions are large, usually
come with rice and black beans. Before, we particularly enjoyed the
coconut shrimp, but after we couldn't taste any coconut. They have some
excellent desserts. The service at the tables is very good and friendly.
We've always walked away full. Prices are moderate to expensive.
Mike McNally
Good service, fairly reasonable prices, nice place. The "Wild Boar
Potstickers" are a treat. All the fish I've had there has been very
creatively prepared.
Larry Buickel (6/12/95)
In spite of the corny name, I and everyone I have ever gone with have had
great food at Gilligan's. Not a bad entree yet in 8-10 visits. City Grill
has very good fresh fish too.
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
I agree with Tom's comments about "before" and "after", but not
necessarily because of the atmosphere. I've been there four times now;
three times back when the bar was in the middle of the room (I didn't
think it was necessarily a "quiet" place to eat, but not loud either, just
very fun), and once just recently. The food the first three times was
excellent, a little pricey but worth it. The last time I went, it was
still pricey, but really nothing special. I don't remember what I had, but
it was fairly bland; I could have done something much more interesting at
home with a couple of filets. My wife ordered the coconut shrimp, which
she had had before and loved. This time, the shrimp looked just like fried
shrimp; we thought there had been a mistake, but the waitress said they
grind the coconut up really fine so you wouldn't be able to see it. This
was baloney, why order coconut shrimp where you can't see the coconut and
you can't taste the coconut? We didn't press the issue, but it kinda
tainted our opinion of the place.
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Landry's Seafood House
600 East Riverside Drive
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 441-1010
Reader Remarks
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
Not bad Louisiana-style seafood for this part of Texas. Not great, mind
you, but not as overpriced/overrated as places like Mardi Gras. The view
of the city from the outdoor riverside patio is extraordinary. The wait
for a table on the weekends can often be more than 90 minutes, which is
completely unreasonable.
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Mardi Gras Cafe
2531 West Anderson Lane
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 451-2200
Reader Remarks
Tom Painter (3/27/95)
As the name implies, Louisianna is the theme. The decor is bright an
cheery with jazz combo music in the background (live and taped). The menu
is large and varied. I've had a couple of the fish plates which were
decent. I often go back for the Po'Boys. At 7.95, these guys are big and
very filling. The bread on the table lacks a certain something which I
call "taste". The red beans and rice didn't do anything for us. All in
all, I wouldn't drive across town to eat there, but if I'm in the area...
Prices moderate.
Mark Herro (4/12/95)
I took a date to Mardi Gras and we sat at our table for over 20 minutes
without a wait-person coming by. The place was not busy. We finally just
got up and left (after making my displeasure known to the management).
Blake Krass (7/25/95)
Nice atmosphere, decent prices, large portions, good menu. With Jambalaya
having gone by the wayside, this is about the best place to go for New
Orleans style food.
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
Atmosphere is very fake. Service sucks. Food is bland and overpriced.
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Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
6319 North IH 35
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 452-9363
Reader Remarks
Tom Painter (3/27/95)
A Cajun seafood chain out of Houston(?). They serve all the traditional
Louisiana favorites from grilled fish with shrimp, scallop, or crab
toppings to fried shrimp, fish, and crab to etoufee and creole. The
portions are large and usually very good. A couple of times that
Ponchetrain(sp?) was too rich. The salads are often not as crisp as I'd
like. Service is decent. It's kinda noisy and it's one big room. They are
very crowded on weekends (90 minute waits) and less so during the week.
Appetizers are available at the bar and there is outside seating so the
time passes quickly. Prices moderate.
Mark Herro (4/10/95)
I found Pappadeux's (sp?) to be too noisy, over-priced, over-crowded, and
mostly fried.
Blake Krass (7/25/95)
Over-hyped, over-spiced, over-priced (though portions are decent). I was
born and raised in New Orleans and find Pappadeaux's to be disappointing.
What makes it even crazier is that people are willing to wait for an hour
or more to be seated. Oh yeah, and I hate the atmosphere too. Hundreds of
people packed in, and you can hardly hear yourself think, much hear
someone else at your table speak!
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
I agree completely with Mark Herro.
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Red Lobster Restaurants
North
109 West Anderson Lane
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 451-6406
South
3815 South Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 447-1824
Reader Remarks
Blake Krass (7/25/95)
Seems to me to have consistently good food, surprisingly so for a chain.
Prices are a little high, but portions are a nice size. Alcoholic drinks
are over-priced. Gets quite busy at times.
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
My wife and I once went to Red Lobster thinking we would just slum it and
pig out on some cheap lo-fi chain restaurant stuff. We were shocked when
we got the bill. Way way overpriced. If you want cheap mass produced
seafood, go to Sizzler.
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Shoreline Grill
98 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin, Texas
Tel: (512) 477-3300
Reader Remarks
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Special Bonus Section -- Best Seafood Anywhere
Ray Shea (10/9/95)
Anywhere? Like anywhere in the world? There are three:
Franky & Johnny's (New Orleans) -- a dank little neighborhood restaurant
where you can get cheap and delicious crawfish, gumbo, alligator pie, you
name it, in a fun no-frills atmosphere. Uptown, near Tchoupatoulis.
Pacific Cafe (San Francisco) -- out on the foggy end of Geary, very
intimate casual dining, the salmon and the mussel dishes are incredible.
Plus they serve free wine to the people waiting for a table. We went there
every year for Valentine's Day.
??? -- some restaurant my mother knows about in Boston where you can get
steamers by the bucket.
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Contributors
Larry L. Buickel ([email removed])
Chris Kiser ([email removed])
Mark Herro ([email removed])
Blake Krass ([email removed])
Mike McNally
Tom Painter ([email removed])
Ray Shea ([email removed])
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Created and maintained by Brian Combs ([email removed]).
Copyright (c) 1995 Brian Combs. All rights reserved.
The comments made in the document are the opinion of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Brian Combs or Austin Web Publishing, Inc.
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