Myrtle Beach Seafood Spots, Ranked

A big part of the experience of Myrtle Beach is eating amazing seafood. If you're overwhelmed by the choices and don't know where to go, we've got you covered. We've compiled a list for you of the highest-rated and most popular places to eat seafood in and around Myrtle Beach. 

You can't go wrong with any of the Myrtle Beach seafood spots on our list. They all have different personalities, so it depends if you're looking for something quiet or touristy, with added attractions or special views, or even homey or upscale. Three of the top seafood spots in Myrtle Beach are Calabash seafood buffets. If you're not familiar with the term "Calabash," it comes from the nearby city of Calabash, North Carolina, (just over the state line) which calls itself the Seafood Capital of the World. Calabash-style seafood comes fried with a light coating of cornmeal. However, there are plenty of other seafood styles available in Myrtle Beach restaurants. Find ones that suit you and enjoy!

42nd Street Bar and Grill is one of Myrtle Beach's best-kept secrets, making it a good choice if you're looking for a more intimate and quiet dining experience that feels farther from the tourist scene. The menu contains a wide variety of gourmet-level options that feature seafood, meats, and vegetarian options. 

The most talked about seafood menu items here are the calamari and spinach bouquet appetizer (featuring blue cheese), and scallops and white beans (featuring pork belly). Other seafood dishes include Farde Island salmon, snapper and quinoa, lobster mac and cheese, blackened grouper, and seafood pasta. Tiramisu is the most popular dessert. A Google reviewer said, "The first bite is good but the last bite leaves you wanting more even though the portion sizes are very generous."

You'll find 42nd Street Bar and Grill on Kings Highway, half a mile from Treasure Island Mini Golf. You'll want to keep this place in mind for relaxing evening seafood meals since it doesn't open until 4:00 p.m. Luckily, it stays open until 10:00 p.m. every day of the week.

Manta Steak and Seafood Sushi Bar is the place to go for good seafood and sushi, excellent live music, and friendly and attentive service. A reviewer on Google said, "The service, food, atmosphere, music was def checking all the marks. I felt like I was in Miami!"

There are tons of regular and sushi appetizers available at Manta, but the one that customers rave about most is crab rangoon. You can also get sushi platters, pressed sushi, nigiri, sashimi, a seafood platter, grilled salmon, and grilled ahi tuna. Beyond seafood, the restaurant offers soup, salad, hibachi-style food, noodles, meat like steak and lamb, and dessert. So, you don't have to be in the mood for sushi to enjoy eating here.

Manta is located on Kings Highway near public beaches. While the restaurant stays open to satisfy your seafood cravings from 11:30 a.m. until midnight most days of the week, it closes at 11:00 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays. And don't miss happy hour specials, which are available every day from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

If you want a side of hugs with your seafood, Goodfellas Seafood Hut is the place to go because the servers will hug you as you leave like you've known them forever. So, you can imagine the type of laid-back atmosphere you will find here. There's no fancy dining happening, as evidenced by walking in and discovering a roll of paper towels on your table.

The food at Goodfellas is Lowcountry, Southern cooking, so it serves homestyle comfort fried foods, rice, biscuits, and slaw. When you arrive, you'll get a basket of delicious hush puppies you can eat with honey butter. Customer seafood favorites include crab cakes, she crab soup, flounder, clam strips, white fish, fried oysters, and deviled crab. While the menu is seafood-centric, you can still get chicken and hamburgers if you're not in a seafood mood.

You can find Goodfellas on Highway 17 near Windy Hill Beach. The restaurant opens at 11:00 a.m., closing at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday. It closes at 9:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. However, you won't be able to eat here Sunday or Monday because it's closed all day.

If you can't guess based on the restaurant's name, Hook & Barrel's focus is seafood and alcoholic beverages. It has a lovely nautical theme with jellyfish lamps hanging over the bar. There's also a Southern-style wrap-around porch available for outdoor dining. While the menu is seafood-centric, you can also find salads, a harvest grain bowl, and a limited selection of meat dishes available.

Your server will start you off with freshly-made pimento cheese, which diners love. Another trendy favorite is the smoked shrimp and grits, which comes with tomato gravy and sausages. However, the menu item customers talk about most is the she crab soup. A Google reviewer said, "As a Marylander I can honestly say that the soup was a work of art. Crunchy minced trinity, amazing flavor."

Hook & Barrel is another restaurant on Kings Highway in the Grande Dunes area. It's open from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, staying open until 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday night. A specific happy hour menu is available from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. While the restaurant once served Sunday brunch, it's now closed all day.

If you passed by New York Prime and assumed it was an upscale steakhouse, you'd be right. However, it's also a great location for eating seafood in Myrtle Beach. The restaurant also sells after-dinner cigars, which could be a plus or minus depending on your affinity for cigars.

Seafood options include dishes like raw oysters, oysters Rockefeller, crab cocktail, shellfish bisque, lobster, and a create-your-own seafood platter. The garlicky sea bass and baked shrimp are customer favorites. You also won't want to miss the cheesy mashed potatoes, creamed spinach sides, or the butter cake dessert.

While New York Prime is a little closer to the beach than all the restaurants on Kings Highway, it still doesn't offer a beach view. One nice thing it does offer is complimentary valet parking, so you can walk directly inside. It's the type of place you'll want to go for an evening meal, so it's open from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. every day of the week. And if you enjoy the restaurant in Myrtle Beach, you can also find one in Boca Raton, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia (both with slightly different menus).

Lee's Inlet Kitchen is a 75-year-old seafood tradition, with ownership going back multiple generations, so it has also served multiple generations of South Carolinians. With a Southern-food history going back that far, you know the food has to be good.

The restaurant's extensive menu contains a variety of fried, grilled, blackened, and broiled seafood entrées, soups, salads, char-grilled meats, sides, and desserts. When the restaurant asked customers on Facebook to name their favorite dish, one customer said, "That's like being told to choose which child is your favorite. There hasn't been one that we didn't like." Customers enjoy the hushpuppy and honey butter starter a lot. Various types of shrimp (including shrimp and grits), she crab soup, and stuffed flounder seem to top the list of faves.

The restaurant is in Murrells Inlet on Business Highway 17 — a 5-minute drive south of Myrtle Beach. Don't be surprised if there's already a line at 4:30 p.m. when the restaurant opens. Customers arriving before 5:30 p.m. can order off the early-bird menu for less. The restaurant stays open until 9:00 p.m. every evening and is closed all day Sunday.

Hoskins Restaurant is another family-owned restaurant that has been a Myrtle Beach seafood favorite for over 75 years. It's currently in its third generation of ownership. While the menu is full of Southern classics, the most talked-about menu items are all seafood. Customers especially enjoy the flounder, seafood platter, crab cakes, grouper, and scallops.

Daily lunch specials include a choice of one entrée and three sides. While the lunch specials don't include seafood every day, there's still a seafood menu. One option is the seafood platter, with five different types of seafood. Another popular choice is the two-way or three-way combination. Meals come with sides, or you can order them à la carte. Hoskins also has homemade desserts, the most popular of which is the peanut butter pie.

Hoskins is only a half-mile walk from the beach in North Myrtle Beach. Tuesday through Saturday, it's open from 7:00 to 10:45 a.m. for breakfast, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and 4:30 to 9:00 p.m. for supper. It's closed for supper on Sunday and all day on Monday.

As you can guess by the name, The Shack doesn't put on any airs. It looks like an old-fashioned cafe on the inside with wooden walls and benches. Plus, there's outdoor patio seating. However, the food is top-notch if you're looking for Lowcountry Southern favorites.

The Shack has daily seafood and non-seafood lunch and dinner specials. Various grilled and fried seafood entrées and non-seafood entrées are available. Scallops and flounder are favorites for both meals. A popular dinner option allows you to choose a meat and two or three sides, or a three or four vegetable plate. The Shack's tasty sides include homestyle favorites like rice and gravy, green beans, cabbage, butter beans, and mac and cheese. While you can get entrées, "shackwiches" are also available (many of which feature fish). Other non-seafood faves include The Shack's hush puppies with honey butter, tomato pie, and chicken and dumplings.

The Shack is just past the main drag on Sea Mountain Highway in North Myrtle Beach. It opens from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for breakfast and lunch, and again from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. for dinner every day except Sunday.

One of the nice things about visiting Bimini's island-themed oyster bar is that the restaurant has an adjoining gift shop and seafood market. Even if you're just visiting Myrtle Beach, you can grab something pre-packaged and local to take home with you.

There's a lot of variety on the menu, including appetizers, steampots, shellfish, samplers, grilled surf and turf options, sandwiches, hamburgers, seafood tacos, and salads. Customers often praise the grouper, steampots, mahi mahi, clam strips, and oyster shooters. The steampots cost $50 to $60, but they have enough food to share. You can also order half portions or extra portions of these feasts.

You can find Bimini's Oyster Bar & Seafood Market on Lake Arrowhead Rd between King's Highway and Buck Island Swamp. Bimini's opens at 12:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, and 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. However, it doesn't close until 10:00 p.m. If you arrive between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., you can enjoy happy hour with slightly discounted drinks and apps, including 25% off oysters.

Pirate's Table Calabash Seafood Buffet is a destination within itself. This huge 500-seat restaurant has a 105-foot buffet built to look like a pirate ship. There's plenty of pirate decor everywhere inside, with pirates walking around and live mermaids swimming in the mermaid pool. There's even a Hollywood Pictures photographer to take pictures of your memorable visit (one picture is free).

The cost is around $50 per person, which isn't bad when considering seafood prices and all the fond memories you'll make here. The buffet includes Calabash-style and other types of seafood, along with meat dishes, Southern-style sides, a salad bar, soups, kids' foods, and desserts. You can also buy wine, beer, and cocktails. Everyone comments on the amazing prime rib and the all-you-can-eat crab legs. The buffet may not have as much variety such as places like Crabby's Mike's, but most people find the food quality comparable or better. Plus, the lines aren't as long.

Pirate's Table is across Kings Highway from Ocean Lakes Family Campground. It's open every day of the week from 3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. So, you can come in early or stay late.

Crabby George's Calabash Seafood Buffet is another popular Calabash buffet with a pirate theme. However, it doesn't have mermaids or the same level of pirate decor as Pirate's Table. Customers say the food quality is slightly below Captain Benjamin's and comparable to Golden Corral — just with more seafood. A Google reviewer said, "I have to say regardless of the buffet having fewer choices than their competitors, they have focused solely on flavor, service, and friendship."

You can order off the menu or order from the buffet with over 120 options. The food includes fresh seafood items, meat, a cold bar, salads, soups, a country bar (mainly with sides), a fried bar, and a bakery. There are also plenty of cocktails, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages to purchase separately. Customers find prime rib and crab legs among the most memorable menu items. The buffet is also unlimited, making the $50-per-person price tag more than fair.

Don't forget to visit the restaurant's website to get a coupon before visiting. You'll find the restaurant on King's Highway, and it opens at noon daily. Closing time is 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and 11:00 p.m. Saturday.

Captain Benjamin's Calabash Seafood Buffet is at the top of the list for Calabash seafood buffets in Myrtle Beach. So, be sure to go to the better one. The buffet has a nautical theme, which includes lots of taxidermied fish on the wall and ceiling.

The buffet at Captain Benjamin's contains over 200 items, and there's no limit on how much of any one thing that you can get. Expect plenty of fried, steamed, and baked fresh seafood and meat. There's also a salad bar, cold bar, Southern-style veggies, fresh fruit, and desserts, along with a sizeable drink menu. Customers tend to be impressed with the chocolate fountain, salad bar, and all-you-can-eat crab legs. A reviewer on Google said, "I'll be honest, I was expecting to be let down by a $50 buffet, but I was impressed."

The new restaurant on 401 S. Kings Highway has far better food than the Original Captain Benjamin's. It's within easy walking distance of the beach and is next to Family Kingdom Amusement Park. The buffet opens at noon every day and stays open until 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Eating at Joe's Bar & Grill is an experience dictated by decor, location, and excellent food. It's situated on a saltwater marsh that you can see through the windows or experience outdoors on the twinkle-light-lit patio with a fireplace. If you make a reservation with seating near the marsh, you may catch a glimpse of raccoons at the raccoon feeder outside.

The menu has a lot of variety, including samplers, soups, salads, meat entrées, seafood entrées, kids' foods, and several group menus. There are several seafood appetizers. Seafood entrées include shrimp and grits (a favorite), shrimp and scallop alfredo, shrimp Louis, shrimp scampi, a seafood medley over rice, crab cakes, scallops meuniere, mussels, and lobster tail. Most of the seafood dishes come with pasta or rice pilaf.

The best Joe's is the one on Conway St. (off Highway 17). It's open daily from 4:30 until 9:30 p.m. The restaurant has early bird specials until 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday except during summer months. Happy hour is at the same time. Just be sure to ask the wait staff for happy hour seating.

The best place for Myrtle Beach seafood is the Hot Fish Club. The atmosphere, creekside location next to Morse Park Landing, and food all come together to make the perfect seafood experience. You can enjoy live music while sitting outdoors in the gazebo. Even if you don't get outdoor seating, there are murals of the marshes on the indoor walls. There's even a playground outside and cornhole games to enjoy while waiting for your table.

The food all looks so delicious that you may have difficulty deciding what to eat. Many of the seafood selections come with flavorful broths, fancy sauces, and chutneys with elevated ingredients. You can choose from appetizers, seafood club specialties, inlet-style platters, sushi, non-seafood meals, soups, salads, sandwiches, and small plates. The dishes customers talk about most often are char-grilled grouper, lobster pot pie, shrimp and grits, she crab soup, and steampots.

The Hot Fish Club opens for dinner at 4:00 p.m. every day. You can eat until 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Many people stay late listening to music, eating, and drinking on Fridays and Saturdays until 1:30 a.m.