The 13 Unhealthiest Fish Dishes At 13 Popular Chain Restaurants

Fish dishes are often touted as some of the healthiest menu items you can choose at a chain restaurant. In some cases, that's true. Fish is typically lower in fat than red meat and it's high in protein. With that in mind, you might think that a fish sandwich or seafood pasta is better for you than a hamburger or steak. However, one of the biggest mistakes people make when ordering fish at a chain restaurant is assuming that all seafood dishes are healthy.

Chain restaurants are infamous for amping up the calories, sodium, and saturated fat in many of their dishes, including the fish options. Some examples of this could include fish sandwiches featuring deep-fried fish filets, seafood pasta with cheese and cream, and stuffed fish dishes with breading and ample amounts of butter. In fact, some chain restaurant fish dishes are less healthy for you than many of the other items on the menu.

If you're trying to be more health-conscious when you eat out, these are some of the unhealthiest fish dishes from popular chain restaurants that you may want to avoid. Each dish was chosen based on its nutritional value. You can read more about our methodology at the end of the article.

Since 1991, Joe's Crab Shack has been satisfying seafood lovers with buckets of crab legs, steampots, and a myriad of shrimp and fish dishes. The chain is known for its family-friendly restaurants where you're pretty much expected to make a mess when you eat your meal. The menu is pretty substantial, which can make it hard to choose just one item. Many people get past that by ordering one of the combo platters. The East Coast Platter offers a wide array of seafood to snack on, but it also clocks in at 2,470 calories.

Scan through the items on the East Coast Platter and you can tell that they're not exactly the healthiest options. For example, the platter contains bacon-wrapped shrimp filled with seafood stuffing, cheese and jalapeños topped with lemon butter, a fried fish fillet, seafood stuffed crab, and popcorn shrimp. It also comes with fries and coleslaw. The whole platter contains 41 grams of saturated fat and an astonishing 5,590 milligrams of sodium. If you value your heart health, this is one dish that you'll definitely want to share with a large group or avoid altogether.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen is part of the Pappas restaurant group, which has nearly 100 restaurants across the United States. Like the name suggests, the chain specializes in seafood — Louisiana-style seafood to be specific. Menu items include gumbo, blackened catfish, and stuffed shrimp. One of the heaviest dishes on the menu is the Atlantic Salmon Alexander. It consists of blackened Atlantic salmon, crawfish, shrimp, and scallops in a white wine cream sauce with dirty rice.

One of the shadiest things about Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen is that the chain straight-up refuses to reveal the nutritional information about any of its dishes. It states right on its FAQ page, "At this time, we do not publish nutritional information." Therefore, it's hard to tell exactly how much saturated fat, sodium, and calories the Atlantic Salmon Alexander contains. My Net Diary puts it at 1,589 calories, although that may not be exact. One thing we can say is that the cream sauce definitely ups the saturated fat content. Plus, all Atlantic salmon sold in the United States is farmed. According to a report in Time Magazine, farmed salmon is more likely to contain contaminants than wild salmon.

With over 540 locations across the country, Captain D's is one of the biggest fast food seafood chains in the United States. The chain has been around since 1969 and is famous for its great-value seafood dishes like fish sandwiches, breaded and battered fish, and butterfly shrimp. If you have a huge hunger on, you might gravitate towards the Giant Fish Sandwich. It consists of not one, but two battered, deep-fried fish fillets on a bun with lettuce and tartar sauce. However, we probably don't need to tell you that this massive sandwich isn't the healthiest thing you can order at the chain.

One Giant Fish Sandwich contains 790 calories, 510 of which come from fat. There are 13 grams of saturated fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,450 milligrams of sodium. And that's assuming you're eating just the sandwich alone. Make it a combo with fries, a loaded baked potato, or mac and cheese and those numbers rise significantly. To the sandwich's credit, it does contain 15 grams of protein. That being said, Captain D's Wild Caught Salmon will give you 31 grams of protein with about a third of the calories.

There's no doubt that you can have a decadent meal at The Cheesecake Factory. Out of the 250-plus menu items on offer, many are absolute calorie bombs. That's not to say you can't find healthy dishes at The Cheesecake Factory. You just need to know which dishes are low-calorie and which will put a huge dent in your healthy-eating plan. One dish that you may want to avoid if you're trying to eat mindfully is the Bistro Shrimp Pasta.

At first glance, the Bistro Shrimp Pasta doesn't look so bad. After all, it contains shrimp, mushrooms, tomato, and arugula, which seem pretty wholesome. However, that "wholesome" shrimp is deep-fried. Then you have the cream-based basil-garlic-lemon sauce, which adds saturated fat. In addition, pasta is high in carbs. The dish clocks in at 2,170 calories, which is more than the standard recommendation for an entire day. The FDA states that 2,000 calories is the general guide for most people to consume in a day, but that amount can vary depending on factors like age, weight, and physical activity level.

Long John Silver's is another fast food seafood chain that sells reasonably priced seafood dishes like fish sandwiches and fish and chips. The chain prides itself on sustainably sourcing real seafood, which is more than some restaurants can say. Unfortunately, the chain is not known for its healthy dishes. In fact, its Big Catch Platter was once named the "Worst restaurant dish in America." That dish is now long gone, but there are a few others you might want to avoid if you're trying to rein in your calorie count.

The Two-Piece Fish Meal is one of Long John Silver's combo meals that might catch your eye if you're craving fish and chips. It features two pieces of battered, fried Alaska pollock, hush puppies, a 20-ounce drink, and your choice of side. The deep-fried fish and hush puppies are high in saturated fat and sodium on their own. Add in a side like waffle fries or cheese bites and a sugary soda, and you could be looking at a meal that adds up to nearly 1,700 calories.

Boston-based chain Legal Sea Foods has been in the fish business for a long time. It started as a family-run fish market in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1950 and later transitioned into a wildly successful chain of restaurants. It's famous for its seafood dishes like the lobster bisque and salt and vinegar cod. One dish on the menu that you might think would be a healthy choice is the tuna burger. After all, tuna has a ton of health benefits. And it must have less calories than the mayo-laced lobster roll and the cheddar bacon burger, right? Sadly, that's not the case.

Legal Sea Foods' tuna burger is actually one of the most calorie-heavy items on the menu. On its own, it contains 1,580 calories. Add sides like fries and coleslaw and the meal could contain up to 2,120 calories. By comparison, the lobster roll with sides contains 1,420 calories and the cheeseburger with sides contains up to 1,540 calories. If you're craving a healthy tuna dish at Legal Sea Foods, consider the grilled tuna. With no sides, it contains a respectable 340 calories. Add sides and it's still only 710 calories.

Inspired by the hit film "Forrest Gump," Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is a family-friendly seafood chain with locations around the world. You can find pretty much any seafood dish you're craving on the menu, from popcorn shrimp to gumbo, clam chowder, and scampi. While there are several dishes on the menu that won't rack up the calories, there are also plenty that you probably only want to eat on a "cheat day." The "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp is one of those.

Bubba Gump's version of stuffed shrimp includes fried shrimp packed with crab stuffing. It's doused in lobster butter sauce, topped with Monterey Jack cheese, and served with rice. All up, the dish contains 1,650 calories. The company wins points for listing the calories right on the menu, but there is no nutritional information list anywhere for the public to view, so it's hard to determine the exact amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol, or sodium. However, given that the dish contains breaded and fried shrimp, breaded stuffing, and plenty of cheese and butter, it's safe to assume those numbers are probably quite high.

Seafood chains aren't the only places you can find tasty fish dishes. There are several steakhouse chains known for their excellent seafood. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar has a great selection of seafood dishes like fresh oysters, crab cakes, and Alaskan king crab legs. The North Atlantic Lobster Chipotle Cheddar Mac & Cheese is one of the more popular seafood dishes on the menu. However, it's also one of the unhealthiest.

Fleming's lobster mac and cheese is listed on the menu as a shareable side dish, so it's meant to be an add-on to your main meal. With that in mind, it's a bit alarming that it contains 1,540 calories. It gets its richness from dairy products like butter, heavy cream, half-and-half, smoked cheddar, and regular cheddar cheese. Those are some pretty significant sources of saturated fat. Then there is the lobster, which is high in cholesterol. If you're already indulging in steak, you may want to consider a lighter side like the roasted asparagus or sautéed mushrooms.

Chili's is a casual dining chain that has been serving Tex-Mex fare to the masses since 1975. It's best known for its grilled items like ribs and steaks, but there are also a few seafood options thrown into the mix. Shrimp can be the star in many dishes like fajitas, chipotle rice bowls, or salads. One of the more decadent shrimp dishes on the menu is the Ultimate Cajun Pasta. It features shrimp, chicken, tomatoes, green onions, and penne pasta in a creamy Alfredo sauce with Parmesan.

If you're ordering pasta, you probably already know that you're in for a pretty heavy meal. Even more so if your pasta contains cream sauce. The Ultimate Cajun Pasta is no exception. This hearty dish contains 1,210 calories. That's not so bad when you look at the calorie count of some of the other dishes on this list. However, it's the salt content that pushes this dish over the edge. The pasta contains a hefty 3,480 milligrams of sodium. And with 23 grams of saturated fat, the dish is right up there with some of the unhealthiest items on Chili's menu. 

Where do you go when you want a relatively affordable seafood meal that's not from a fast food chain? If you're like many people, the answer is probably Red Lobster. Although the company has gone through its fair share of financial troubles over the past few years, it's not because the chain is losing fans. Red Lobster still has a loyal following of diners who can't get enough of the fresh lobster, crab legs, and daily specials on fish dishes. If you're dining with a group, the signature feasts are great for sharing. Be careful which one you choose since one of them made our list of menu items you should never order at Red Lobster.

The Admiral's Feast is a monster of a platter containing mostly fried items. It features breaded deep-fried shrimp, a fried flounder fillet, fried clam strips, and fried scallops. You can choose from two sides like fries, lobster mashed potatoes, and crab mac and cheese. The platter also comes with cocktail sauce and tartar sauce. The platter rings in at 1,640 calories, although that number can be higher depending on the sides you choose. It also contains a ridiculous 4,750 milligrams of sodium.

Eddie V's Prime Seafood is a fine dining seafood chain that is renowned for its top-notch seafood and steaks. The settings are elegant, the service is polished, and the quality of the food is superb. It's easy to get carried away at Eddie V's ordering indulgent dishes like steak and lobster. If you're going big on your main dish, you may want to stay away from certain appetizers that pack on the calories. Case in point is the Point Judith Calamari, also known as the Kung Pao Calamari.

Eddie V's take on fried calamari includes tempura-battered calamari with carrots, cashews, green onions, and a red chili ginger soy sauce. You might think that vegetables make the dish somewhat healthy. However, that's not exactly true. Fried calamari is one of the things you should never order from a seafood restaurant because it's almost always sky-high in calories, fat, and salt. For example, the Point Judith Calamari contains 1,450 calories, 17 grams of saturated fat, and 3,980 milligrams of sodium. If you want a seafood starter at Eddie V's, you're better off sticking to the chilled shrimp or oysters.

Bonefish Grill goes out of its way to provide a unique seafood experience at its 160-plus locations across the States. The chain even calls its servers "anglers" and states they can tell you everything about your fish including where it was sourced and exactly how it's prepared. One of the most sought-after dishes on the menu is Bonefish's famous Bang Bang Shrimp. You can order it as an appetizer or try it in the Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos. You might want to veer away from the tacos, though, since they're not exactly heart-healthy.

The Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos consist of fried shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce and served in tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, and a lime crema sauce. The tacos come with french fries on the side. According to many customers, the dish is delicious. However, it also contains 1,580 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat. And as you would expect from a fried seafood dish with fried shrimp, it also contains a ton of salt with 4,050 milligrams of sodium.

Outback Steakhouse is famous for its quirky Australian-themed restaurants and mid-range steak, chicken, and seafood dishes. If you want a surf-and-turf dish that isn't your typical steak and lobster tail, the Kingsland Pasta might be tempting. Be warned, though — this dish won't do you any favors in the health department. In fact, it's loaded with saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

The Kingsland Pasta features grilled shrimp and steak on a bed of fettuccine noodles with a creamy Alfredo Sauce. You can order it with just steak, steak and chicken, or steak and shrimp. The menu says it starts at 1,560 calories, which we assume is if you have it with just steak. Add the shrimp and that number likely goes up. Devour the dish and you'll also be consuming 28 grams of saturated fat, 340 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,820 milligrams of sodium. 

One thing we have to give kudos to Outback Steakhouse for is that the chain provides a nutrition information list right on their website. Many restaurant chains won't even tell you how many calories their dishes contain, so we appreciate that Outback lets you make an informed decision about whether you want to indulge in decadent dishes like the Kingsland Pasta. 

To uncover the unhealthiest fish dishes at popular chain restaurants, we scoured menus and nutritional information lists. From there, we were able to determine which dishes contain the most calories and high amounts of saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol. We also researched various ingredients like dairy products and types of fish to see whether they could detract from the nutritional value of a dish. The next time you're craving seafood at one of these restaurants, you may want to give these dishes a miss, or at least consider splitting them with a dining companion or even a group.