The Gulf Coast has no shortage of seafood restaurants. This past weekend, we visited one we had never tried before. Today I’m sharing my DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen review.
Background on DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen
We found DeSoto’s while looking for new spots to try on our trip to Gulf Shores over the 4th of July weekend. We planned to do some souvenir shopping and wanted a restaurant near the shops. DeSoto’s is located right behind Souvenir City and the Purple Octopus at 138 West 1st Avenue, making it an ideal location for our trip.
The restaurant is locally owned. As a former restaurant owner myself, I love to support local businesses when I can. The fact that the establishment has been open for over 20 years tells you they are doing something right.
The reviews for DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen that we found online were overwhelmingly positive. The restaurant’s website boasts of its award-winning history, being a People’s Choice winner for friendliest staff 5 times. They have also won People’s Choice awards for Best Lunch, Best Seafood, and Best Restaurant.
Atmosphere And Decor
Immediately upon arriving at DeSoto’s, you can tell this is not a fancy place. It has all the charm of a local seafood shack. If you’ve ever been to Doc’s Seafood Shack, it gives off a similar vibe. This is just what we were looking for in our choice today.
Waiting for you as you enter the waiting area to be seated is a nice little aquarium. My kids loved to see the same type of fish from Finding Nemo, I believe it was Dory, in the tank. It was a nice touch for a restaurant right off the beach.
The decor was minimalist, with various ocean-themed decorations and a few paintings scattered throughout. It has a very clean look. Between the blue painted walls, the blue seat cushions, and the fish whatnots, there is no doubt that you are in a seafood restaurant on the beach. Despite the abundance of blue, it was a very clean look and a comfortable atmosphere.
Menu And Food Review
The menu is what attracted us to DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen in the first place. All of the classic seafood options are there, from oysters on the half shell to fried crab claws. Non-seafood options include hamburger steak, pork chops, chicken creole, and more.
Seafood Platter
I chose the fried seafood platter. It came with a decent portion of fried 90-count shrimp, 2 oysters, approximately a quarter pound of crab claws, and a piece of fried flounder. You can select two sides to go with your platter, and I opted for mac and cheese and turnip greens.
The breading on the seafood was fantastic. The coating is nice and thick, and the seasoning is on point. The shrimp was delicious. I could have eaten a whole platter of that alone. The same breading is on the crab fingers. Everyone at the table loved them!
I loved having flounder as the fish on the platter in place of the usual swai. While I do like swai, I love flounder. Swai is great if you are not looking for a strong “seafood” taste, but I wanted my fish to taste like fish on this trip. The oysters on the platter were good, but it’s hard to judge when there were only two.
The mac and cheese was good, but not great. I’ve had better, particularly at recent trips to Longhorn and Briquettes Steakhouse, but I did enjoy it and would choose it again. The turnip greens were ok. The turnips were not slow-cooked soul food style turnips, but they were good enough to help balance out the meal.
Snow Crab
My wife’s snow crab was cooked well, with the meat easily coming out of the shell. The crabs come with regular butter. This is a huge departure from the flavored butter sauce we had at the Angry Crab Shack. It was a big dropoff going from that amazing Cajun, lemon pepper butter sauce to just butter. The cooks did a good job on the snow crab itself. However, we may be spoiled now when it comes to snow crab.
My son wanted something different and went with the kids’ shrimp, while my daughter stuck with chicken tenders. The chicken tenders were the only letdown of the things we tried. They were cooked a little too long and were a bit tough. The breading was also not as good as the breading on the seafood.
DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen Prices
Pricing on the lunch menu was very reasonable. My fried seafood platter came in at $20.99. You can also get the platter broiled for $19.99. My wife’s snow crab legs were a bit pricey at $38, but crab legs are just pricey in general.
The kids’ shrimp was only $8.99, which I thought was a great price. The chicken fingers were also $8.99, which is about par for the course these days.
Other options we considered were the gumbo, which is $7 for a cup and $10 for a bowl. A basket of hushpuppies is $10.99. Crab cakes are available for $15.99, and crab, spinach, and artichoke dip is $12.99. These are some of my favorites, and I plan to try them on future trips.
Service
The service was excellent. We were a table of six, as my mother and stepfather also attended the lunch. There was no wait; we were seated immediately. We just beat the crowd, as tables came streaming in behind us and the restaurant quickly filled up.
Our server arrived at the table shortly after being seated and took our drink orders. She answered the few questions we had and seemed knowledgeable about the menu. Our drinks came out promptly, and the wait for the food was very short for a six-top table in the middle of lunch.
When I asked for the check after the meal, she returned quickly with a handheld credit card scanner. Quickly returning with the check and keeping the drinks filled are my biggest judgments on service when I dine out, and our server was great on both.
I was very satisfied with our service at DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen, and I’m not surprised they’ve won awards for it.
Final Verdict On DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen
We planned to visit this restaurant well in advance, and I was looking forward to it. I must say, DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen did not disappoint! The food and service were exquisite. The location, both near the beach and two popular souvenir shops, was perfect.
DeSoto’s will be a scheduled stop on our beach vacations going forward. I highly recommend it if you are visiting Gulf Shores this summer.
