Doc's Seafood Shack & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Orange Beach

Okay first of all it really is too hard to find good seafood on the Gulf Coast. I mean you're right there where it's being harvested so you've got that easy start of it is fresh to start off with. Anyhow, we'll get to the quality of their food in a bit.

So with that said the one thing that made Docs stand out above the rest is how they treat you. When they ask if everything is alright, it isn't just a standard question that you always ask every customer. You can tell in the way they say it and how they treat you that they genuinely want to be sure you are having a good experience. And it isn't just your server, management, people working the kitchen (I sat at the bar, so I was right there.), and the the woman who checks you out. Give them half a chance and they know who you are by the time you leave.

This is what happens when true Southern Hospitality meets good food, you have one of the best experiences you can have.

Oh, did I say great food? I don't know if their fried shrimp is the best in the world. I haven't tried Everyone else's fried shrimp. I have had it in quite a few places for more than the 34 years they've been cooking it here. I'd be hard pressed to name a place that does it better. The shrimp isn't over battered, so you get the full taste of the shrimp. At the same time the batter is light and fluffy. The meat pulls free from the tail of the shell effortlessly, which is one tell that it isn't over cooked.

I had the super seafood platter on this trip. Everything was excellent! I read one review where someone complained that the servings were small. So I included a picture. I ended up boxing up my french fries, because the seafood alone filled me up. I'm guessing the person who did the complaining writes a lot of good reviews for the all you can eat trough style Chinese restaurants, if you know what I mean.

Anyway if you find yourself in Orange beach and love fried seafood, this is the...

4 stars... I'll start at the beginning. We arrived at 11am when they open. An inviting atmosphere! We were immediately seated by the hostess. Our waitress came over quick to get our drink orders. Very nice waitress! When she came back (quickly) she had our drinks along with a pitcher of each of our drinks! Amazing!!! We then placed our orders. We both had the fried fish with sides. We asked for extra tarter sauce. She left to put our orders in and came back in under a minute with a large squeeze bottle of tarter sauce! Another amazing fact! We ate our meal and she came back often to check on us. She was very attentive to us and gave us top notch service!! As we got up to leave she made sure to thank us for coming in.

So far... The restaurant is clean and the service is way above average. Our waitress was outstanding! The atmosphere is great. The restaurant filled up quickly telling me this is a great place to be.

So why the deduction of one star? The food. We are in a beach town with many many seafood restaurants to choose from. As I mentioned we had the fried fish. It was good fish. However, not great fish. We got our orders in about four minutes of placing them. I noticed that everyone were getting their orders in about the same amount of time. Can they cook that fast? Nope! The fish had a good taste and flavoring but it was tough. It was like leftovers you bring home and then put into a microwave. It was not hot like just out of the frier but it was warm. Everything was warm. Not hot. With the speed that everyone's orders came out and the quality of the food this leads me to believe that they cook a whole bunch at one time and then put it all under heat lamps. I could be wrong but that is what I Invision.

So should you come here? Like I've said the food is good and what I haven't said it is at a good price. The service is outstanding! ...

3/26/2025: This place is a little hole in the wall locals eatery claiming to have “The Best Fried Shrimp in the Entire Civilized World”. That’s a heavy statement, so of course, I was intrigued. I can honestly say, they live up to this statement. I live in Houston, Texas where good seafood is abundant and I vacation in Pensacola, Florida every year where I have enjoyed some very tasty shrimp meals. I’ve never had fried shrimp like this! We wanted to try a little of everything, so we opted for the seafood platter and started with the fried onion rings as an appetizer. They could honestly changed their restaurant slogan to include best damn onion rings, best damn gumbo, and best damn fried shrimp! I would recommend the fried shrimp platter and skip the seafood platter. The fried crab was good, the coleslaw was good, the catfish was okay (I’m not a big fan of catfish) and the fried oysters were okay (also not a fan of fried oysters), but the shrimp takes the blue ribbon! Perfectly battered, large shrimp with tasty tartar sauce. It was delicious! The portions are large enough to split. I didn’t count, but there had to be at least 10 large onion rings in our order. They serve them with homemade ranch. We were very satisfied and full after our lunch. They have indoor and outdoor seating. One thing to note if you choose outdoor seating, do not sit by the windows that look into the interior. The door between the inside and outside slams and shakes the windows which was distracting. It didn’t ruin my lunch, but it is something to note. Parking is close by, but the parking lot is somewhat small when they are crowded. Orange Beach, Alabama is a beautiful area to visit. We made the short drive from Pensacola, Florida. They probably have several great restaurants but this one is definitely a spot you don’t...