La Playa Seafood — Restaurant in San Antonio

I decided to try this place completely at random. One factor being they had fried seafood. I'm not fond of broiled, baked, or seafood soups, and steer clear of the whole fish plates.

I ordered the (2) fish (3) shrimp and (4) oyster plate, with coleslaw and rice for the sides. Most the plates here are $10-12.

My plate came out decently fast, in less than 10 minutes. The recent reviews had me a bit worried.

I tried a piece of shrimp first, the menu stated breading was thin, and it was. Everything had a thin skin of breading, not crunchy, not thick. It was thin enough just adding lemon to the fish caused the skin to stick to the plate and peel off easily. I tried a piece of the fish, and it was really good. The fish was moist, seasoned well, and the tartar sauce here was great. At this point I was pretty happy with the choice.

Then a fork full of coleslaw.. which was absolutely horrible. I did not swallow it.. I tried another fork full from another spot.. same..

I moved on to the rice and the oysters. The rice had minimal peppers in it, but was closer to spanish rice than rice pilaf, the oysters were decent in size, not tiny, but not overly large and had decent flavor. They batter on them was a little thicker than the fish and shrimp.

One lady came by and asked how everything was, when I said "the coleslaw is bad, its very bitter" the replied "oh, you like it?", I said.. noo no.. bad.. very bitter. She sent the waitress over. I told her the coleslaw was bitter and she asked if I wanted another side instead (in spanish). I asked for fries. How bitter was this coleslaw? All I can say is please do not order it and ruin your meal. I can't really explain it. I'm not sure I've eaten many things in my life that I could compare for reference.

A few minutes went by and the fries came out. The fries were really good, they had a light coating of batter on them, were seasoned well, freshly cooked.. and was actually a highlight of the meal.. this totally made up for the bad coleslaw.

If I come back, fries and fried fish.. Fish (8.5/10) - Shrimp (6.5/10) - Oysters (5/10) Fries (9/10) - Rice (5/10) - Coleslaw (0/10)

Prices were fair, about average for seafood, and portion sizes weren't huge, but I left decently full..

I would return again. Avoiding certain items of course. Definitely a good option for affordable seafood.

On a side note, while I was eating I saw other people order several things that looked really good, one being a giant glass of shrimp and red liquid that was topped with sliced avocados. I'm assuming was a shrimp cocktail. This place might be worth visiting as a group to explore...

BVOCAL4LOCAL UPDATE.... Still great! Went with two friends, one that had never been before and one that is returning with me. The return friend said standards were still high and very good. The new friend said they were very happy to put this on there fish shopping list lol

UPDATE ... Still a great fried fish and an ice cold brew!

This is not a fancy upscale fish house...this is a down home seafood joint...great service... Fried shrimp, crab cakes, fish all beautifully done..love a light breading... cold cold beer..shrimp cocktail that will satisfy your taste buds..... UPDATE.. Still a favorite. I took two people who had never been.. They were mad i hadn't suggested this place before... I loved reminding them that I had been suggesting this place FOREVER. So glad they both liked it as much as I do. They were already planning their next visit...Lunch specials have gone up a bit, like everywhere else, but so worth it... FYI your salad dressing (tarter and cocktail sauces as well) will come in a packet or individual little capped container..which is great, more sanitary... I had the fish and shrimp combo. Full disclosure, I added more shrimp and had a side salad and some of the best french fries, I love them there because they're so crispy.... One friend had a similar plate but with a salad and onion rings FYI their onion rings are excellent.. thin and great batter ...my other friend ordered a baked fish, veracruz style, with onion rings she said it was really great as well but she did put a little hot sauce on it, she said she wanted it to be spicier but she loved it. Veronica was a great server. Friendly and very attentive. If you like fried shrimp and fish (I think they have catfish and talapia) you need to give this little gem a try. This is where fish are happy to throw themselves on a plate and slather themselves in tarter sauce! Enjoy! UPDATE... took another friend for their 1st time. Still rocking. My friend said they were adding it to their fried fish list. Still great service....

We ate here on a Sunday afternoon 5pm ish after driving by trying to find a place to eat. The whole experience was okay. Food is fair. Bad service . The waitress needs improvement . We had to ask for chips and salsa because she didn't automatically bring it out. We saw other tables that arrived after us eating chips and salsa so I asked her if we could include that into the bill. She replied "they are free if you request them". How do I know it had to be requested if she didn't offer? She brought the food out but never came to check if we needed anything. Paid $15 for my plate grilled fish with veggies &cheese on top and cooked on aluminum foil. Rice was good. Salad tasted nasty like it hadn't been washed. My kids had hard chicken tenders and fries and the other one ordered enchilada plate which was okay about $10 each. We parked in front of the restaurant. When paying at the counter , the waittress, was finally very attentive watching me as I was about to sign the "tip" section. I saw her staring watching me if I was gng to leave a tip - which i did besides the not so great experience. Total bill $52 and change for 👎 food/service. The parking was free and not an issue for us. I don't want to...