The 8 best seafood restaurants in Charlotte

Charlotte is three hours from the ocean, and for a long time its seafood restaurants were either chains or afterthoughts. That changed as Uptown’s hotels opened serious oyster bars and local chefs built rooms around the raw bar and the daily catch. This list is locally focused: the national seafood chains are here and fine, and they are not on it. Eight rather than ten, and two brand new. Hours are current as of this writing.

1. Fin & Fino

Jon Dressler’s social seafood house across from the Mint Museum Uptown, a modern room around a raw bar and a sherry list, with small plates meant to be passed. Hand the menus back and ask for The Treatment, a kitchen led tasting tour. Free oysters on Mondays for a phone free meal, a happy hour front bar and the Dressler group’s warmth. The seafood restaurant to take a visitor.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m.; Sunday 5 to 8 p.m.

Address: 135 Levine Avenue of the Arts, Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• The Treatment.
• A raw bar done right.
• Steps from the museums and theaters.
• Monday’s phone down oysters.

Directory listing: Fin & Fino

2. Caroline’s Oyster Bar

The oyster bar at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, with thousands of reviews and a rating near perfect, Northeast oysters that Boston natives vouch for, oysters Rockefeller, crab hush puppies, skillet biscuits with honey butter and shrimp and grits, a happy hour that makes a hotel menu approachable, and doors open until midnight or later every night.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday 4 to 11 p.m.

Address: 120 E. Brooklyn Village Ave, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• The most loved oyster bar in the city.
• Late night seafood Uptown.
• Skillet biscuits.
• Happy hour deals.

Directory listing: Caroline’s Oyster Bar

3. Sea Level NC

The Uptown seafood restaurant on East 5th Street with a North Carolina focus and a fishery pedigree: oysters, chargrilled oysters, a warm Connecticut lobster roll with hand cut fries, paella, chowder and Bloody Mary oyster shooters. Oyster happy hour on weekday afternoons, lunch until 4 p.m., a quiet warm room and a small patio. Closed Sunday.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; closed Sunday

Address: 129 E. 5th St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• North Carolina oysters.
• The warm lobster roll.
• $1.50 oysters at happy hour.
• A calm room by Uptown standards.

Directory listing: Sea Level NC

4. Sea Grill Restaurant

The upscale seafood room in the entertainment complex at 210 East Trade Street that makes you forget the building: a Vesper at the bar, oysters, ceviche, bouillabaisse, lobster risotto and the signature pasta alla ruota finished in a cheese wheel with filet or scallops on top. A rose and a handwritten note on the table for occasions, weekend brunch and lunch and dinner daily.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 210 E. Trade St, Suite B120, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• Pasta alla ruota.
• Occasion service.
• Bouillabaisse and ceviche.
• Brunch on weekends.

Directory listing: Sea Grill Restaurant

5. The Belly of The Whale

The 2026 opening on Colwick Road near Cotswold, a hardwood and concrete room with a tableside bread cart and house butter, a changing menu of fresh fish and a lobster pizza that first visitors leave talking about. Warm service, a loud room when full and a kitchen quick to fix a miss. The new seafood restaurant the south side wanted.

Hours: Daily 5 to 10 p.m.

Address: 4422 Colwick Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211

Why it made the list

• Charlotte’s newest seafood room.
• The lobster pizza.
• The bread cart.
• Cotswold convenience.

Directory listing: The Belly of The Whale

6. The Waterman Fish Bar

The casual coastal fish bar on South Boulevard in LoSo, with a streetside patio, a rooftop in good weather, oysters, a Connecticut lobster roll, lobster mac and cheese, voodoo shrimp and the best hush puppies in the city with honey butter. Weekend brunch, seven day hours and a neighborhood crowd.

Hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Address: 2729 South Blvd, Suite D, Charlotte, NC 28209

Why it made the list

• The hush puppies.
• Patio and rooftop seating.
• Open every day.
• Casual, coastal, LoSo.

Directory listing: The Waterman Fish Bar

7. Yunta

The Peruvian Japanese restaurant in South End, one of the city’s best restaurants of any kind, and the place for seafood that is not a fish house: Tiger’s Milk ceviche, salmon belly nigiri with crispy quinoa, whole fish from the wok section and a Pisco Sour. The bar looks into the kitchen and the patio is quieter.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 2201 South Blvd, Suite 130, Charlotte, NC 28203

Why it made the list

• Ceviche as good as any in the Southeast.
• Sushi and wok seafood on one menu.
• A lively room.
• Bar seats for walk ins.

Directory listing: Yunta

8. Crown & Tide Seafood Co.

The 2026 crab house on Thrift Road in Wesley Heights, beside Restaurant Constance, with blue crabs and snow crab legs steamed or chargrilled, buttered potatoes and corn, counter and phone ordering and staff who talk first timers through an entrance that is easy to miss. Casual crab in a neighborhood that had none.

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday

Address: 2200 Thrift Rd, Charlotte, NC 28208

Why it made the list

• Chargrilled snow crab.
• Blue crabs in season.
• Takeout friendly.
• Brand new and worth watching.

Directory listing: Crown & Tide Seafood Co.

Also worth knowing

The best fish in the city in a different form is at Omakase by Prime Fish in Cotswold, and L’Ostrica on Park Road, whose name means the oyster, works seafood through its handmade pasta. Eddie V’s, Shuckin’ Shack and the other chains are here and reliable. If we missed your fish house, tell us.