The Worst Seafood Chain Restaurant Totally Flops In The Side Dish Department

Seafood dinners run the gamut from fancy lobster to fish sticks, and luckily there are tons of restaurants around the U.S. to fulfill every budget and craving. Tasting Table reviewed and ranked 19 different seafood chain restaurants from worst to best, from fast food to fine dining. And the worst seafood chain not only failed to impress us with its fish meals, but also flopped completely in the side dish department. Captain D's seafood, a fast food chain serving an uninspired menu of grilled or fried shrimp, fish, and chicken fingers, came in dead last overall. The fried fish was absolutely drowning in grease, the grilled fish was dried out and under-seasoned, and the chicken fingers were completely flavorless. 

Even more disappointing were the side dish options, which you could've pulled out of the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store. With options like steamed corn, broccoli, and green beans, Captain D's side dishes were some of the worst you can find at a chain restaurant. Even their lobster bisque landed towards the bottom of our ranking of fast food soups. Interestingly, though, Captain D's has seen a resurgence in sales and expansion in recent years in a laudable effort to become yet another old-school fast food joint to make an epic comeback. But, we're still pretty skeptical about steamed veggie side dishes. 

Customer reviews on TripAdvisor were quick to condemn Captain D's, with one warning potential visitors, "Save yourself and just go get some frozen food and microwave it. This has to be the worst, not even close to Long John Silvers." Considering Long John Silver's came second to last in our ranking, that's a scathing take. Other users complained about the quality and execution of the food as well as the dingy ambiance. As one wrote, "the butterfly shrimp are half size but I believe they cook them twice as long. The warm coleslaw had an unusual flavor [...] The interior smelled old and funky." 

A Yelp reviewer was equally disappointed and concerned with food safety, stating, "Fish is uncooked and pink inside. Corn is definitely old, recooked, overcooked and brownish in color. Mozzarella sticks have no cheese inside. This store has no respect for human consumption or food safety." Obviously Captain D's is a fast food, counter service restaurant so it's unfair to compare it with more expensive sit down restaurants like our highest ranking seafood establishments. But, seafood isn't a forgiving menu item if the execution isn't spot on. 

Some affordable sit downs we would recommend are Rockfish Grill and Brown Bag Seafood Co. That said, if you want ultra cheap seafood, you're better off picking it up frozen at the grocery store. We've got rankings of frozen shrimp brands, not to mention recommendations for Trader Joe's and Costco's frozen seafood selections too.