Four Fort Lauderdale seafood restaurants worth comparing
Fort Lauderdale seafood is not one category. A polished waterfront lunch, an old-school raw bar, a marina dinner and a New England seafood craving call for different restaurants. These four are currently operating and have current menus that make their strengths easy to distinguish.
Coconuts: waterfront seafood near the beach
Coconuts pairs seafood with a relaxed marina-side setting near Fort Lauderdale Beach. Its menu includes oysters, fish, coconut shrimp, seafood starters and a lobster roll alongside non-seafood choices for mixed groups.
Choose it when the view and vacation atmosphere matter as much as the menu. It is a high-volume restaurant, so it can feel busy rather than intimate.
Southport Raw Bar: the old-school raw-bar choice
Southport is more direct and less polished. Its menu is built around oysters, clams, shrimp, chowders, mahi and fried seafood, with casual waterfront seating.
This is the most natural choice for raw oysters, chowder and a neighborhood-bar feel. If you are looking for a special-occasion dining room, another option will fit better.
15th Street Fisheries: marina experience, two ways
At Lauderdale Marina, 15th Street Fisheries separates the experience into casual dockside dining and a more formal upstairs dinner. That gives visitors more control over the tone of the meal without leaving the waterfront.
Choose it when the marina, boats and Intracoastal setting are central to the outing. Review the current seating and reservation rules because the two levels operate differently.
Kelly's Landing: New England seafood in South Florida
Kelly's Landing is the outlier in the best possible way. Its current menu leans explicitly New England, with clam chowder, steamers, fried seafood and both cold and Connecticut-style hot lobster rolls.
Choose it when the craving is for New England seafood rather than Florida waterfront scenery.
How to choose
Coconuts is the beach-adjacent waterfront pick; Southport is the raw bar; 15th Street Fisheries is the marina experience; and Kelly's Landing is the New England specialist. That difference matters more than ranking four unlike restaurants by a single score.
Recommended restaurants
These restaurants were selected because their current menus, locations or specialties match the question. The list is based on verifiable information, not on filling a preset number of places.
A casual waterfront Fort Lauderdale restaurant with seafood, raw-bar choices and a marina-side setting.
Waterfront seafood, coconut shrimp, oysters and a relaxed marina meal
An old-school casual waterfront raw bar centered on oysters, clams, shrimp, chowder and straightforward seafood plates.
Raw oysters, clams, chowder and casual dockside seafood
A seafood restaurant at Lauderdale Marina with a casual dockside level and a more formal upstairs dining room.
Marina seafood with two dining formats and Intracoastal views
A casual Fort Lauderdale restaurant specializing in New England seafood classics.
New England clam chowder, lobster rolls, clams and fried seafood
Sources & references
These independent references add context or corroborate key facts used in this guide. Restaurant websites are kept on the business profiles rather than repeated here. Current information can change after the access date shown below.
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Coconuts official menu ↗
Primary source
Coconuts · Accessed August 17, 2026
Current source used to verify the restaurant menu, concept, location or offering for this guide.
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Southport Raw Bar official menu ↗
Primary source
Southport Raw Bar & Restaurant · Accessed August 17, 2026
Current source used to verify the restaurant menu, concept, location or offering for this guide.
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15th Street Fisheries official menus ↗
Primary source
15th Street Fisheries · Accessed August 17, 2026
Current source used to verify the restaurant menu, concept, location or offering for this guide.
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Kelly's Landing official menu ↗
Primary source
Kelly's Landing New England Seafood · Accessed August 17, 2026
Current source used to verify the restaurant menu, concept, location or offering for this guide.