The 10 Biloxi, Mississippi Restaurants Locals Love For Gulf Seafood, Southern Classics, And A Better Weekend Meal

Weekends in Mississippi usually revolve around a great meal, and these Biloxi restaurants know exactly what that phrase should mean. Gulf seafood arrives fresh, prepared simply without unnecessary tricks or plating games.

Southern classics round out the menu, offering comfort food alongside coastal favorites. Regulars know these places for the food alone, rarely caring about atmosphere beyond basic comfort.

Portions stay generous, matching the reputation these restaurants built through word of mouth rather than marketing. Nothing about the seafood feels rationed or held back to control costs.

Prices stay reasonable, reflecting a genuine focus on quality over unnecessary extras. These restaurants proved that sometimes the best weekend starts with the right plate of food.

1. The Reef

Three floors of restaurant sitting right across from white sand tends to get attention. The top level, an open-air Sky Bar, looks out over the Gulf like a front-row seat nobody had to fight for.

Inside, an underwater mural by artist Marty Wilson covers a wall with fish and color. There is also a gift shop, which is unusual for a seafood joint but somehow fits the beach-vacation mood.

Seafood leads the menu, though it wanders happily. Firecracker Shrimp Pasta and Swamp Island Shrimp and Grits get ordered constantly, and oysters arrive chargrilled, Creole style, or raw on ice.

Landlubbers are not forgotten. Bacon-wrapped pork fillet medallions and oversized burgers hold their own against anything pulled from the water.

Dessert leans Southern in the best way. White chocolate bread pudding and key lime pie close things out, and both disappear fast on busy nights.

The Sky Bar has its own personality after dark. Trivia nights, karaoke, and live entertainment turn the top floor into something closer to a party than a dining room.

Families fit in easily here thanks to a large kids menu, so nobody ends up negotiating over a plate of oysters. Sunset is the sweet spot, when the water goes gold and the whole third floor quietly stops talking for a minute.

Find it at 1749 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39531.

2. Half Shell Oyster House

Not every great seafood restaurant needs a water view, and this one proves it. Sitting on a downtown side street, the dining room borrows its look from the French Quarter with exposed brick and polished woodwork.

The story starts in Gulfport, inside the historic Kremer Building, which dates back to 1903. That sense of old bones carried over into everything the restaurant does now.

Gulf oysters are the headliner. An Oyster Sampler brings Charbroiled, Bienville, Rockefeller, and Orleans versions to the table at once, which settles a lot of arguments.

Signature plates lean New Orleans. Filet Orleans and Shrimp Orleans feature peeled Gulf shrimp sautéed in a smoky Cajun sauce that people order without reading the rest of the menu.

Southern staples hold steady too. Seafood gumbo and crab cakes show up on tables all over the room, especially when the weather turns cool.

Weekend mornings shift gears completely. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday, making this a solid landing spot before a day of wandering downtown Biloxi.

Locals and out-of-towners mix here without much separation, which is part of the charm. The lighting stays warm, the brick keeps the noise friendly, and nobody feels rushed out the door.

Stop by at 125 Lameuse St, Biloxi, MS 39530.

3. Mary Mahoney’s | Old French House

Built in 1737 by French colonist Louis Frasier, the house holding this restaurant ranks among the oldest in America. Dinner inside a building that predates the country is a strange and wonderful thing.

High ceilings echo the old Vieux Carré apartments of New Orleans. Heart-pine floors, exposed brick, and open fireplaces fill out the rest of the picture.

Out back sits a courtyard shaded by a live oak named Patriarch. Estimates put the tree at more than two thousand years old, which makes the 1737 house feel practically brand new.

The kitchen works in Cajun and European directions. Broiled flounder dusted with Cajun spices and fried green tomatoes crowned with crab meat and crawfish are longtime favorites.

Then there is the gumbo. It earned mentions in John Grisham novels, which is a rare honor for a bowl of soup.

Bourbon pecan pie handles dessert duties and does it well. Rich, sticky, and unapologetically Southern.

Hurricanes Camille and Katrina both hit this building hard, and both times the Mahoney family rebuilt. Generations later, they still run the place, which explains why the service feels less like a transaction and more like being hosted.

The address is 110 Rue Magnolia, Biloxi, MS 39530.

4. McElroy’s Harbor House

Back in 1957, this was an A and W root stand. Nobody eating shrimp po-boys today would guess it.

The restaurant proper started serving in 1974 and hit its 50th anniversary in 2024. That run makes it one of the oldest seafood houses standing on the Gulf Coast.

Perched above the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor, the elevated dining room looks out at the marina, Deer Island, and shrimp boats working the Mississippi Sound. An elevator gets everyone upstairs without a struggle.

Wood beams and nautical touches keep the inside cozy rather than themed. It feels like a harbor building because it is one.

Breakfast happens here, and it is hearty. Later in the day, fresh raw oysters and chargrilled oysters take over as the main draw.

Fried shrimp, oysters, catfish, and full seafood platters cover the classics. Gumbo and shrimp and grits handle the comfort side.

Two dishes get named specifically by regulars of the harbor. The Crab Cake Biloxi and the Harbor Special, a snapper filet under Cajun cream sauce and sautéed lump crab, both earn their spot.

Camille and Katrina each forced a rebuild, and the family kept going both times. Head to 695 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39530.

5. Shaggy’s Biloxi Beach

A bait shop turned into all this. After Hurricane Katrina flattened much of the coast, the idea behind Shaggy’s was simple: bring life back to the waterfront in Pass Christian.

It worked, and the concept spread. The Biloxi location sits directly on the beach with a Key West mood that feels borrowed from somewhere farther south.

Seating spreads across an open-air porch with several spots facing the water. Breeze off the Gulf does most of the air conditioning.

Mahi Mahi tacos move fast off the menu. So does the Seafood Mac and Cheese, which is exactly as heavy and satisfying as it sounds.

Redfish gets treated well here, topped with shrimp and mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce. Fresh local Gulf shrimp anchors plenty of other plates.

Burgers and sandwiches keep the non-seafood crowd happy, which matters when a group can never agree on anything. Nobody leaves hungry.

The energy stays loose and unhurried. Sandy shoes are normal, sunglasses stay on, and lunch has a way of stretching into late afternoon.

For a first meal after arriving in Biloxi, few places set the tone better. Look for it at 1763 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39531.

6. Snapper’s Seafood

Blue trim, two stories, and a deck aimed straight at the Gulf. From the upper level, pelicans occasionally glide past at eye level, which beats any decoration a designer could hang.

Speaking of decorations, the inside keeps it honest. Wooden tables, blue walls, fishing nets, and buoys make up the whole look.

Fish and chips built the reputation. Many locals rank it at the top of the coast, and the kitchen has clearly never messed with the formula.

Onion rings deserve their own paragraph. Light, crisp, and gone in about four minutes.

Catfish tastes clean, the gumbo carries real depth, and the potato salad quietly outperforms everything around it. Small details like that build loyalty.

Bigger appetites go for grilled shrimp salad, shrimp po-boys, fried oysters, or boiled shrimp and crawfish. All-you-can-eat seafood feasts are part of the deal too.

Doors open daily at 8 AM, so breakfast on the water is an option before the beach crowd arrives. Early mornings out on that deck are peaceful.

Storms have come through more than once, and the place keeps standing. When someone in Biloxi wants to show a visitor the real thing, this address gets mentioned.

It is 1699 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39531.

7. White Pillars | Restaurant And Lounge

Most Biloxi menus stay put. This one changes almost daily, depending on what came in fresh that morning.

Chef Austin Sumrall and his wife Tresse run the place, and both are Mississippians through and through. Their fingerprints show up in the serving dishes and the hand-crafted farm tables filling the dining room.

Gulf fish and seafood share space with steak, rabbit, pork, and fresh-made pasta. Seasonal highlights include a Gulf Seafood Tower and rotating handmade pastas.

Farm-to-table gets said a lot these days. Here it means the kitchen builds around what local growers and boats actually deliver.

The WP Lounge holds a serious piece of history. Its centerpiece is a 34-foot walnut bar from Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel, believed to be the oldest known bar in Biloxi.

Recognition has followed the cooking. Sumrall earned a James Beard Foundation nomination and picked up the title King of American Seafood.

None of that translates into stuffiness. The goal stated by the owners is straightforward hospitality with an honest taste of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Anyone planning a special weekend meal should put this one high on the list, since the menu they encounter will likely never repeat exactly. Reservations make sense at 1696 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39531.

8. Flatheads And Bottom Feeders

The name alone earns a second look. Behind it sits a family-owned catfish and steak house away from the beach crowds, out toward Woolmarket.

Fried catfish and fried shrimp are the reason most people make the drive. All You Can Eat Catfish is a standing offer, and people plan their week around it.

Appetizers get creative in a very coastal way. Oyster Magnolia arrives as plump oysters smothered in spinach dip, and Bangin Gulf Shrimp brings the heat.

Crab cakes come paired with fried green tomatoes, which is a smart combination nobody argues with. Gator Bites and Seafood Bread loaded with crawfish, crabmeat, and shrimp round out the starters.

Po-boys ride on bread from local Le Bakery, filled with shrimp, catfish, or oysters. Using a neighborhood bakery makes a real difference in the finished sandwich.

Red beans and rice show up with a catfish fillet laid across the top. Southern comfort, coast edition.

Trivia nights run in the bar area, giving the room a competitive buzz on certain evenings. Families fill the tables early, and the crowd gets louder as the night goes on.

Fresh, locally produced ingredients are the stated priority, and the plates back that up. The address is 8161 Woolmarket Rd, Biloxi, MS 39532.

9. Desporte Seafood, LLC

Five generations. Over a century of selling seafood in downtown Biloxi. That kind of streak does not happen by accident.

The renovated storefront nods to old Biloxi seafood factories, right down to a water tower out front. It looks like a piece of the city’s working past that refused to fade.

Walking in, the smell of the sea hits immediately. Half the space works as a retail market, the other half as a deli.

Deliveries arrive daily, straight off the boat. Gulf shrimp, fish, and oysters fill the cases, along with seasonal treats like Royal Reds.

Cooks who would rather skip the work can buy gumbo by the gallon. Rich, hearty, and ready for a crowd on short notice.

The deli side turns out classic po-boys, and the shrimp version outsells everything else. Eating it fresh, a few feet from where the shrimp was sorted, is a specific kind of luxury.

Staff talks to customers about local life as easily as they talk about the catch. The family calls it the Biloxi experience, and it lands somewhere between a grocery run and neighborhood hangout.

Anyone renting a place with a kitchen should stop here first. It sits at 197 Caillavet St, Biloxi, MS 39530.

10. Fillin’ Station

Gas station, then nothing, then one of the most beloved hangouts downtown. The building went up in the 1920s as a Standard Oil service station and reopened as a restaurant in 2010.

Vintage automotive signs cover the walls, and old car tags fill an entire section. The lacquered bar top displays original invoices and letters from the station’s working days.

A large garage door rolls up to open the bar area to the outside. There is a patio too, which fills quickly on pleasant evenings.

Crawfish nachos are the dish people bring friends here to try. Gumbo and Cajun red beans and rice keep the Louisiana influence strong.

Burgers here have won awards, and the roast beef po-boy holds its own against anything in the neighborhood. Messy, but worth it.

Oysters come raw, charbroiled, Rockefeller, or Bourbon Street style. When crawfish season rolls around, boiled crawfish arrives with spicy corn and potatoes.

The blue plate special goes by the Biloxi Dip, pairing half a shrimp po-boy with a cup of homemade gumbo. Simple and smart.

Live music turns the evenings lively, and the whole place runs on a mix of retro garage energy and New Orleans warmth. Visit at 692 Howard Ave, Biloxi, MS 39530.