Kingfisher Seafood is a hit

Kingfisher Seafood plans to step up the menu a notch: Colleen and I join friends for dinner at Kingfisher Seafood a week ago tonight. This is our third visit and it turns out, we’re in for a surprise. Given that it’s Tuesday, we’re guessing the place won’t be busy. Wrong assumption on our part. The place is hoppin’. In fact, we’re glad we made a reservation online the day before.

We start with an appetizer of fried green tomatoes ($14.50). The plate, which comes with four tomatoes, is delicious and gets polished off in no time. For entrees, two of us order the Half and Half platter ($23). My choice is fried catfish, fried shrimp and Jambalaya. Colleen decides to go the soup and salad route, starting with crab and brie soup ($9). She’s had this soup before, says it rocks, and this time is no different. After looking at salad options, she picks the Hawaiian seafood salad ($18), consisting of Salmon Poké, krab stick, mango, tomatoes and cucumber with white balsamic truffle oil glaze. A couple of bites into it and she calls it one of the best salads she’s ever had. My chilled garden salad with homemade ranch dressing is excellent.

It’s not a tough call for the Half and Half platter. I don’t get catfish very often, but this catfish is delish. So is the shrimp. The chicken and sausage jambalaya is full of flavor, too. With fries and tasty hushpuppies also on the plate, there is so much food that I can’t eat all of it. This is our guests’ first time to try Kingfisher, and they love their entrees, too. Tina, our server, does a good job making sure we have what we need. We like Kingfisher’s policy of bringing a container of water to your table so you don’t have to wait on a refill, something those of us who guzzle water appreciate.

If there’s anything we have to tolerate during our visit, it’s that the place is noisy, something we notice during previous dinner visits. But the noise level tells me that people really like Kingfisher, whether for dining or having a drink at the bar. In fact, response to Kingfisher has been so strong that it even surprises the owners. “We definitely didn’t anticipate the awesome reception we have received and how gracious everyone has been through the opening,” General Manager Megan Aucoin says. In the not too distant future, Megan says we can count on seeing weekly lunch specials and brunch.

Open since late December, Kingfisher becomes so popular that parking turns into a problem early on–the parking area behind the restaurant simply couldn’t handle the number of cars coming in. Megan says the restaurant is working with owners of nearby properties to allow Kingfisher customers to use their space for parking. “They have been super accommodating at working through the pains with us,” Megan says.

Clearly, excitement about Fairhope’s newest restaurant remains high. While a quiet, intimate evening is probably not in the cards with a visit here, a seriously good Cajun seafood meal with attentive service is an outcome you can expect, and for not too much money (our group’s total without tip for four entrees plus appetizer winds up at $113.91).

For people not keen about seafood, Kingfisher offers sandwiches, steaks, pork chops, burgers, grilled chicken, and even a whole fried cornish hen. The place welcomes families and has a children’s menu.

Another plus people like is the fact that Kingfisher is open seven days a week. Open 11-10 SUN though THU and 11-11 FRI and SAT. Reservations can be made online at Kingfisher’s website and through OpenTable.

Kingfisher Seafood Restaurant
805 S Mobile St
Fairhope AL 36532
Web: https://kingfisherseafood.com/