Hollywood sits on the Atlantic between Miami and Fort Lauderdale with the Intracoastal Waterway running behind it, and seafood here is not a category so much as the default. What makes it worth a dedicated guide rather than a section is one dish: Florida stone crab, which is seasonal, genuinely regional, and the single most-searched thing anyone looks up about eating in this city.

This guide covers where to eat seafood in Hollywood, which tables actually face water and which just say they do, what stone crab season means for your booking, and honest notes on price. Every venue named was verified before publishing. For what is fresh this week, ask the Hollywood neighbors who buy it.

Stone crab: the thing to get right before you book

This is the most useful paragraph on the page. Florida stone crab season runs from 15 October to 1 May. Inside those dates, claws are landed daily and served fresh. Outside them – May through mid-October – the fishery is closed, and restaurants serve flash-frozen claws instead.

Frozen is not a scandal; it is how the industry works and the quality is generally good. But it is not the same thing, the price rarely drops to match, and a lot of visitors book a stone crab dinner in July without realising. If fresh stone crab is the reason for your trip, come between mid-October and the end of April.

One more thing worth knowing about the animal itself: stone crab is a claw-only fishery. Harvesters take a claw and return the crab to the water to regrow it, which is why you never see a whole stone crab on a plate and why the claws are priced the way they are.

Billy’s Stone Crab – 400 N Ocean Dr

The signature seafood restaurant in Hollywood and the most-searched restaurant name in the city. Open daily from 12pm to 10pm, on North Ocean Drive a block from the Broadwalk, with water views and a long-standing local reputation built almost entirely on the claws.

★ The detail most guides miss: there is a seafood market at the same address. If you want stone crab without the restaurant bill – or want to take claws home – buy them there instead. For a family or several people staying in a rental, this is materially cheaper than the dining room and is what a lot of residents actually do.

Honest note on price and reviews: across roughly 1,500 Yelp reviews and 1,600 on OpenTable, the pattern is consistent – people rate the stone crab and the service highly, and a recurring minority say plainly that it is expensive. Both things are true. Stone crab is an expensive product everywhere in Florida, and Billy’s is not the place to look for a cheap seafood dinner. Come for the claws in season and it earns its reputation.

GG’s Waterfront – 606 N Ocean Dr

The other big name, a few doors north, and the one to choose when you want a proper waterfront table rather than a beach one. GG’s faces the Intracoastal Waterway, so the view is boats and yachts sliding past rather than surf – a different and, for many people, better dinner. It opens Monday to Friday at 11am and weekends at 10:30am, running to 10pm daily, and carries well over 2,000 reviews, making it the most popular sit-down waterfront room in Hollywood.

The weekend 10:30am opening makes it a legitimate brunch option too – see our breakfast and brunch guide.

Seafood on the Broadwalk

If you want your table on the promenade itself with the Atlantic in front of you, the Broadwalk is where to go, and the trade-off is honest: the setting is better than the cooking. Hollywood Brewery at 290 N Broadwalk is open daily 11am to midnight, brews its own beer, is dog-friendly inside and out, and gets specific praise for its coconut shrimp – though its overall rating sits around 3.5 out of 5, so treat it as a beer-and-a-plate spot rather than a seafood destination. Ocean Alley does Italian-leaning seafood on the same stretch, and Mamacita’s Latin Bar & Grill at 591 N Broadwalk runs Latin seafood from 8am until late.

⚠️ One out-of-date recommendation to ignore: Toucan’s Oceanside Bar & Grill at 500 N Broadwalk has closed, despite still appearing on current Broadwalk lists. Our full Broadwalk guide covers that stretch properly.

The high end: steak-and-seafood rooms

Council Oak Steaks & Seafood is the fine-dining option, inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at One Seminole Way. It is a serious room rather than a casino afterthought: an open kitchen, an in-house butcher shop and a dry-aging room walled in pink Himalayan salt, multi-level seating, and a glass-enclosed wine room holding more than 400 labels. This is where Hollywood does an occasion dinner.

JWB Prime Steak & Seafood is the other high-end steak-and-seafood name locally and draws real search interest, though we have not published a location for it here that we could independently confirm.

Where locals go, and the cheaper routes

Several more seafood names come up consistently in Hollywood conversation – Newts Crab Trap, The Mermaid Queen and Nick’s Bar & Grill among them. We name them without street numbers rather than guess at addresses.

Two genuinely cheaper routes worth knowing. Buy from a market rather than a dining room – Billy’s runs one at 400 N Ocean Dr, and cooking claws or fish in a rental kitchen costs a fraction of eating out. And the Yellow Green Farmers Market at 1940 N 30th Road, open Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 6:30pm, holds 600 vendor booths under cover including more than 200 food and drink stalls – a very different and much cheaper way to eat well. Our farmers markets guide covers it in full.

What seafood costs in Hollywood

Rough figures, because menus and market prices move – and stone crab in particular is priced by the day. A casual seafood dinner for two with a drink each on the Broadwalk generally runs $70 to $120. A waterfront dinner at GG’s realistically lands $110 to $170. Stone crab at Billy’s is the outlier and depends entirely on claw size and the day’s market – budget well above a normal seafood dinner, and treat medium claws as the sensible value choice over jumbo. Council Oak prices as fine dining, starting around $200 for two before a serious bottle.

Ways to spend less: eat at lunch rather than dinner, buy from the market, and come in the off-season – roughly May through October is quieter and cheaper across the city, though that is also when stone crab is frozen rather than fresh, so the two trade off against each other.

Practical notes

High season is November through April, which overlaps almost exactly with stone crab season – so the months when the seafood is best are also the months when you most need a reservation. Book ahead for weekends.

Parking on the beach side is paid and fills early; the Broadwalk-area lots run roughly $3 to $4 an hour and are full by late morning on winter weekends. Arrive before 10am or after 4pm.

Ask what came in today. This is a working coastal town and the good rooms have genuine daily variation – the question gets a real answer here.

Dress is casual almost everywhere except Council Oak, and even there smart-casual is fine.

More Hollywood guides

Keep going with the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk guide, restaurants in Hollywood, breakfast and brunch, bars, coffee shops, farmers markets, things to do, parks, events, date ideas, things to do with kids, dog-friendly Hollywood, the best neighborhoods and moving to Hollywood.

Frequently asked questions about seafood in Hollywood, FL

Where is the best seafood in Hollywood, Florida?

Billy’s Stone Crab at 400 N Ocean Dr is the signature choice and the most-searched restaurant in the city, open daily 12pm to 10pm and best known for stone crab claws. GG’s Waterfront at 606 N Ocean Dr is the pick for an Intracoastal view, open Monday to Friday from 11am and weekends from 10:30am. For fine dining, Council Oak Steaks & Seafood inside the Seminole Hard Rock at One Seminole Way. On the Broadwalk itself, Hollywood Brewery at 290 N Broadwalk and Ocean Alley are the casual beachfront options.

When is stone crab season in Florida?

Stone crab season runs from 15 October to 1 May. During those months claws are landed daily and served fresh. From May through mid-October the fishery is closed and restaurants serve flash-frozen claws instead – good, but not the same, and rarely much cheaper. If fresh stone crab is the point of your visit, come between mid-October and the end of April.

Is Billy’s Stone Crab expensive?

Yes, and it is fair to say so. Across roughly 1,500 Yelp and 1,600 OpenTable reviews the pattern is consistent: high marks for the stone crab and the service, with a recurring minority noting the price. Stone crab is an expensive product throughout Florida because it is a claw-only fishery. The cheaper route is the seafood market at the same address, 400 N Ocean Dr, where you can buy claws to take away instead of eating in the dining room.

Can you buy stone crab to take home in Hollywood?

Yes. Billy’s Stone Crab operates a seafood market at 400 N Ocean Dr alongside the restaurant, so you can buy claws to cook or eat at home. For anyone staying in a rental or feeding several people, this is significantly cheaper than the dining room and is what many residents do. The Yellow Green Farmers Market at 1940 N 30th Road, open Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 6:30pm, is the other good food-shopping option.

What is the difference between Billy’s Stone Crab and GG’s Waterfront?

Billy’s at 400 N Ocean Dr is built around stone crab and is the destination for that specific dish. GG’s at 606 N Ocean Dr faces the Intracoastal Waterway, so you eat watching boats rather than surf, has broader appeal across its menu, and carries over 2,000 reviews as the most popular sit-down waterfront room in the city. GG’s also opens at 10:30am at weekends, which makes it a brunch option.

Is there good seafood directly on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk?

Yes, though the setting generally beats the cooking on that stretch. Hollywood Brewery at 290 N Broadwalk is open daily 11am to midnight, brews its own beer, is dog-friendly, and is praised for its coconut shrimp, though its overall rating sits around 3.5 out of 5. Ocean Alley does Italian-leaning seafood and Mamacita’s at 591 N Broadwalk serves Latin seafood from 8am until late. Note that Toucan’s Oceanside at 500 N Broadwalk has closed despite still appearing on some lists.

How much does a seafood dinner cost in Hollywood, FL?

A casual seafood dinner for two with a drink each on the Broadwalk generally runs $70 to $120. A waterfront dinner at GG’s realistically lands $110 to $170. Stone crab at Billy’s is priced by the day according to claw size and market rates and sits well above a normal seafood dinner – medium claws are the sensible value choice over jumbo. Council Oak starts around $200 for two before wine.

Do I need a reservation for seafood restaurants in Hollywood?

In high season, roughly November through April, yes – and note that this overlaps almost exactly with stone crab season, so the months when the seafood is best are the months when tables are hardest to get. Book weekends ahead. In summer you can usually walk in. Parking is the other constraint: beach-side lots run about $3 to $4 an hour and fill by late morning on winter weekends, so arrive before 10am or after 4pm.