Dirty Al's Seafood Market & Cajun Kitchen

Had a nice lunch experience at Dirty Al’s with a good sized group. The restaurant has many different seating arrangements from small to large parties. The decor and layout was fun and well done. There is a full service bar for alcoholic beverages as well as a happy hour and a fresh seafood market with many options to choose from. The food was good and fresh, drinks were cold and prompt and the overall atmosphere was great.

Oysters were exceptionally good, although unlike other places they don’t give you radish sauce and crackers ! I expected a complimentary seafood soup ( like other seafood restaurants in the Valley.

From what I was told this establishment has been here for many years and well known for preparing phenomenal meals; recognized locations in Brownsville and South Padre Island for serving fresh seafood cuisine and bought locally. We decided to have dinner here for my wife's birthday with a few family members and ended up being a party of ten. Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed seeing one another. For starters we ordered Shrimp Fondue, a Texas Onion Blossom and a dozen of raw oysters. A few of us got Bloody Mary's and Margaritas. The others had water, beer and fountain drinks. For the entrée we ordered two 40 piece botanas for everyone to share, which includes fish, shrimp, oysters and chicken (fried) in any combination of choice along with a side of french fries. For everything the total damage ended up being $326.64, which considering all that was ordered I felt was very reasonable. The only complaint was that they seemed to be very understaffed which ultimately effecting the service and experience. Overall we had a good time, the food was great and my wife enjoyed her birthday dinner.

So I ordered a shrimp and fish combo and the Mardi Gras platter . What a disappointment! This was the size of the fish . They were all like this. The shrimp were the “large. This was not worth 43 dollars. Never again

This place is soooooo good most definitely 10 out of 10 I have tried oysters else were and nothing like this place must try must try really good environment and nice people.

I had the King stuffed Flounder. Came with Flounder topped with stuffing, mushrooms, and pea size shrimp. It was served with fried potatoes, green beans, and zucchini. The entire dish sat in a cheesy sauce. It tasted amazing though it was enough for 2 people so I couldn't finish it all. They had great tasting sweet tea and for my meal it all cost $34 which was very fair considering the amount. The restaurant had a fun atmosphere and I noticed a sign that read Mondays special from 3 pm - close is $0.75 raw oysters 😋 my favorite and I look forward to trying that. They also have karaoke on Mondays if that is your thing, I definitely would try it. TVs could be placed better or offer more, I somewhat was able to watch the NFL game which I enjoyed since I'm an out of towner. The down fall and reason I only gave 4 stars was the loud instrument the employees kept using for the 3 different birthdays. It was extremely loud and startling each time. Kind of hurt my ears. A little girl about 6 or 7 next to my table was scared and her mom had to hold her and cover her ears. I also noticed an older man having to cover his ears as well. The gesture for the guest is nice, but the amount of noise is disturbing and can prevent someone from wanting to return.

Great food as had the Almond cod and as an appetizer the fried mushrooms! Great service by the waitress and will be back when in Brownsville Tx.

Food is very tasty. Blooming onion was really good. Great service.

We eat here twice a year when we are in Brownsville for dove hunting. Dirty Al's has never failed to satisfy us with service, food quality and quantity and the drinks are always good. It's a big place, it's rustic and it's just damned good food.

Service was good. Fried shrimp was so bad, even after several hous I could still taste dirty shrimp water. The onion rings were greasy I could not eat them. The tea was weak and tasted terrible. I will never go back.

Excellent customer service and delicious fried shrimp and fish. Would highly recommend!!! If you you are craving seafood.

Breaded shrimp with French fries were good. Food came out hot, breading on shrimp was not heavy, could have used more seasoning. Loads of French fries in basket! Service was fast and waitress did great job.

I like it. Can be pricey so get the special. Tons of shrimp on my special. Great atmosphere and decor. Check out our YouTube channel Coolest Life.

The food was god awful. Do not get the shrimp gumbo!!! It literally tasted like it had been on the stove all day. Super burnt. The service was no better, it was horrible and we were given attitude. First and last time I will ever come to this restaurant. HORRIBLE!!!

The food was delicious! We had grilled fish in a creamy cheese sauce with a perfect crab cake. The server was friendly. The food took an unusually long time to be served at our table and those around us. Was worth it because we had great conversation while we waited.

When you order oyster's rockefeller they reuse the oyster shells and refill them with canned shit. Walk away from this shitty place!!!

Had the fish poboy and the bun tasted like it was grilled with rancid oil. Husband had fried fish and shrimp. He said it was only okay. Wish I could recommend - but no.

Didn't like the food at all! Just ate it because I was so hungry! Full of grease and no flavor

Heard about the happy hour here so had to roll up. Fortunately my coworker (we'll call her Karen, same person from my taco Palenque review) told me about this so her and I went here and posted up at the bar. Margaritas were their happy hour specialty which is what I ordered. I didn't realize how big it would be but it's Texas after all so of course it would be larger than life. And it was! Smooth and easy, one was enough for me as I switched to beer next also on happy hour. My tab came out to 8 and some change. Quite satisfied of course! They also gave us complimentary oysters. Since Karen is a picky person, she gave me hers. It's a nice touch for those who sit at the bar. Also props to the bar staff for putting up with Karen's bullshit. She doesn't go to bars much so she doesn't know proper etiquette such as using please & thank you. Also she ordered the lemon drop martini w/o mentioning it's a martini so they gave her a shooter. Of course she complained by saying all bartenders should know a lemon drop is a martini. Sadly she doesn't know it's usually a shooter. They made her the martini which shut her up. Probably best that next time I head here solo or with a different group. Regardless, don't let the restaurants name disuade you from stopping here. Happy hour prices are legit and their seafood dishes look solid. I need my work to send me back to Brownsville ASAP!

Before writing my review on the food itself I have to give a shout out to waiter because although the food was horrible he was a sweetheart. There was a long wait to even be seated then even longer wait to order and receive food. Poor dude was drowning running back and fourth and kept apologizing which there was absolutely no way we could be rude he was trying his best to keep up with his tables. We ordered fries shrimp and alfredo and the food was just horrible. Pasta was cold and the fries were hard and burnt. The fried shrimp was okay but definitely not worth the price of the dishes. Do not recommend nor will be going back.

The water was terrible. Didn't get a refill on my soda. The gumbo was damn good. I would give this place a better rating if the water was drinkable.

Came in because the guys from Hertz said it was very good. They were right had the Res Snapper and it was awesome. I also couldn't ask for better service from the staff. Will be back again.

The place was empty. The menu is extremely hard to read in the dark. Our waiter was kind but pushed the two most expensive things on the menu. He was very very persistent. Ordered the fried shrimp and shrimp etouffee. It was delicious. Small portions. Husband order came out wrong. My husband had shrimp and scallops blackened. Again. Delicious but plates are smallish. Seafood which is plentiful here should be a draw for its cheaper prices but this has always hampered the gulf coast of Texas. Use the delicious seafood here and don't price yourself out of the market. When you have a handful of seafood places in a coastal area and more Chinese buffets. Something is wrong. This place could improve but it's resting on its tourist attraction.

Pros- Service was great. Very clean Cons - we had appetizers and drinks. The appetizers weren't that great. The stuffed jalapeños cheese sticks and calamari weren't well prepared. The cheese sticks weren't as tasty, the stuffed jalapeños had a whole shrimp with sour cream and the calamari didn't taste fresh. I ate here a couple of years ago and remember I was very disappointed in the food back then.

Dirty Al's restaurants used to be the best, but not anymore and we will not go back. My oysters were the size of a teaspoon. My fried shrimp was over cooked. George always said 60 seconds to fry shrimp. Padre island dirty Al's is the original and we always preferred going there.

Grilled oysters were delicious . My husband got the red snapper (2lb) fried . It was fried beautifully but lacked seasoning . I got the surf and turf lobster was good but ribs eye lacked seasoning . Our server was distracted at first but service was good . The grilled oysters came with some bread that was delicious . That bread alone is worth eating there

95% of the time this restaurant is so good ! But lately their peel-n-eat shrimp is small. Please be consistent. That's what keeps customers like me continuing to come back.

We went there on 11-08 and asked to watch something on TV and the waitress told us that the TV nearest to us wasn't working but the one across the restdid if we didn't mind watching it from where we were like 70 feet away worst place ever

The crawfish were seasoned well, but they were all dead when cooked. They were ALL grainy and none pulled. I'm guessing they get them in once a week and they die as the week goes down. Then they cook them anyway. The crawfish were not purged, deep veins showing big time. That's because dead crawfish can't expel. Very grainy. The server went back and checked and came back and told me I was right, they were dead. Nobody made any adjustment on the bill. I guess you just have to cook your own at the house these days or don't go to the valley for crawfish and expect them to care what they toss at you. But this is a seafood specialty place. Get it together.

Don't let the name scare you off. Most seafood in town naturally has a decisive Mexican flair. Not Dirty Al's--fried food and Cajun accents through and through. It has the atmosphere of a bar, but plenty of dining room. The service was excellent. I was overwhelmed by the amount of fried food--not often I see a menu with a whole page of "Fried" options. I wanted to avoid that so I got the tuna steak served on jambalaya. The tuna was good, the jambalaya amazing, and more than I could ever eat though I wanted to try. I would check this place out again if I was in the mood to sample some more fried options but not a lot of options for healthier eating.

We went the Dirty Al's in South Padre last week so tried the one in Brownsville today. The Brownsville location is definitely much nicer and the food was very similar (good). As a couple we each had a drink and a meal then with the tip the total bill was almost $70 which is a pretty spendy lunch for us.

Water tasted like it was tainted with battery acid. The smell of the restaurant was god awful. Also the fries were tasting like syrup fries.

They have some massive fried seafood botana platters that are delicious and hard to beat! Dont forget to stop on by during Mondays 50 cent oyster special during oyster season!!!

Where do I start? The ladies here at my mobile home park are planning a luncheon next week. Being vegan, I looked at the menu on their website, Google and Yelp. Wednesday special is West End, but there's no clue as to what that entails. The "Contact Us" link is broken. There are no prices, at least not that I can see to the right of the items on my Pixel 3. I may still go and just order off the sides menu. Get with the program, Al!

Tried this place for the first time tonight. The restaurant really is dark which makes it hard to read the menu and SUPER LOUD when the mariachi Band started to play near my table. The service was really good. Had a nice and very friendly waitress. The food was GREAT!!! I had the "West Bank" Fish with shrimp sauce. Will definitely go back.

Absolutely Positively LOVED THIS DAM RESTAURANT!!! Food delicious service outstanding.. and Tracy the waitress is SUPERB !!!!!!! I am in love and if I'm ever back out this way .. I WILL BE BACK!!!! Here from Memphis TN!!!

I drove in from Harlingen for this? The greeting by the hostess at Dirty Al's was awful! I've always thought that the greeting of a business always sets the overall guest experience. As a single person dining, I walked up to a young lady that greeted me with a "Yes.." as if I were a servant bothering her train of thought. She appeared to be indifferent that I was there and asked,"one or two". I was left to understand that she thought others may be joing me. As I to her that it was just me, she was off to find a 4 seat table. When I told her that I preferred another one-becase it was along side of a restroom walkway, she quickly turned and left the menu on the next table. I'm left to wonder if she's always that way, or it's just a sign of the times with today's young work force. The waiter was friendly and attentive. The food was what I expected, tasty.

First got pickles that seemed to be battered in salt and flour. Then waited 43 minutes to get our food that was cold and tasteless. After eating blackened shrimp we noticed hair in the plate The manager was made aware so he sticks his hand in the plate removed the hair and said need anything else? Like seriously??? OMG! If he did this in front of us imagine what goes on behind the walls in the kitchen! The manager needs serious training! Don't go here unless you expect horrible service and fingers in your food

Visited the Brownsville location with the kids and food and service were really good. I like the consistency of this place, although I recall one bad experience with the shrimp at their SPI location which was fixed by the staff. One miss on many visits so will keep visiting them.

The rating should probably be 2 stars but my pickle juice michelada was the best thing I ordered. We ordered the seafood stuffed jalapeños which were mostly breading with some paste inside the jalapeño, I couldn't find any distinguishable seafood, the blackened fish tacos had no spice to speak of, very bland. The restaurant wasn't busy but our wait time was quite slow, we won't return

Booked our Grand Finale Dinner for the split rail park mission Tx on March 22nd. Food was great, waitresses superb. My low rating was from the food serving process. yes there was close to 40 of us but maybe another table of 4 people. our table got served first out of the three tables. We completely finished our dinner and the other two tables hadnt even gotten theirs. come on dirty Al's I could see if u were crowded we could understand. Another thing when we went to Dirty Al's veterans received a 20 % discount. Mysteriously that got taken down To 10%. Lastly tipping should be at a persons discretion not the restaraunt. Tipping is for the service u receive. Automatically adding 20% to your receipt is unacceptable. Although the servers deserved that it's a choice thing. I have my doubts that that complete 20% goes to the servers. A way for a facility to rack up their prices.Dirty Shame Dirty Al's will not see you next year!

I love this place. The food is exceptional. I have tried most every fish dish and all the oysters that serve. I wish I lived closer or visited more often to South Texas. I've only had great, really great fresh seafood here.

This place lives up to it's name.. It is DIRTY!!! And this review has pics to prove it. This will be a negative review, which is consistent with other reviewers. Avoid this place and drive an extra 24 minutes to the island for some fresh sea food. But for those that are still looking to dine here... Continue reading. You are welcomed initially with your order of your beverage. It is served in a broken, chipped, and in a cover of a dirty cloudy haze. I initially ordered a sweet tea, which has unfortunately obviously prepared with tap water. My drink was reordered, this time requesting a fountain drink in a styrofoam cup. My Texas Ribeye Po Boy was a generous amount. Amongst the cheese and sautéed mushrooms, the essence of frozen microwaved prepared meat cleansed the pallet of that tap water sweet tea concoction. Served on a bed of fries, it was just ok. The French fries are nothing to write about. -Liz- i love sea food. My favorite is red snapper fried. I ordered this and was extremely disappointed. The fish was tasteless, over cooked, dry, and did not taste very fresh. I paid 30 dollars for fish I ended up not even eating. Definitely not coming here again, for that price I could have gotten better quality food. Service was not very good, server took forever to get my order, I don't think it was his fault , there is not enough servers to attend the whole restaurant.

Worst experience ever, waiters don't know how to multitask. Took forever just to get a fork, food got cold by the time it was brought to me, oh yeah, probably because he was too busy chatting with the bartender. Appetizers came in with our main meal.. Blaaah Never again!!

I visited the Brownsville location near Morrison Rd. My cousin and I took my Mom there for her birthday. We were seated in a timely manner despite the large crowd. The host was kind and courteous. We were waited on by Roberto. This guy was go amazing. Attentive but not hovering and interrupting. We were very pleased with the food. We ordered the 20 price seafood platter. All the food arrived hot and delicious. The restaurant was clean and I will definitely be back. Kudos to Roberto!

Great stuff ! Red snapper blackened with zucchini and some coleslaw. Perfect match. I also tried the dry rub shrimp a different time..good stuff.

Stopped for lunch. Had a great waitress who was attentive and prompt. Had a cup of lobster bisque which was ok but nothing to write home about. Then had the smaller shrimp and oyster plate. The shrimp were cooked well and were quite good. They were breaded with panko which is not my favorite so in the future I will request an alternate breading. The oysters were horrible. I complained and they apologized and adjusted my bill politely. Thought I would give them another try. Sorry to say things are not any better. This time I ordered the shrimp plate but asked for different breading. The breading used was better but now it was too heavy. The plate came with french fries only although I could have selected a different side. As has been noted elsewhere the place is a bit noisy but struck me most was the odor of old seafood. There is a large display case as you enter with various offerings but it was not very appetizing as the fish had sunken eyes which is not a good sign. I left with a bit of the impression that Dirty Al's is indeed dirty.

Al's is actually my favorite place when staying in near-by hotels, waiter and waitress are very friendly, no line usually I checked in (may kinda of saying something). Food is cheap and quality is ok. I like sea food and southern food, so this place fit me perfectly. Not so much from my colleague down there. Visited two times now, one with few guys, another just me and a Buffalonnian, had oyster, shrimp po-boy, chicken wings and other stuff, which tasted all good to me.

Five stars for the service. Three stars for the food. Very accommodating to our large group on a short notice. Server was super friendly and on point. He managed the table like a pro! Food was a bit lackluster. On the surface mine seemed great and tasted great but I hit a point where it tasted bad. Very fishy in a bad way for fish. Appetizers were good and the drinks were very healthy pours!

Can't beat Monday's 50¢ oysters!! Off the menu, the chipotle oysters are the best oysters I've yet to taste(must ask your waiter for special request)!! You can always taste the freshness of the seafood, grilled red snapper is a must!! Great service, "Yessi" is a great waitress and knows the menu well(ask for her), good music, great environment!

The fries are exceptional. They are delicious. The customer service was really good. I just wish the fried shrimp was even more crispier. Overall, 4.1/5

This location needs to consider looking for a another hostess with better customer service skills. Aside from that we didn't get to eat because they had two larger groups and servers couldn't handle taking on any more tables, even though the majority of the tables were empty.

If you like Dirty Al's at SPI you can enjoy it in Brownsville too. Al owns a variety of restaurants on the island and has expanded his famous Dirty Al's to other parts of the valley. It's mostly known for its fried shrimp, which is really great. Their buffalo sauce is perfect for it. They have decent happy hour specials like $2 pints. They have some Cajun dishes too such as crawfish étouffée. Mostly people come for the shrimp. It's why I go.

I do not recommend this place. The waiter did not know what drink specials they had for the day. We ordered an order of oysters and the horse radish was old. Also they did not have any fried oysters. You are a seafood restaurant and carry no fried oysters and the oysters were not properly shucked. Came from Austin to enjoy some good seafood and was very disappointed.

Very good seafood. We had fried shrimp, fried oysters, and fried fish. The shrimp were jumbo and we'll seasoned. The oysters were fresh. The fish was very good and mild. We also had frog legs that were lightly battered and fried. The service was excellent. Waiter very helpful. We got our food quickly even though the restaurant was busy. We will return. .

It's too pricey. Snobby waitresses. Highly over rated. Will not be coming back. I tried enjoying the food/ restaurant several times but no different than prior experiences.

Not impressed at all. Food was over cooked had to ask someone to come get my money. Noticed the manager visited every other table but ours. Just over all not a good experience. Could have had better service at McDonalds and saved about 90.00 Save your money and time.