Gaido's
Seafood restaurant · Galveston
3828 Seawall Blvd, Galveston, TX 77550
Highlights
Seafood institution offering Gulf views, classic cocktails, & pecan pie
Seafood institution offering Gulf views, classic cocktails, & pecan pie
"Previously announced as a 2025 James Beard Award recipient." - Erin DeJesus
"The James Beard Foundation named Gaido’s in Galveston, Texas, one of its America’s Classics winners in 2025. Operated by fourth-generation Italian American Nick Gaido and his wife, Kateryna, this 114-year-old seafood spot is considered a landmark on Galveston’s Seawall. Originally opened in 1911, Gaido’s offers a constantly changing menu with its best catches of the day, which include various preparations of catfish, snapper, and redfish; crabs and scallops when in season; and Gulf shrimp served in myriad ways. The restaurant notes that it still peels, shucks, and fillets all its seafood by hand, precisely the way it did when it opened more than a century ago. The food merges Southern, Creole, and Southwest cooking techniques and flavor profiles, all in a dining room filled with white tablecloth-covered tables." - Courtney E. Smith
"A perennial Galveston favorite that’s been open since 1911, Gaido’s pairs white-glove service with seaside views. Splurge on dishes like pecan-crusted Mahi Mahi and crawfish tails simmered in a rich asiago sauce. The cocktail menu has 10 signature martinis, each perfect for toasting any celebration — even if it’s just a Wednesday." - Brianna Griff
"Named an America’s Classics winner by the James Beard Foundation — an award that goes to locally-owned restaurants that have "timeless appeal that serve quality food and are beloved by their communities," according to the organization's press release — this seafood landmark on Galveston’s Seawall opened in 1911 and is operated by fourth-generation Italian American Nick Gaido and his wife, Kateryna. The constantly changing menu highlights the best catches of the day, including various preparations of catfish, snapper, and redfish; crabs and scallops when in season; and Gulf shrimp served in myriad ways, and the restaurant notes that it still "peels, shucks, and fillets all its seafood by hand, precisely the way it did when it opened more than a century ago." The food "merges Southern, Creole, and Southwest cooking techniques and flavor profiles," served in a dining room filled with white tablecloth-covered tables, while moments from the storied past — old menus, artifacts, and photos — decorate the walls; notable guests include the director Alfred Hitchcock and "an array of state and national politicians too vast to keep track of," and "this is the kind of place that doesn’t feed and tell." Expansive views of the Gulf of Mexico rival the people-watching. The family has maintained a menu of classics over the century-plus the business has been open, including shrimp cocktail (at $14, it’s a steal —almost $20 less than the going rate in bigger coastal cities), an impressive seafood tower, its "famous" fried seafood platter, and a signature oyster menu that focuses on Gulf-harvested oysters; the menu assures diners that the Gaido family has known most of the oystermen working in the Gulf for the past century and that they go out of their way to pay top-dollar for the best oysters, which can be ordered on the halfshell, fried, baked, chargrilled, and more — and a very long list of martinis sits alongside. The restaurant also embodies an immigrant-family story: the Gaidos came from Cercenasco, Italy, in the 19th century and, "according to a 2013 profile in the Galveston News," were poverty-stricken after immigrating and stayed in Galveston because it was less challenging than relocating elsewhere. Restaurants on the Seawall must be resilient — facing hurricanes (much of the island is still bouncing back from the devastation following Hurricane Ike in 2008), summer influxes and winter lulls, and current industry pressures from COVID, rising food costs, and a tight labor market — and this place "carries on, in the face of it all." "Fresh locally caught Gulf seafood since 1911!" - Courtney E. Smith
"A fixture of Galveston’s seafood community for 114 years, this restaurant was opened in 1911 by Italian immigrant San Giacinto Gaido and is now helmed by fourth-generation Nick Gaido and his wife, Kateryna. Gulf Coast seafood takes center stage with longtime offerings like redfish, catfish, scallops, and shrimp served grilled, fried, in creamy pastas, and on crostini. The restaurant’s storied history is displayed in photos and artifacts throughout the space, and the owners actively participate in community causes—donating over $50,000 for Ukraine, where Kateryna is from, at the start of the war." - Kayla Stewart
