Seafood

Branson is a long way from either coast, which makes the seafood scene here more interesting than it sounds – the good places lean on the lakes rather than pretending otherwise.

White River Fish House sits on the water at Branson Landing and is the one to book. The Worman House Bistro and Osage Restaurant both run seafood-heavy menus at the Big Cedar end. Laketime Bistro in Kimberling City and SS Dockside Cafe And Pub work the Table Rock Lake side, and Tall Tales Bar & Grill covers Hollister. Starvin Marvin’s is the long-standing Branson name for fried seafood and a Friday fish fry. On the chain side there is Landry’s Seafood House, Joe’s Crab Shack, Red Lobster, LandShark Bar & Grill, and the steak-and-oyster hybrids Outback Steak & Oyster Bar and Saltgrass Steak House.

Local tip worth knowing: Lake Taneycomo is a cold-water trout fishery, and trout appears on menus around town as a local dish rather than an import. If you want it at its best, look at the lakeside restaurants rather than the strip.