6 places to find the best seafood gumbo in Alabama

The only chain on this list, Chuck's Fish has locations in Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa as well as Florida and Georgia. All of them serve fresh Gulf seafood straight from Destin's Harbor Docks, some of which goes into the seafood gumbo. (Facebook / Chuck's Fish Birmingham)
There’s something soul-satisfying about gumbo at this time of the year.
Maybe it’s the nourishing warmth a steaming bowl provides in winter’s chill. Or an appreciation for the effort required to make great gumbo from scratch. Being Mardi Gras season doesn’t hurt.
It’s all of those – and more.
The words subtle and gumbo are rarely uttered in the same breath. Gumbo’s flavors are robust and bold. Its ingredients are infinitely versatile. The dark, soupy stew is as complex as the people who contributed something to the gumbo pot: French, Black, Cajun, Native American, Caribbean, German and Spanish.
Although rooted in the “holy trinity” of onion, celery and bell pepper, gumbo’s family tree has many limbs.
One branch favors fish and crustaceans, like shrimp, crab, crawfish and oysters. Another flocks to chicken, duck or anything else a hunter brings home. While most include spicy, smoked sausage – generally Cajun-style andouille – a few leave it out.
Some use the flour-fat mixture roux as a thickener, its flavors intensifying as the roux cooks to a brick-red or a dark-brown hue depending on the gumbo. Others rely on okra or powdered sassafras leaf, file (pronounced fee-lay), for a viscous effect.
With Alabama’s proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, seafood gumbo is an excellent choice. Here are six places making great gumbo in the state.

At NOLA on 2nd in Gadsden, you can get your gumbo with rice or a scoop of potato salad. (Facebook / NOLA on 2nd)
NOLA on 2nd (Gadsden)
What’s one way to tell you’re in Louisiana Cajun country? When the person taking your gumbo order asks if you want a scoop of potato salad in the bowl. NOLA on 2nd in Gadsden pays homage to that tradition, making potato salad an optional topping for its Seafood Gumbo, normally accompanied by rice. The gumbo, made with a dark roux, is available by the cup ($4), bowl ($9.95) or as an option in the Cajun Trio plate ($12.99).
The Tin Top Restaurant and Oyster Bar (Bon Secour)
There’s something magical about pulling shellfish from nearby waters and tossing it right into a gumbo pot. It provides a sense of tradition, a taste of a time when cooks relied on whatever was available nearby. Just blocks from the docks in Bon Secour, it’s hard to find a gumbo with fresher seafood. Tin Top’s version ($7 cup, $10 bowl) includes shrimp, crab and andouille sausage. Be forewarned: The restaurant is closed on Fat Tuesday.
Chuck’s Fish (multiple locations)
When it comes to seafood gumbo, this regional chain’s version is a no-brainer. Fin and shellfish from the Gulf come straight off the dock at the parent company in Destin, Harbor Docks, then are sent directly to Chuck’s restaurants in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile (plus Georgia and Florida locations). Made with a brick-colored roux and okra, the Gulf Seafood Gumbo ($8 cup, $18 bowl) includes shrimp and fresh-catch fish.
Cajun Corner (Eufaula)
Rustic and colorful, with New Orleans-themed art and murals on the walls, the restaurant makes its Seafood Gumbo with shrimp, crawfish, andouille sausage, tomatoes and okra. You can get it by the cup ($3.95), bowl ($10.95) or as part of a sampler with red beans and rice and crawfish etouffee ($14.95).

Audrey’s in Birmingham’s Titusville neighborhood serves Southern soul food classics and Creole dishes, including an excellent seafood gumbo. (Audrey’s Restaurant / Facebook)
Audrey’s Restaurant (Birmingham)
Underappreciated in a city chock-full of nationally known restaurants, Audrey’s in Birmingham’s Titusville neighborhood specializes in soul food like braised oxtails on Sundays, Southern classics including shrimp and grits, and New Orleans Creole dishes like corn maque choux. Audrey’s Seafood Gumbo (cup $6, bowl $10, quart $26), with shrimp, lump crab, crab claws and spicy sausage, starts with a dark roux, okra and tomatoes.
Cajun’s Seafood (Sheffield)
This Shoals restaurant promises to “bring out the Cajun in you,” dishing southwest Louisiana-style boudin sausage and red beans and rice, along with New Orleans-style po’boys and shrimp Creole. Seafood gumbo is sold by the cup ($4.95) or bowl ($6.95).
This story originally was published on the SoulGrown website.