Best seafood restaurants in Wake Forest and nearby towns

Seafood is a thin category in Wake Forest. Inside town, only three sit-down restaurants put seafood first and show a firm 2026 signal: Backfins Crabhouse, which appears to have moved from downtown White Street to Stadium Drive; Shuckers Oyster Bar & Grill on Rogers Road; and the Wake Forest branch of Cape Fear Seafood Company. Most of what else sits within reach is a national chain, and a couple of nearby seafood spots on Capital Boulevard and in Knightdale have closed.

So the list widens to five neighboring towns. There are calabash plates in Rolesville, a Knightdale kitchen open since 2009, a Cajun boil house on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, a seafood-and-barbecue spot in downtown Youngsville and a new coastal kitchen in Franklinton. Treat it as a map of what is a short drive away, and call ahead for the two entries flagged as unconfirmed. Our read: the oyster menu at Shuckers is the deepest of the eight.

How we chose

We started inside the Town of Wake Forest and found three restaurants that qualify, though Cape Fear's Rogers Branch Road address may sit outside town limits. The other five are in Rolesville, Knightdale, Raleigh, Youngsville and Franklinton, included because the town alone could not fill a list. Each needed a 2026 sign that it is open. Facts come from the restaurant's own site or menu where one exists; delivery-app prices are labeled. No entry has a named, dated award.

We cut national chains and franchises, a second regional chain, two closed restaurants and a Capital Boulevard kitchen that shares its address with six other food businesses. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Hours and prices were last checked in October 2026; call for anything an entry marks unconfirmed.

A'Nets Katch

Everything is cooked to order with no heat lamps, according to the restaurant's own About page, at this Knightdale seafood kitchen on Village Park Drive. The menu runs from deep-fried lobster tails and Low Country boils to grilled mako shark, soft-shell crabs, gator bites and a sloppy crab sandwich. It sits in Knightdale, outside Wake Forest, and makes the list for range and staying power more than convenience.

Why we chose them

• No dated 2026 post from the restaurant itself turned up, so call or check its site before driving over.
• Annette Brown and Gregory Knish opened it in spring 2009, per the restaurant's own About page.
• Items highlighted on its own site include an 8-ounce lobster tail, snow crab, trout, catfish and jambalaya.
• Its own site gives two different Friday and Saturday opening times, so confirm before a weekend visit.

Address: Knightdale — 2009 Village Park Dr.

See the full directory listing

Atlantic Prime Coastal Kitchen

Franklinton's Main Street is an unexpected address for a raw and cold bar, but this coastal kitchen opened there in 2025 and builds a seafood tower for two at $65. Baked oysters come Bienville, Casino or Pimiento style at $19 for six, and the fresh-catch board has run from blackened redfish at $28 to grilled grouper at $44. Its own site puts it 10 to 15 minutes from Wake Forest. It is a sister restaurant to Franko's.

Why we chose them

• It serves dinner only, and reservations go through the phone or its website, per its own site.
• NC Eat & Play profiled it on February 16, 2026, as a 2025 opening.
• A Maine lobster roll is $39 and a 1-pound grilled lobster tail is $75 on its own menu.
• Its own site lists the address on Main Street without a direction, while Yelp lists South Main Street.

Address: Franklinton — 20 Main St.

See the full directory listing

Backfins Crabhouse

Maryland crab-house habits run this Wake Forest restaurant. Blue crabs land on brown-paper-covered tables by the dozen, steamed instead of boiled, in sizes from regular to jumbo at market price. It now sits on Stadium Drive; an older menu lists South White Street downtown, so it appears to have moved, and the two newer sources agree on Stadium Drive. Snow crab legs, peel-and-eat shrimp, oysters and clams on the half shell and fried seafood platters fill out the rest of the menu.

Why we chose them

• Visit Raleigh lists an all-you-can-eat Crab Feast at $24.95.
• An older menu prices Maryland crab soup at $4.99 and cream of crab at $5.99, so expect changes.
• Visit Raleigh lists it as closed Monday and Tuesday, so plan crab night for later in the week.
• Beer comes by the bottle only, with a short wine list, per an April 2026 thisisraleigh.com roundup.
• There is a kids' menu and an outdoor patio, according to the same roundup.

Address: Wake Forest — 1009 Stadium Dr., Ste. 100

See the full directory listing

Cape Fear Seafood Company

This is the Wake Forest branch of a franchised chain with 11 locations in North and South Carolina, on Rogers Branch Road off the Rogers Road corridor. It is the one regional chain on the list, included because it cooks coastal Carolina plates nothing else in town does: a Calabash platter, Cape Fear shrimp and grits and Figure 8 stuffed flounder. The address is a Wake Forest mailing address, and whether it falls inside town limits could not be confirmed.

Why we chose them

• The company dates to 2008, per its own Our Story page; the Wake Forest opening year is unconfirmed.
• Matt Wivel and Eddie Elliott are the Raleigh and Wake Forest partner-owners, per the company's Our Story page.
• Reservations, delivery and to-go orders all run through the company's locations page.
• Ahi tuna tacos and a wine list came up in a July 2024 Cardinal Pine seafood roundup.

Address: Wake Forest — 3612 Rogers Branch Road

See the full directory listing

Captain John's Seafood

Calabash-style frying is the draw at this Rolesville restaurant on Southtown Circle, where the Captain's Catch plates come with two sides and hush puppies. It began in June 2019 as a traveling food truck from Supply, N.C., founded by John F. Hankins Jr., and the Rolesville storefront is its first brick-and-mortar. A June 2026 Rolesville dining guide lists it as the only seafood restaurant in town, with both counter and sit-down service.

Why we chose them

• On its DoorDash menu, a pick-any-three seafood plate is $29.67 and a pick-two plate is $23.22.
• Oysters or scallops add $6 to a Captain's Catch plate, and broiled instead of fried adds $2.
• Visit Raleigh lists it as closed Monday, so plan around the start of the week.
• The storefront previously housed Off the Hook Seafood, per a 2021 Rolesville Chamber event listing.

Address: Rolesville — 308 Southtown Cir.

See the full directory listing

North Cross Street Station

Seafood shares the bill with steaks and barbecue at this downtown Youngsville restaurant on North Cross Street, whose site title reads Seafood and Steaks. The site names fresh catfish, oysters and shrimp, while its Smokin' Saturdays barbecue menu lists half-rack smoked ribs at $20.50 and smoked brisket at $22. Diners set on a seafood-only meal should know the kitchen splits its attention between the fryer and the smoker.

Why we chose them

• No dated 2026 post from the restaurant itself turned up, and its site carries a 2025 copyright, so call first.
• Its own site lists it as closed Monday and Tuesday.
• The newest dated item on its site is a 2025 brisket burger announcement.
• Saturday is the long day, running from breakfast through dinner, per its own site.

Address: Youngsville — 118 N. Cross St.

See the full directory listing

Raleigh Crab House

For a Cajun-style seafood boil, this Capital Boulevard restaurant in northeast Raleigh is the closest option to Wake Forest that is not a national chain, about 15 to 20 minutes south of town. Platters are built by the pound from snow crab, shrimp and lobster tail, and the fryer turns out shrimp, oysters, catfish and hush puppies. Its only website is a third-party online ordering menu, and its owner and opening year could not be confirmed.

Why we chose them

• A build-your-own platter starts at $38.40 for a pound of each item, or $22.20 for a half pound, on DoorDash.
• Its own online menu lists eight fried shrimp for $11 and ten fried oysters for $12.
• The lobster tail, snow crab and shrimp combo is $66 on its DoorDash menu.
• The online menu was updated October 8, 2026, though DoorDash shows a later opening time than the menu does.

Address: Raleigh — 4538 Capital Blvd.

See the full directory listing

Shuckers Oyster Bar & Grill

Oysters get the full treatment at this Rogers Road grill, in a shopping center near the Little Caesars: raw or steamed on the half shell, steamed by the peck, chargrilled, baked, and dressed Rockefeller, Diablo or Thermidor. A dozen on the half shell is $20.50 on its own menu, and a peck of steamed oysters is $36. Jack Daniel's honey glazed salmon runs $24 and shrimp and grits $22.50. A sister location operates on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.

Why we chose them

• The Big Sob steamboat of oysters, shrimp, mussels, corn and sausage is $40 on its own menu.
• Its own menu says it had run 23 years before the current owners bought it; their BBB file starts January 4, 2008.
• The Wake Forest Chamber lists a daily happy hour and live music Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
• Private dining seats about 55 people, and curbside to-go is available, per the Chamber listing.

Address: Wake Forest — 3309 Rogers Rd., Suite 245

See the full directory listing

Prices, hours and opening status last checked October 14, 2026. Call ahead where an entry says to.