Miller’s Seawall Grill

Miller’s sits on a corner across from the ocean on Seawall Boulevard and is open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week. We timidly arrive on a Monday around 7:30pm expecting to be turned away, but they welcome us like family and tell us it’ll be 30-45 minutes. It ends up only being about 20, for which we’re grateful. We already know what we want.

The restaurant is smaller than it looks from the outside, outfitted with beautiful wood furnishings including the booths and corner details in the columns. A very tall vase sits precariously next to our table, which is facing the rolling waves of the ocean (“We’ll sitchu both on this side so you can see the water.”)

We start with two agave margaritas which are so big they really are two-for-one. They’re also delicious: tangy, sweet, and boozy.

Corn and crab chowder is the best I’ve had. It’s rich, so a cup alone is enough (maybe…), and it’s topped with three croutons that cover its entire surface area. The recipe is “Mama Miller’s”; it’s the kind of spicy that keeps you coming back but doesn’t scorch your tongue. The crab is shredded and mixed in with bits of corn and cheese.

We also get a cup of gumbo, with plump shrimp and small bits of andouille sausage scattered among rice.

Sweet hushpuppies come with spicy ketchup/cocktail sauce and tartar sauce. Also, lots of little butters. The butters make sense because the hushpuppies are like cornbread — crunchy on the outside, soft and springy within, welcoming a schmear of butter.

Miller’s Combo is an opportunity to pick two seafood items (fried or grilled) and a side (about 15 options). The fried shrimp is standard, not too greasy. Grilled basa has a really nice consistency: almost like perfect scrambled eggs, except with a crispy buttery crunch on the outside. Accompanying fried okra is OK, but needs salt.

When we ate here, service was wonderful, from the hostess to our waitress, to the gentleman who brought out some deliciously soft (and gratis) Texas toast. Miller’s knows how to please big crowds and does not skimp on quality to get it right.