White River Fish Market

Great Seafood In Tulsa, Oklahoma? You Bet!

A grateful tip of the hat to Roadfooders Howard Baratz and “Tiki,.” Many years ago, both of them each separately recommended a stop at a seafood gem called the White River Fish Market while traveling through Oklahoma along Interstate 44.  Howard described it at an “old-time Tulsa classic,” in business since 1932. This well-worn combination raw fish market and semi-cafeteria style restaurant northeast of downtown has proven to be a source of great seafood to which we return whenever we’re in Town.

Choose Your Fish

When you enter, step up to a counter where raw fish are displayed. Place your order based not only on a posted menu, but on what you see in the case. Pay the person behind the cash register and find a seat at booth or table in the big, open dining room. Soon, a member of the staff will bring your meal to the table.

Menu Highlights

The kitchen has earned praise mostly for its fried seafood. Choose among gorgeous whole flounders, catfish, perch, etc. The menu also lists broiled seafood, grilled seafood, and smoked seafood. Regular customers come for seafood salads and fish sandwiches, boiled shrimp by the pound and raw oysters by the dozen. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, lobster tails join the menu. All dinners include a couple of crusty, pepper-laced hushpuppies and a choice of such side dishes as onion rings (excellent!), pinto beans, cole slaw (sparkling!), spiced rice, and baked potato.

Healthy appetites start their meal with a cup of gumbo and a bowl of red beans and rice. The latter actually comes in two dishes, one with pinto beans, the other with sausage, beef, onions, and rice in a spicy Cajun sauce. A modest mealtime appetite would find fulfillment in this dish alone.

Truly A Roadfood Gem

Tulsa citizens from all walks of life feel right at home in their city’s seafood gem. Prices are reasonable, the fish is lovely, and side dishes are soulful. That’s a combination that adds up to a necessary stop for any seafood lover passing through.

Note: There is a 2nd location in Broken Arrow, at 1105 E. Kenosha St., 918-449-0347.