Penang seafood is a thriving scene in Penang. In fact, a great deal of the seafood restaurants in Penang have been around for generations!
And despite being next to the sea on all sides, seafood in Penang isn’t always affordable. With visitors from other states and the rest of the world driving up the prices (unintentionally, of course).
Keep an eye out for these restaurants that in our list of where to find the best seafood in Penang! A handful of these offer very competitive prices!
Table Of Contents:
- Da Shu Xia Seafood House
- Dehappy Seafood Restaurant
- Kristal Seafood
- Jiashi Restaurant
- Teoh’s Chinese Seafood
- Hai Wei Seafood Restaurant
- Ah Chui Seafood
- Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant
- Hai Boey Seafood
- Medan Ikan Bakar Teluk Tempoyak
- D’Seafood Paradise
11 Best Seafood In Penang
1. Da Shu Xia Seafood House
Locals all know about Da Shu Xia Seafood House and its Chinese-style seafood dishes.
They have many ways of cooking their fresh seafood – steaming, baking, deep frying or in a spicy curry!
The straw hanging from the roof and open-air concept makes it appear more like a beach shack!
And there’s a boat at the back with a dining table inside for the kids to get excited about!
Customers can choose the seafood they want directly from ice trays or tanks. Service is brisk and you will not have to wait long after you make your order.
What to order:
- Steamed clams with chili
- Soft shell crab with salted egg yolk
- Prawns in coconut curry
- Deep fried squid
Note: Make a reservation on the weekend or public holidays!
- Location: 177C, Lebuh Victoria, George Town, 10300 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 11am–3pm, and again from 5pm–9:30pm (Closed On Wednesdays)
- Contact: +6012-474 5566
2. Dehappy Seafood Restaurant
Popular with tourists for its location and friendly staff who speak English, Dehappy Seafood Restaurant serves Chinese-style cooking too!
Plus, you can order beer and other alcoholic drinks!
The restaurant is spacious and clean with a choice of covered seating and outdoor seating. You can see what’s available from the many aquariums lined up along the wall.
And as a bonus, you don’t have to fret about parking as parking is free for customers.
- Location: 58, Jalan Macalister, 10400 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 4:30pm to 11pm
- Contact: +6012-485 2388
3. Kristal Seafood
Don’t like crowded spaces? Then you can try the traditional home-cooked Chinese food at this simple no-frills restaurant.
Prices are reasonable and they can make a tasty fish head curry and Marmite chicken/ pork! And you can try their prawns fried with a coating of Nestum too.
It helps to know some Chinese (or a buddy who does) when it comes to ordering at this place however!
Note: There is air conditioning inside.
- Location: 224-B, Jalan Burma, 10350 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 5:30pm to 1am
- Contact: +604-227 2218
4. Jiashi Restaurant
Formally Song River Café at Gurney Drive, the new location is just a bit further:
Brave the heat of this local eatery at Gurney Drive for steamed fish as this is the specialty at Song River Seafood. The restaurant looks like a typical open-air hawker centre with a metal roof.
You can order a few types of fish for the Steamed Fish Bee Hun dish and the price will vary accordingly.
The plain dressing of soy sauce, scallion and garlic brings out the sweetness of the fresh fish!
Note: It’s equally delicious in soup form too!
Other seafood dishes to try are the fried jim cho (crab), prawn assam curry, and heh cho (prawn)! They are also known for their other bestselling dishes such as egg and bitter gourd and hor fun!
Note: The food is a little pricey.
- Location: 72-I, 72H, Gurney Dr, Gurney, 10250 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: 7.30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 10pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
- Contact: +6012-492 7275
5. Teoh’s Chinese Seafood
A good place for a simple, quick and inexpensive meal!
The menu is quite extensive and cheaper than other big restaurants. The usual seafood options are available, but they also have seasonal items such as crocodile’s tail.
Their steamed clams with sour and spicy sauce or the seafood otak-otak are highly recommended.
- Location: 150, Jalan P. Ramlee, Taman Kampar, 10460 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: 11:15am to 2:30pm and again from 5:15pm to 9:30pm (Closed on Monday)
- Contact: +6012-465 2870
6. Hai Wei Seafood Restaurant
Old name, new place! Hai Wei Seafood Restaurant has the usual Chinese-style ala carte menu with some uncommon delicacies like sea cucumber.
However, what stands out is their claypot rice with baked mud crabs and a dash of salted egg yolk!
And if you like cincalok (pungent smelling fermented chili paste made from shrimp), order their cincalok squid!
- Location: Ground Floor, 7M, Jalan Gottlieb, 10350 George Town, Pulau Pinang
- Opening Hours: Daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm & 5:30pm to 9:30pm (Closed on Wednesday)
- Contact: +6012 4781813
7. Ah Chui Seafood
You can only find seafood at this restaurant, and they are pork-free. Choose the seafood you want and see them cook in front of you in their open-concept kitchen.
Dishes come in generous portions and the taste is very much worth the price!
Recommended dishes include:
- Grilled fish
- Deep fried baby prawns
- Garlic clams
- Location: 1238 T, Jln Paya Terubung, Taman Nyaman Indah, 11060 Ayer Itam, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: 4pm to 10pm
- Contact: +6012 4103303
8. Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant
While it looks like every other seafood restaurant, Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant has the benefit of having a fishing village for a neighbor! And Tai Tong Seafood Restaurant is also a halal seafood restaurant in Penang.
Recommended dishes:
- Sweet chili crab
- Fried squid
- Curry prawns
- Steamed grouper fish
- Claypot tofu
You may want to make a booking ahead if you have a large group!
- Location: 4, Jalan Hassan Abas, Teluk Bahang, 11050 Tanjung Bungah, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: 5:30pm–10pm; Friday to Sunday, 12pm–3pm, 5:30pm–10pm (Closed On Tuesdays)
- Contact: +604-885 1693
9. Hai Boey Seafood (海尾海鲜)
You’ll get to dine on fresh seafood by the beach at Hai Boey Seafood! They even have a small playground in the sand.
It’s about 30-45 minutes’ drive from town so you won’t see many tourists. Every Saturday evening sees a full house in this alfresco-dining venue with the sea breeze blowing in!
Dishes you can try:
- Blanched baby octopus
- Thai-style clams (lala)
- Steamed fish
- Location: MK 9, 29, Jalan Pasir Belanda, Teluk Kumbar, 11920 Bayan Lepas, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 11:30am to 2:30pm & 6 to 10:30pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Contact: +6013 4881114
10. Medan Ikan Bakar Teluk Tempoyak
For Malay-style grilled fish, head on over to Medan Ikan Bakar Teluk Tempoyak hawker centre. Look for the ikan bakar stall run by Adnan bin Hassan!
Try the fried squid or sotong goreng tepung too.
There is no air-conditioning or fine ambiance here but you can see the sea and the second Penang bridge!
Note: Come early for dinner or you’ll have trouble finding parking!
- Location: Jalan Teluk Tempoyak, Kampung Teluk Tempoyak Besar, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 5:30pm to 11pm (Closed On Mondays)
11. D’Seafood Paradise
It might feel a little sketchy to drive here at night but the actual dining setup at D’seafood Paradise is welcoming with sea views and ample space and lighting.
Plus, parking is plentiful too as long as it’s not a weekend.
Crowds come here mainly for the reasonably priced and delicious food. Depending on what you order though, it can also be pricey.
Besides their main dish, ikan bakar (which tastes pretty standard), there are other notable seafood dishes like assam pedas pari, fish head curry, squid with sambal, sotong celup tepung, etc. These you can have together with rice.
PS: Personally we find their tomyam too sweet for our liking.
One downside with dining here, however, is that service can be very slow even if the staff are very friendly.
- Location: Jalan Teluk Tempoyak, 11960 Batu Maung, Pulau Pinang
- Opening Hours: Daily from 3:30pm–11pm
- Contact: +604-626 6985
Read more: 13 Best Restaurants In Penang
Getting To Good Seafood Restaurant In Penang
If you can’t seem to choose one of these seafood restaurants in Penang:
Let our knowledgeable local guides take you to their go-to seafood haunts instead! This is the perfect way to end your private day tour with RayTheTour!
More reasons to book with us:
- Comfortable and spacious transport via MPVs or vans
- Guides that can speak English or Chinese
- Fully flexible tour schedule – you can even customize your own!
- Hotel pick up and drop off on the same day as your tour
- They have tours in Ipoh, Taiping and Cameron Highlands too!
Further reading:
Conclusion
Penang seafood restaurants are dime a dozen. Be it hawker centres, or family-run stalls and restaurants.
The majority showcase Chinese-cuisine. Although some places have unique types of seafood. Including imported seafood!
To break up the monotony, we have a few places in this list of best seafood restaurants in Penang that do branch away from the status quo!
And if these doesn’t interest you, check out our article on Penang steamboat restaurants, which might be more up your alley! Or Japanese restaurants in Penang if you don’t mind raw seafood!
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