We stopped in for a cocktail and appetizer while we waited to board our cruise. The atmosphere was fun and the food and cocktails were great. read more

We are in town for the weekend, found Catfish Charlie's on yelp with good reviews. We arrived at the beginning of lunch, seated right away and drink order was taken. Menu has plenty of appetizer and main course options, we ordered an app and a meal fir each if us( my son). Food arrived timely and was very gracious on the servings! I would recommend the breaded crawfish meal and the gator bites, son said the hamburger was good as well. Will definitely stop again when in town!!!!!!!!! Great service excellent food! read more

Catfish Charlie's - Seafood Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

In fairness, we went for brunch and it seems like more of a burger joint. Also, we went during the winter and their outdoor patio seems like it would be fun in nice weather. That said, their brunch was nothing special. Lots of fried food and a very limited selection. What we had (fried chicken and catfish) was good, but not great. We asked if we could order off of a menu and were told we couldn't, then after we dished up our plate and started eating, the waiter came and explained that they could make us an omelette if we wanted. That would've been nice to know before we dished up. read more

The appetizer was alligator, so much breading with no flavor, inedible. We had the salmon and Cajun catfish for the main dish. Both dishes very sub par, the red beans and rice seemed very old and catfish was very watery. Salmon was not good either. Nothing seemed fresh. Would not recommend. read more

Went for brunch, I guess if you want to call it that. There was a fair amount of people there because it was Father's Day. To start there was hardly any food on the buffet. So after the first time up getting hardly any food. We get to sit down to find the food was cold. We had a party of 7 and everyone had cold food! We kept going up hoping for more food to be refilled only to be disappointed over and over. Our waitress wasn't very good, we constantly were out of drinks. To top it all off their ice machine was broken, so we couldn't even get ice water. Over all definitely not worth it all around. Way over priced, no food on the buffet, cold food, and over all an unappealing place. read more

I'm visiting Dubuque Iowa this weekend on tour, I decided to check out this place based on a referral. I'm really glad I did. I tried a cup of their clam chowder plus the fish and chips dish on my lunch break. Very cheap prices, although the menu does offer some nicer pricey dishes of you in a classy mood. The fish was perfect, fresh, it came out hot and it was perfectly battered, light and crispy, without being too greasy or battery. The fish was fresh and clean tasting while keeping moist without distorting the batter outside. I replaced my chips with green beans because I'm not a chip/French fry person. The green beans were also completely perfect. I'm not too sure how they seasoned them but I've never had better green beans outside of my own kitchen. Not over or under cooked. I also ordered a Long Island ice tea as it is a $5 special this Sunday. I got the watermelon Long Island. Holy crap. It's huge for one thing, like those big mugs you get in German beer pubs. But it is also fantastic. Very good price for a drink that takes you a long way. I recommend sitting on the deck if possible. The inside is gorgeous too, like a fancy Virginia boathouse. It's starting to rain right now and I'm still completely content with sitting under my deck table umbrella while drinking my Long Island. I'm completely full and I'm still stuffing my face. The server was a very nice, time efficient young man who came at all the right times without being buzzy. (Without lingering too much) I don't typically eat a lot but I can. I've eaton more than I planned due to the awesome cooking. But I can tell you that my boyfriend is a human garbage disposal and this is enough food to satisfy him till the last bite without needing any more food later. And he wouldn't be needing the hassle of a carry out box either. I'm finally done and, although I'm so full I could die, my box is completely stuffed (yes, have your laugh dirty minded people.) and I'm ready to go back to my hotel with a full stomach and pass out for about three hours before I go tear down stage gear. Seriously, eat here. Do it. It's beautiful. read more

Catfish Charlie's - Catfish Charlie's fish and chips with a green bean substitute - Seafood Near Me - Dubuque, Iowa

See all

we were visiting from ft dodge iowa we wanted to try something new ifound this on a hotel recommendation list.we were soo happy we tried this great place . The petitebartender suggested sweet peach cocktail and it was wonderful and the catfish shrimp dishes were tasty.the service was great as were the staff.the outdoor dining area was roomy and the river view added something special as we celebrated our 44th anniversary.i have told many friends about this gem and of course we will be back. read more

went to catfish Charlie because I saw they had jambalaya. When they brought it to the table it was not even jambalya it has some weird tasting creamy sauce on it. So the one thing Isis they did actually replace it with something else I do recommend a seafood alfredo pasta that's very good I wouldn't get the jambalaya cuz it's not even jambalaya. read more

My wife and I have eaten here numerous times and never had a meal we didn't like. It's great in the summer evenings eating on the deck. The owner is great and the staff has always been pleasant. His chef comes up with different seafood dishes so the menu changes. A good reason to go back. read more

This was one of the worst meals we've had in a long time. The fries were under cooked and soggy, the Reuben was soggy and flavorless, and the drinks were flat or watered down. Wait staff uninterested in guests. Would not recommend. read more

Overall, the food is very basic, like just off of a Sysco truck basic. Grocery store type rolls, macaroni and cheese with watery cheese product sauce over top, etc. The breading for the fried seafood was light and fantastic, though, The only things we liked were the calamari and the catfish fingers. There's an off-flavor in the rub for the ribs. Service was friendly, but for some reason she split our bill into two and then added an extra soda to one. Asked her to correct, and then it was still split into 2 with the extra soda taken off. Weird. Won't go again, but it wasn't the worst ever, either. Recommend sticking with fried seafood. read more

Always consistent, bad service and the only thing worse than the service is the food!!! Some things never change!!

I can't say enough good things about Catfish Charlie's and Charlie himself. Had to plan a very last minute family event, which ended up being a buffet for 40 people. Charlie met with us, helped us choose the right menu that fit our tastes and budget, and even went out of his way to get us samples of the different foods to help us make decisions. He did this all on very short notice, late on a Friday afternoon when the restaurant was busy. On the day of our event, Craig was in charge of the appetizers, buffet and waitresses for our party. Each guest was greeted promptly and served drinks immediately. The appetizers were served on time and the spinach/artichoke dip and Swedish meatballs were both tasty. The food on the buffet was delicious, hot and well presented. Most guests went back for seconds. We had chuck roast, broasted chicken, catfish, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots and apple crisp. I would recommend them all. Craig kept the buffet running smoothly. The restaurant is beautiful. We utilized the buffet area, the party room and the riverfront deck ( which is very spacious and lovely). We received many compliments on choosing this venue, from the quality of the food, the friendliness of the staff, to the beauty of the facility and its location. I have planned several parties and catered events over the years and this has been my best experience by far. I would recommend Catfish Charlie's without reservation for both formal and informal events. It was a great experience, with wonderful food, personal service, great location, and value for our money. We will return. read more

YUCK rubbery shrimp baby food textured crab stuffed potatoes best thing again yuck Says too short so let's add about the calamari again a gallon of water needed as you can taste nothing but salt sent those back yuck read more

We stumbled upon this gem during a basketball tournament. Highly recommend. Bri at the bar did not disappoint us. She helped us with our wine selection (GREAT prices) then with our food as well. We shared the clam chowder and catfish dinner and the food was plenty to share and soooo tasty. Probably the best catfish and sides we have had. And Bri is a sweetheart. We might come back tomorrow :) read more

We have mixed reviews. My catfish, 3 cheese smashed potatoes and green beans were delish. The breading was light and the catfish not too strong. My husband was severely disappointed with cold fries and cold mac n cheese. Our waitress did quickly replace. He wasn't fond of the catfish, but he doesn't care for catfish as a whole. The ribs were dry and needed smothered. If you like catfish, GO!! Our waitress was one of the best. I will go back. He probably will not. read more

I went to catfish Charlie's years ago in 2008. My wife and I had different entrées we both had food poisoning. Recently a friend of mine went there with his entire family parents etc. if I had known he was going there I would've advised him against it. He told me his entire family got food poisoning. And it's 2019. How this place is still in business I'm still amazed. Obviously I'm not recommending this place read more

Found this great restaurant when visiting local casinos. Due to staying at a near by hotel had the opportunity to visit twice. Had the fried oysters first night and a Cajun lemonade, and second time had fresh whole catfish and of course two more Cajun lemonades. Every thing was very good will definitely be returning at some point in my life to try the barbecue. read more

Great service, great food. I recommend. Perfect atmosphere, right on the water. If you're in Dubuque, go here or Timmermans.

Frozen seafood at fresh seafood prices. Not the worst but not great by any means. The building is nice and it's right on the river. Our server didn't seem very engaged. I don't know about the other servers but no one seemed like they had a fire under their ass. We will not be coming back here. read more

This is a cute little restaurant located on the Mississippi River. My husband and I ate outside overlooking the water and this was very pleasant. He had a spicy Bloody Mary which he enjoyed, I had a crooked slough margarita which was perfect for the day. We were hoping for seafood and Catfish Charlie's did not disappoint. The only problem is most seafood is either fried or in a stew. For appetizers, we had beer cheese soup which was amazing! And fried oysters which had quite a bit of breading and little flavor. My husband had the bayou platter which consisted of blackened chicken breast, andouille sausage with rice, beans and shrimp/crab jambalaya. This was a very flavorful entree, the jambalaya was amazing. I had the seafood platter, all the items I wanted unfortunately all of it was fried. There really isn't any other options for ordering scallops, clams and shrimp than fried. It came with a standard tartar and cocktail sauce. It was fried seafood. Sorry, that's all I got. I wasn't impressed. I came hungry, I left full. In between, I plucked off lots of batter to get at the seafood. If you like your seafood deep fat fried this is the place for you. I would lean more towards the Cajun menu as this seemed very tasty. Service and ambiance was pleasant. read more

See all

We visited this restaurant in afternoon on a weekday. My wife I ordered off the seniors menus, a two piece chicken dinner. Cost $8.49. A choice of I side comes with the chicken. She got a wing and the smallest chicken breast I ever seen and the salad was a handful of lettuce. Nothing else. The price for this meal was a disgrace. Never going back. read more

Great food, fun menu, and the comfortable patio with the view made it all come together. Nice people too.

Beautiful place, it was hot outside so we ate inside and it was just as hot , it's hard to eat when your sweating. Also we fought flys the whole time we were eating. And last if you like food with no seasoning this is the place or you, I ordered a shrimp boil and I have had Boils from all over and there was no flavor, I added garlic and lemon just to have SOME kind of flavor. The clam chowder was good but very small portion. The one good thing was i didn't want the sausage so after negotiation he gave me extra shrimp in its place, the waitress seemed as though that was a real big deal that Charlie was willing to do this, thank you Charlie for that. in total i spent 60$ for me and my child she did not like her Chicken Alfredo because it had no flavor. I will be making the drive to ILL or Wis for my next Boil its a long drive but at least ill get my moneys worth and will enjoy the food. read more

I loved the atmosphere with the outside patio! Beautiful scenery, great music. I ordered the catfish club and coleslaw. The sandwich was very good! The coleslaw was decent. I ate one of my son's fries and I did not think it tasted good. Overall though, I was pretty happy with my experience here! read more

Was here after a strongman competition over this past weekend and immediately knew we would have the worst service, which lived up to what we thought, although we tried to be as nice as possible, our waitress was very depressing and not seeming to want to talk to us at all. We ordered the alligator bites as an appetizer, came out undercooked with raw batter. Whatever, was just wanting my steak that I was looking forward to. Food came out after a while, my steak was raw (ordered medium rare) and my girlfriends was well done (ordered medium) and all of our sides were cold and you could tell they had just been minority microwaved, had to get up and get a manager because the server wasn't coming back and sent the food back and both steaks came back even more raw than my first one. Told the manager we weren't hungry anymore and we took the tab and when we left, nothing was said to us, our tab still existed and it was honestly by far the WORSE dining experience that I've ever had. Do not go here read more

Went here for lunch today, gorgeous day, sat on the patio, enjoyed the view and our meal. I ordered a Bloody Mary, it was awesome. I had the Catfish Club and loved it, highly recommend that sandwich! Can't wait to come back for dinner sometime! read more

A quiet place with good food. Service is prompt and they seem to remember me every time I walk in the door. Can't wait to see what this place is like in the summer! read more

We placed an order for a burger and pork tenderloin for carryout. Most excellent! Perfect temperature. Plenty of food. The tenderloin was huge! Have never had a bad meal there! read more

In town and thought I would try this place. I will not be back. Had to ask the staff to clean the table they sat me at, it was very sticky. Got the chowder and it was hot but lumpy. Very average dinner salad. Then the main course came, which was salmon, it was burnt and rubbery. This place is not high end. read more

My husband and I had lunch. Cajun sounds like Louisiana so I had to try fried oysters. Unbelievable bad. All breading . Wheres the oyster? Husband had fish Taco and Fries. All cold and limp fries. Nice place but need Chef lessons. Probably wont return. read more

Atmosphere was a little off, but you could tell they were gearing up for the busy season. Tried the Alligator bites and fried oysters apps. The oysters were the best I've had away from the coast. Alligator bites were overbreaded mystery meat. We had the Catfish, bucket of steamers, gumbo and kids fish. Everything was very good. Their clam chowder was very good. Not enough clam and too much potato, though. I will definitely come back next time I am in town. read more

We are from out of town and were looking for someplace to eat that was on the water (severely lacking in this area). After reading so-so reviews, we didn't have high hopes. But, we turned out to have a great time with decent food. No wait for a table on a beautiful Saturday night. I had the bourbon salmon with mashed potatoes, my partner had the catfish platter, and our friend had the shrimp platter. All enjoyed the food. The fried cheese curds were a yummy appetizer and the drinks were great. read more

So happy to find this fun place right on the river in Dubuque! Very friendly and prompt service. Their own beer, Golden Eagle was really good! My 87 year old Mom took a sip and said "Now that's a beer!" Our food was good and the senior menu prices were very reasonable! read more

One of the worst meals I've ever had in my life. The shrimp was covered in cheese whiz, and was outrageously expensive. Disgusting.

Outdoor seating is nice and my dad said they have a good tenderloin but my jambalaya was made with fake crab. Fake! So very wrong.

When in Iowa , I always have a Walleye Pike dinner . The dinner comes w 2 sides - the clam chowder was very thick -like wallpaper paste. I did inform the wait staff - no substitute was offered . read more

We were happy to have been seated quickly after arriving and our table was sprayed with disinfectant. The city is in the midst of an Omicron Covid surge with hospitals full of patients. We had on double masks. When asked if she was vaccinated (as we were) so we could take off our masks and feel safer, our server said "no". Nor did she have on a mask or say she would put one on. We were appalled! We had to quickly put on our masks when she served our food. I asked her to not come to the table after that unless requested while we ate. The catfish did not taste as I expected. I had one small slice of sausage in the red beans and rice, tasty otherwise, and we both expected the peach cobbler to have had either whipped cream or ice cream with it. It was mediocre otherwise. My husband's haddock seemed a bit mushy and tasteless. He liked his coleslaw and red beans/rice. With restaurants needing business I would think they would do all possible to attract customers in as safe a manner as possible and at least require their staff to wear masks. We saw no staff with masks on! We ate here Jan. 15, 2022. read more

One of the best places in Dubuque. Its right on the river and they've got good food. Keep your drink orders simple though because the bartender may not know how to make a martini. If you just want beer or simple drinks (I thought a martini was simple) they've got you covered. Very friendly staff, good prices, good view and ambiance. If it's nice out sit on the patio. read more

Very good food, and great atmosphere. Always very clean and feels like it is still brand new. I'm very surprised to see some of the bad reviews on here. Maybe they have some off days? I've been there a few times and I've never had a bad experience. Try the crab/shrimp seafood dip! Excellent place to boat up to and grab lunch. read more