Ocilla isn't exactly on the waterfront -- it's closer to Birmingham than the Atlantic Ocean -- but this little establishment in central Georgia nevertheless serves up some mighty fine, fresh seafood. We stopped by accident: we were hungry and lost, and this restaurant had a a lot of cars parked out front. We were cheered when we walked inside and overheard one patron tell another, "I've never had a bad meal here." So this Yelp review is based on only one lunch. We'll hope to re-visit and offer more detail. But for now, consider this: the grilled (you can also get it fried) tilapia was flaky and moist, not over-cooked, and perfectly and simply seasoned with mostly lemon juice and pepper. The fries and slaw were tasty complements. Add sweet tea and the cost was a mere $7.95. The fried oysters were delicious, lightly battered. They know how to serve hushpuppies, too. The oysters were $8.95. Prices go up a bit for dinner, but most items are under $15. There are lots of seafood choices and side dishes, too. The service was cheerful, the atmosphere "local" and very casual. Seafood and Ocilla. Never thought we'd put those two words together. We came away very impressed. So now, get out your maps and find Ocilla. read more

Ordered to-go for the family. Food arrived as ordered but serving sizes were inconsistent with same dishes and fried seafood already lost crunch. Two captains seafood platters (one with grilled shrimp and one with fried shrimp) with baked sweet potato and cheese grits. One plate had a decent size sweet potato, the other was half the size. The side of grits was a tiny 4oz cup? Few tiny scallops and small fried bone in fish. One fried shrimp meal felt like more food than our two captain seafood platters. read more

Catfish House - Captains seafood platter with grilled shrimp. Sides: the tiniest sweet potato and cheese grits. - Seafood Near Me - Ocilla, Georgia

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Tonight we went to the Catfish House for dinner. Social distancing was followed and all employees were wearing mask. I ordered the combo plate fried oysters and grilled scallops for sides I ordered a side salad along with a baked sweet potato. My scallops were sweet and delicious as were the oysters. The whole meal was delicious I enjoyed every bite. Lucille also ordered the combo plate with fried oysters, catfish, baked potato and cole slaw. Lucille reports that her meal was also phenomenal. Brenda also ordered the combo with fried shrimp and oysters. She raved about her meal also. Our server was fantastic. We will come back again when we are in the area. read more

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Food and service were very good . Short wait time and clean . Would recommend it to anyone who wants good seafood.

My wife and I drove from Douglas for supper on 06-22-18 . We had about a 15 minute wait to be seated . Hush puppies with cinnamon butter were delicious for appitizer ! My wife and I both ordered catfish and fried shrimp . I had the loaded potato while she had fried okra . The fish and shrimp both had been cooked for sometime and were cold when delivered . My wife's fried okra were almost black and had a burn taste . Told our waitress about okra and she took them and soon returned with same bowl and said the cook said that this is a different kind of okra and that's how they are suppose to taste . She sat them down turned and walked away . May have been just a bad night but we we will not be returning . read more

Had grilled shrimp that were delicious. Cheese grits were good. Fried sweet potatoes were great! Service was awesome too. Highly recommend. Very reasonably priced. read more

Wow! Wow! Wow! This place is 5 star all the way--in service, portion size, and quality! From the salad to the entree, you will find yourself saying, wow! Make the drive, you will not be disappointed. read more

The Catfish House is on a corner lot at a traffic light with street and sidewalk parking. If you're lucky, you can pull right up to the door. The food is quite tasty. I have tried about half of the menu at one point or another, and haven't found anything I haven't liked. The meal opens with a free serving of apple fritters, served with pre-packaged cinnamon spread. These little nuggets are heaven in a basket, and they're worth the trip all by themselves. A generous portion of bread-and-butter pickle slices also comes with them. The fried fish is hot and flaky, from the whole catfish to the grouper. The grilled stuffed flounder is delicious, and the shrimp are perfectly seasoned and fried. All items may be grilled instead of fried. Other menu items include trout, chicken fingers, and steaks. Sides are green beans, two types of grits, fried okra (my only complaint, as it is frozen), salad, and both plain and sweet baked potatoes. In the summer they serve fried green tomatoes and fried squash slices as sides for an extra buck. There are a few other items on the menu as well. Most entrees are served as a large or a small portion. I've never felt cheated with the small plate. Drinks are served with flake ice. I wind up eating mine with a spoon. :) Don't ask for a Bud, tho. No alcohol. Don't worry about dressing up. Put on some elastic-waist pants and have a great meal. read more

I live within 25 miles of Ocilla and have all my life. At one point in time I lived in Irwin County which is the County where Ocilla is located. I have had the opportunity to dine at the Catfish House in Ocilla on many occasions. For the most part the food has been good when I visited the restaurant. However on Saturday June 7, 2014 I had an experience at the Catfish house that will probably cause me never to return. Let me state that my mother has recently moved to Ocilla. She is getting older so we have visited her on the last 2 Saturdays (May 31 and June 7). On May 31 my wife and I ate at the Catfish House for dinner after visiting my mother. We had asked some friends to join us but they were unavailable. We had a good experience on May 31. So when we decided we were returning to Ocilla on June 7 I called 2 other couples and asked them to join us. So we ended up with 7 adults and 2 children meeting at the Catfish House for dinner. My wife and I plus one of the other couples, that brought their two grandchildren, met at the restaurant at 5:00 P.M. We were seated at 3 tables pulled together that would seat 9 people. The other couple and their 19 yoa son ran a little late and didn't get there until about 5:20 P.M. So we probably ordered our food around 5:30 P.M. The food was a little slow getting to us but not so slow that it really irritated us because we were socializing with friends. The waiter seemed a little preoccupied from the beginning as if there were somewhere else he would rather be. He was pleasant enough during the time we ordered and began eating but you could tell he was a little off his game for some reason. On this occasion the food was average as the catfish filets one of my friends and I ordered were a little overcooked. The waiter's attitude and the overcooked food was not a big deal as I stated earlier we were socializing. The catfish filet dish that my friend and I ordered was "all you can eat". So we asked for a couple more catfish each which the waiter brought to us. This batch was a little better as it was fried just right and not nearly as tough. I'm thinking the night is getting better. What happened next is what has me so irritated. At approximately 6:10 P.M. a busboy begins to take our dishes. Keep in mind that at this point we haven't been asked if we want anymore catfish or if we would like dessert. At approximately 6:15 P.M. the waiter comes and stands at the end of the table where one of my male friends and I are seated but he doesn't say anything. My friend says somewhat humorously, "Do you need this table?" To which he expects a reply of maybe "No I was just checking on you....or would you like some dessert?" That is not what happened! The waiter actually said, "Yes we do because we have a party of ten waiting to be seated." I was taken aback but did not say anything. All nine of us politely got up and went to the register and paid our bill. Never were we asked if everything was ok. As we were leaving we noted that there were several empty tables. I guess they didn't want to pull any of those tables together. Or maybe our group was sitting at a table that some locals use every Saturday night. I not sure but these are only conclusions that entered my mind as I drove the 25 miles home. I began to get a little angry. I guess we overstayed our welcome after being at that table for one hour and twenty minutes, Probably not even that long as we met in the parking lot at 5:00 P.M. and probably entered the restaurant at 5:05 P.M. I paid with a credit card and my receipt has the time 18:20:19 (which is translated 6:20 P.M.) as when I paid. I REALLY don't think we were there too long especially considering the food was a little slow getting to our...I mean "their" table. However they obviously feel that my time and money are not important. Therein lies the reason that nine people plan to never eat at the Catfish House in Ocilla again. If you visit the Catfish House I would suggest you eat and get up from "their" table so they can seat someone else and make more money. I for one do not feel welcome there anymore. read more

Was trying to find some decent fish/seafood while in the area for a Livestock Show. We decided on this place as there was not to much open at 8:30 at night. Be sure you enter thru the main door or you will have to walk to the front of the restaurant to be seated as we did not know and stood there for about 5 minutes before someone greeted us and told us where to go. Our waitress was very nice and personable and took our drink orders and we also ordered fried pickles and oyster stew for an appetizer. We also received a basket of apple fritters upon sitting down and let me tell you those things were addictive and yummy. Fried pickles were awesome and the stew was ok a little to much broth for my liking. For the main course we had the catfish fillets, whole catfish, and fish sandwich. Fillets were good and hot when bought, whole catfish were on the just warm side, and my daughter said the fish sandwhich was a little dried out (not sure what kind of fish it was). The sides that we had were your standard frozen okra, french fries, and onion straws. The house salads were great and big and the grits were yummy as well. All in all a great place for a decent dinner. I did like the fact that the sweet tea had the flaky ice which I love and really don't see where I live anymore. Also, no alcohol it would have been nice to have a glass of wine/beer as I was enjoying my dinner. read more