Don’s Dock Seafood

Wow. Came here for the first time yesterday with a friend. Great service — the young lady who took care of us and other customers was just a pleasure! We both had the #10 Shrimp Fest Platter. Great shrimp tacos, fried shrimp (light on batter, big on shrimp), bourbon shrimp over rice (damn good!), stuffed shrimp, and… wait for it, some great fries. I mean, yummy really yummy. Bought some scallops from their small-​but-​packs-​one-​HELL-​of-​a-​punch market, as well as some freshly made potato salad. Want to get back here soon!

This small hole-​in-​the-​wall serves up the best fried fish (blackened, too) on the NW side of Cook County. Always fresh, cooked to order. Big selection of fresh fish — never frozen — for in-​house and take-​home consumption. Plus, it is BYOB. I suggest anyy of their platters. You can also order fish by the pound (or quarter pound). Their fish tacos are exceptional, as is the gumbo. All of the shrimp meals are tasty. Get a side of hush puppies, too. Fresh fish is not cheap, but this place is worth it.

I’ve eaten here for over 35 years. It is simply the best fried shrimp I’ve had anywhere in the world.

For such a small place, the atmosphere and the food is extraordinary. You can get Seafood raw, or cooked. Monthly specials are also a special treat so get on the email list for them. Been coming here for years will continue to come here for many more.

Love this place! I come here occasionally, and try different dishes. I am never disappointed!
The most recent one was lobster roll meal, and it was fabulous! It was a bit pricey, but totally worth it!

The food was of great quality and freshness. This place gets high marks as it pertains to cleanliness, as most fried fisheries are not desirable enough to eat on the premises. The customer service was also great… attentive, informative and very pleasant. I will be a repeat customer.

I haven’t been here in years. We actually went to the Boston Fish Market first but the line was out the door and I’m not a fan of waiting that long so Don’s got the call. It was very good and I wondered why I haven’t been in for so long. We had quite an assortment of seafood and fried fish. The fried walleye was excellent along with the fried shrimp. The grilled calamari was not nearly as good, just ok, same for the gumbo, too much rice and green peppers for my taste. Back to the good stuff, the lobster mac & cheese was excellent. We brought a bottle of wine and they gladly provided us with an opener and wine glasses. It was plenty crowded but we were able to snag a table and dig in as many of the customers were ordering take out or picking up phone orders. Very friendly and helpful order takers. They have a pretty big menu selection of fish and seafood sold by the pound or dinner plates.

I went to Don’s Dock for lunch today as I had a taste for fish. I was going to get the fish chips, but I saw they had a special — Fried Alaskan Cod Sandwich with Fries & Hush Puppies for $ 5.75. Sounded good so I ordered it, taking the meal back to work eat at my desk. Well of course I nibbled a few fries as I was driving…
There were 4 fat little hush puppies, a nice pile of fries, a large piece of breaded fish on a bun with lettuce, onion & tomato, and a cup of tartar sauce. Delicious! and well worth the price. I’ve never been disappointed when I eat here.

Tasty fried shrimp. «Hagen’s style» shrimp. «Large Shrimp» should just be listed as, «Shrimp» («Large Shrimp» term may confuse people to think they are bigger than what they were). Nice batter, with a touch of corn meal. Really good Hush Puppies. Fries, frozen? Idk but they were really good. Great that they serve horseradish cocktail sauce. The Red Beans and Rice were okay (questioned if it was from a box but idk), a little too sweet… Not bad but just okay. Customer service on point. BYOB! Other shrimp spots preferred but definitely a place to return to. A lot of good things about this place.

The seafood may be pricey to some. However, the seafood is served fresh and it’s so delicious. I never had a lobster roll and I wanted to try theirs. It was soooo good. I was nervous because I don’t like buying seafood and it isn’t flavorful. The seafood here exceeded my expectations. The employees were VERY nice! I even got to speak to the owner Donna, very sweet lady. I would recommend going here. I saw this place amongst others and decided to go here. I’m so glad I did!

This place is has been around for a long time. They usually seems busy. I love their Poboy and lobster rolls. I almost always get jambalaya as a side. Their kids meals are nice. Always have a great staff. Very clean!

This place has awesome deep fried shrimp. The cocktail sauce is excellent as well. The food can be a little pricey, but you get what you pay for. There are a few tables inside, most people take it to go though. Definitely worth a shot.

This is our place for fried shrimp. The shrimp dinners have between 6 and 7 shrimp, fries and a small Cole slaw. We usually add a half pint of slaw and you can bring your own wine if you would like. Small eating area, blows hot and can be cold by the door, but after all just a friendly place to pick up or have a bite in.

Been going here for years. always the same. Great food and good staff

Over-​priced fish stand where they give you like no fries with a meal. The fish tasted old and this is more of a catering place and market than sit down or carry out.

A riveting, handsome young man we think his name is Mike was the young knight in shining armor who saved us from our hunger.
Their menu is not like the shenanigans other seafood restaurants throw together all willy-​nilly. Considering there’s no lake near by they serve extremely fresh, scrumptious food that «tastes so good make you wanna slap yo mama» as the kids would say today.
Place was pretty spiffy if I do say so myself. I will definitely come back with the wifey.

It’s been a long time since I last went to Don’s and though I drive by the place every so often, it’s usually too busy for the patience I have for waiting for fast food seafood. But I happened to be in the area around 2:30PM and I hadn’t had any lunch. I figured it would be a perfect time to venture in. All in all, it was though the place was still about 75% sat (occupied).
I was really in the mood for fried shrimp. Images of outstanding fried shrimp that my parents used to pick up at a place in Oak Park on North Avenue called «The Broastery» were flashing through my mind. Deliciously large two hearty bite shrimp they offered; with just the right amount of breading and a fantastic cocktail sauce. This is what I was seeking at Don’s.
So to the counter I go to place my order — it was the jumbo shrimp that caught my eye on the menu. So I asked about those, but the staffperson directed me to the seemingly smaller «large» shrimp option. His point was that the jumbo had the tails on and the large didn’t (which as shrimp are weighed and sized shouldn’t make a difference) and the large came with hush puppies and was a heartier dish. So I went with the recommendation. I also inquired about crabcakes as there were a couple of options — I was directed toward a single real crabmeat choice with a remoulade sauce on the side. Finally, a seafood pasta salad in the case looked pretty good as a take home option, so I ordered that as a to-​go item.
Well, the crabcake recommendation was a good one — enjoyed that immensely. But the shrimp fell short. In my mind they weren’t all that big, but what killed it for me was that they seemed like about 60% breading and 40% shrimp. The presence of all that breading overpowered any flavor that the shrimp might have had. Bummer. As for the seafood pasta salad — it was ok.
So peer pressure of other Unilocalers notwithstanding, I must give Don’s three stars. They do have a huge variety there and at some point, I’ll try and get back to check them out again. But as for shrimp, I’ll be looking elsewhere.

We came in randomly after seeing signs for «Crab Fest.» Initially we came to buy some crab meat and a few filets of salmon but ended up staying for lunch (it happened to be Des Plaines Restaurant Week).
I ordered the Shrimp Po Boy (+ chips + pop) and my husband ordered the Fish chips (+ fries + slaw). I thought my sandwich tasted fresh and delicious with the tartar & cocktail sauce. My husband devoured his meal (except the slaw) so I take it that it was also pretty good! I love that we found this no-​frills, fresh food joint and will be back next time we’re looking to buy seafood or a quick lunch.

Fantastic place!!! Met the owner while we were there, she is so nice and down to earth. I had the Maine lobster roll. Omg it was delicious !!! Just enough food for your dollar. When you want to get away from the seafood chains this is the place to go for great fresh seafood

This place is the best Seafood Market & Restaurant around! The freshest seafood in the area. Had the fish & shrimp tacos which tasted amazing. Since its shrimp fest am couldn’t leave without buying some boiled shrimp, Cajun shrimp and coconut shrimp to take home! The coconut shrimp was out of this world, could eat it every day. The service was great and the owners always go above and beyond to make sure everything are amazing.

The best fish and shrimp you will find anywhere in the Chicago Suburbs. Who would think this little place would be so delish. The fish chips are my favorite, light and fluffy fried fish always fresh. And the shrimp we can never get enough! They do have a batter that is on the thicker side, but the flavor is perfect. And talk about Cole Slaw. I hate the stuff, but at Dons Dock I will eat the entire container! Every time we go to Des Plaines we stop here!
And the price is very low for two people to be stuffed it cost us $ 15. For fresh fish and shrimp. For a family of 4 I would recommend 1lb shrimp, 1lb fish chips, and large cole slaw. Will run you about $ 30. And you will be so very full.

Love their fried shrimp!!! It’s very good but I do think it’s pricey for the portion they serve you! Also the service is excellent! Alexis took our order and she smiled the entire time and every time we approached her afterwards. My mouth would hurt after smiling that much.
You order at the register and then they call your number and you get your food from
the counter (no table service, so no tips!). I’d suggest eating their so your food is still warm. They have many tables inside even if the dining area is small. Dining area isn’t anything special, they have a lot of seafood related decoration on the walls.
They must really really like their decoration. Their were a bunch of condiment bottles put out as decoration and the owner came out to make sure they are aligned perfectly and that the label was facing forward (See the pictures). I thought I’d take lots of pictures of the decoration since they work so hard to make sure it’s perfect.
I would return to get the fried shrimp! Wish it was cheaper though.

Excellent Lobster Tacos and Fried Walleye Sandwich. Superb seafood and salads.
Watch out! Catch of every minute of the day is the place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Open 9am. Closed Sunday.
Well, one day off of Don’s Dock is ok.
Monthly Specials, catering, salads, fresh fish and, and Hushpuppies! Yep, Hushpuppies!
Fish Fridays

My father has been coming here for YEARS. It is his favorite place ever. He normally just gets the popcorn fried shrimp but they have many other options as well.
We ordered in one night from here and I only have two qualms: its a tiny bit expensive and the hush puppies were jalapeño. I would not have been upset by the hush puppies but they did not have any description that they were flavored so I was expecting more of the traditional hush puppies.
We got some fish and chips [which were good but the ‘fish’ was small chunks rather than larger pieces] and then clam chowder. I really enjoyed the clam chowder as it was full of flavor and a little looser than traditional new england style chowders [which i guess doesn’t make it new england style since the spoon should be standing up in the soup].
We will probably be returning as the items we got were good; just not as consistently as the pricing is a little high.

It’s Mardi Gras and we had a taste for Cajun food. I checked on Unilocal and found out that this place was serving Mardi Gras food specials so off we went.
When we arrived, it is a small place about 8 to 10 tables of four on one side and on the other side is a display of fresh seafood sold by the pound and premade food by the pound and also you can order different meals over the counter.
Of course their speciality is seafood.
They sell fresh seafood from oysters to smoke salmon. But we were here for their mardi Gras dinner specials. They had a wide variety of choices. The prices are not bad.
It’s a tiny place more of a divey establishment. There were a lot of take out orders too. They serve your food in plastic containers and plastic utensils so nothing fancy here.
You pick a number from the ticket taker and place your order and they will call your number when your meal is ready.
I have to say the folks here were very friendly even when they were really busy tonight.
I like the fact that they were wearing Mardi Gras colors and passing out free beads on Fat Tuesday. The décor was also Mardi Gras theme of New Orleans. Even the music that was playing in the background got you in the mood.
We ordered the shrimp Po boy sandwich, it came with homemade chips and coleslaw. The bread was soft and the lettuce and tomato were fresh. The fried shrimp were baby shrimp so they kept on coming out of the sandwich every time hubby took a bite. We prefer bigger size shrimp for the sandwich. But it was fine, because they had enough baby fried shrimp in the sandwich.
The homemade chips were crispy and the slaw was okay too, it had a sweet taste to it like KFC slaw taste.
I had the sausage and baby shrimp jambalaya in a bowl which was flavorful. I would get this again. I also ordered a quarter pound of their hush puppies which had a Cajun seasoning kick to it which was pretty good too.
I got a free cornbread muffin when I checked in from Unilocal.I’m glad it was free because it was cold and dry boo. I would not have paid for it.
Overall, it was an nice experience the food was good so we would come back and try other things like their Maryland crab cakes and a lobster roll that’s on the menu and it’s also BYOB oh Yeah!

I’d been wanting to take me to a particular seafood joint, but, much to my dismay, it closes at 7, so I haven’t been able to work it into my schedule just yet. Thankfully a friend has driven by Don’s Dock and suggested we try it in the meantime.
When we arrived we were initially overwhelmed with the choices. Alexis was super sweet and friendly, and explained the whole menu AND specials to us. She gave us suggestions and let us know what the most popular items were.
He ordered the Fish Tacos and I had the Fish and Chips. Both were reaaaally delish! I enjoyed the biscuit-​type bun and the tartar sauce was a great compliment to the fish. I was really pleased with fresh fruit on the side. His salsa (both on the tacos and on the side) was a bit too sweet for my particular taste. I love that the tortillas were grilled.
I also like that this is not «fast» food by any means — we waited about 10 minutes for our food, it came out piping hot, and you could tell it was made with care. Not only that, but it was both fresh AND reasonably priced.
I can’t wait to go back for another delish dinner!