Palapas Seafood Bar

I can’t believe that I never reviewed this place.
Palapas is a Mexican restaurant specifically featuring the cuisine of the Coastal region of Sinaloa which is located in the Northwestern part of the country. Palapas Seafood Bar has lots of wonderful seafood dishes and other favorites. The restaurant itself is interesting. You can’t miss the thatch roof. You just don’t see that everyday in Dallas. We were hesitant about trying it because it looks tiny… and it is small, but they have a lovely fenced in patio. We almost always sat in the patio but did sit inside a couple of times. I never had any issues with flies as another poster mentioned. Additionally, it is located right on the cusp of a trendy district in Dallas and a rougher part of town. We dined there many times and never had any issues.
The food there was fresh and on point. We would frequently get the guacamole which was a generous portion. The chips and salsa were delicious too. I ordered oysters on the half shell a couple of times and thought the quality was good. Another one that I really enjoyed was Ceviche Mazatlan. The menu description is — White Pacific Shrimp cooked in fresh lime juice, topped with avocado. In case you don’t know what Ceviche is as apparently another poster was CLUELESS about… Ceviche is a seafood dish popular in coastal regions. The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish or seafood cured in citrus juices like lime. Anywho…
My bf and I always ordered the Parrillada for one. It is a huge portion. I can’t imagine how big it would be in the larger «for Two» portion. The dish has grilled shrimp and carne asada, sausage, grilled chicken and panel cheese. It is served with guacamole, grilled cactus, borracho bean soup, red rice and grilled onions. This whole dish is a flavor explosion.
Now that I have moved to the Midwest I can say how much I miss restaurants like this one. I will make sure to get in a meal there on my next trip back.

Another great find, I am a Mexican National restauranteur and this is the real thing, visit them, is worth the visit.
You won’t find the breaded fried catfish filet, you will find raw food cooked on lime and great other grill options

Decided to go here as a family for a nice family dinner the food was good but my brother received something extra in his Michelada, a piece of glass!!! We brought it to the managers attention and he didn’t seem to care that he was serving glass to to his customers. Needles to say for our safety that was the last visit.

Stopped here on a Sunday afternoon and was impressed by the ceviche. Refreshing and full of flavor. Good drinks, too.

We tried out this place for the first time based on Unilocal reviews and photos. They were not misleading. This place is special. The ceviche is awesome! My wife had the 7 mares soup and absolutely loved it! I had the shrimp tacos and were the best I have ever had. I loved everything about this place. It’s a bit small but it’s beautifully decorated. We can’t wait to go back! The happy hour is awesome!

The service is great! The food is even better. I had the red snapper fried and drizzled in garlic sauce! I posted a picture so you can see the beauty of this dish.

I’m shocked this place didn’t make me sick. The shrimp ceviche they served me was raw. I didn’t notice it until I ate a few because of the sauce it was covered in but the shrimp was still translucent instead of the normal orange coloration of cooked shrimp. That was disgusting and I’m shocked they served it to me like that.
They also have flies everywhere around the bar area and I was having a fairly epic battle the whole dinner trying to keep it out of my soup.
Their specialty coconut seafood ceviche is just average. All the dishes were poorly seasoned despite being covered in their sauce. This place is just not worth it. Their margarita was ok but it’s not hard to make a good margarita.

Chips & Salsa– ⁵⁄₅ (some of the best i’ve ever had)
Blue Point Oysters– ⁵⁄₅ (cheap and tasty with the key lime, clean but shucked poorly)
Camarones en Agua Chile (green) — ⁵⁄₅ (spicy as hell but wonderfully unique)

Palapas Seafood Bar is a seafood restaurant in Dallas with a Latin flair. At Palapas, you can find fresh ceviche, fish tacos, enchiladas, and more. It’s a very casual setting and the restaurant itself is sandwiched between buildings.
My Overall Rating — 3 ½ Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — As we drove up, we noticed what looked like a tiki hut sandwiched between concrete buildings. Turns out, this was the patio area of Palps. Inside you’ll find a coastal feel similar to what you would find in Cancun. The restaurant seems to have expanded over time as well. There’s an outdoor patio, a climate controlled area that looks like it used to be the outdoor patio, and then more traditional seating within. ½ Star.
Service — Everything was good. They were not too busy so our server was always available. He made several recommendations and did a great job explaining dishes we had questions about. While he did forget to put in one of our orders, a reminder remedied it quickly. No issues, great service here. 1 Star.
Food — The menu reminds of Seafood Shack. There are plenty of fresh seafood dishes. I definitely felt these were true Mexican\Latin Seafood dishes. The white fish ceviche came had huge chunks of fish throughout, perfectly cooked in the lime juice. We ate it with saltines because the restaurant tortilla chips weren’t strong enough to hold the fish. Their shrimp cocktail was solid. If you’ve ordered this at Big\Aw Shucks or Seafood Shack expect the same. I went with the crab enchiladas for my primary dish. Unfortunately I won’t order this again — tons of crab but it didn’t taste as fresh as I would have liked. I had to dip it in the red sauce. But, Palapas was able to redeem itself with dessert. Here you can order a hot, caramel filled churro served with vanilla bean ice cream. We ordered a second one after the first was assaulted by our party. Great beginning/​end — so-​so middle. 1 ½ Stars.
Will I Return? — Only for the churro. I liked Palapas a lot, I just think there many similar options in Dallas that I would consider before coming back. But that churro was actually so good I would actually come back just to eat it. ½ Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.

Jamie and I did our first happy hour here, and it was very good:
1. $ 7.50 ceviche– did the shrimp this time, and for $ 7.50, one of the better fresh seafood bargains in town
2. $ 5 frozen margarita– not as tasty or strong as Gloria’s but respectable
3. $ 3 Shiner– a HH winner
4. Chips and salsa– excellent, as always. crispy chips on the thicker side, lightly salted, and a smoky salsa with a little kick
I love Palapas, and will be back soon: P

What a bad ass place… I loved it. Omg best service, food so good. Drinks good atmosphere good
Could not ask for a nice place to chill. Wow really surprised. I really like this hole in the wall.

Awesome seafood, get the mixed variety.
Michelada was so-​so
Salsa had good spicy flavor.
Great patio, excellent for a nice day.

Mariscoco great for the eyes and stomach! Costal Cuisine yes yes and yes! Great lil spot full of regulars with a few gringos! I always sit at the bar michelada and chips make a perfect end to all of a busy work day!
bueno mucho

Palapas Seafood bar is a concrete box with a little sign on a dark uninviting road behind a Fiesta grocery store.
Inside, carefully cute Mexican beach Disney
décor adds a bit of realistic fantasy. As we walked in, the bar was full of Mexicans, some freshly immigrated where a macho muscly one gave me a long dead cold stare that was outside of my cultural lexicon of interpretation.
The menu is rather large, in the $ 15-​$ 30 range and full of seafood. Everything looked so good we decided to get one of each and share. We chose the Aqua chiles camarones ceviche style $ 15, and the whole red snapper, grilled $ 30. We sadly bypassed the coconut shrimp ceviche served in the shell for the spicy dish, which when arrived looked unappealing — quirky like a soup, with the shrimps thinly sliced swimming around with cucumber. It tasted good but was almost too hot, and for the price I would have expected more shrimp.
I would not order that again.
«When we walked in this guy was staring at you for so long, it made me really uncomfortable. Did you see him?»
«Yeah I noticed that. Was it because I was wearing a neon tank top and he wanted to beat up the fag?»
«I’m not sure but he seemed really angry.»
A cultural authenticity here found itself in the patronage and the food.
Wines were $ 7, and the salsa was fresh chunky and spicy.
We ordered the red snapper «ala planche» — cooked on a piece of wood, but the manager later said they didn’t have a piece big enough to hold the fish so we opted for grilled. The beautiful large fish arrived glowing orange and fresh — was moist and full of flavor. We devoured it. It was well worth the $ 30, as long as you’re cool about working through bones.
Drinks with appetizer and shared entrée
for 2 — $ 60. If you’re on a budget — go for happy hour if you like seafood.

This place is so authentic and so good. They make the best margaritas and you can’t beat their michilada. The fish ceviche is better than the shrimp & the queso is actual real Mexican cheese. I always get the 7 mares. Soooooo good. Highly recommend this place. Forgot to mention, their salsa is awesome.

Chips and salsa: Good chips and the one of the best salsas in Dallas. You may find it quite hot if you’ve been frequenting El Fenix.
The camaron en agua chile: They’ve made a bit of a name for themselves with this dish — shrimp, seeded sliced cukes, chiles in a wonderful spicy broth, that was so good, our party was drinking spoonfuls. This is not your normal ceviche. The shrimp are cured in the lime juice for only 7 minutes — basically raw, but it works
Red snapper Veracruz: A tad overcooked, even after specifying in my order to please go easy on the cooking time. The tomato/​onion/​olive/​caper topping was about right.
The carne asada was large and cooked to a perfect medium rare.
Most of the dishes were served with rice and an awesome steamed broccoli and cauliflower, but the charro beans were also tender and tasty.
This would be a great after-​concert place to sit in the bar and snack.
The down-​side? The reason it’s only ¹⁄₃ full on a Saturday night? The prices. I understand $ 5 for a bottle of Dos Equis, no problem, but Dallas is pretty picky about where they spend $ 15 on an appetizer, $ 20 on an overcooked snapper filet, and $ 12 on a margarita. This is a super-​casual joint, not Chamberlains.
I would still go back.

I had no idea this place existed and I’ve been hopping around lower Greenville for years. If you’re in for seafood, this place has it! They have such fresh catches and overall, my experience was pretty great.
Went with friends and we all had some sort of ceviche. I highly recommend the mariscoco which is a ceviche in a coconut and they give you the fresh coco water and whatever they can’t fit inside the coconut in a glass. Essentially, you’re eating two regular servings of ceviche which is an indicator of the huge portions they have. I definitely could have shared mine with someone else and let me tell you, I usually have a big appetite.
I had the scallops in the mariscoco and they were so incredibly fresh. I’ve never had them served this was so I was curious. In reality (because we’re just playing pretend here I guess?), I tend to steer clear of scallops because they’re always prepared poorly and they come out gritty (even at fine dining restaurants). But not here. I didn’t get one grain of sand and the scallops almost melted in your mouth. The ceviche mixture was quite flavorful with the onions and tomatoes and coconut and other goods they put in there.
I also had an avocado pineapple margarita which was so unique and quite palatable! I was reluctant with the avocado being smashed in the drink, but it was a good addition. The happy hour is from 4−7p and they offer $ 5 margaritas and half off appetizers and the shrimp ceviche.
The entire restaurant is pretty small, accommodating probably 15 small tables inside and a handful outside on the patio. Our waitress was really enthusiastic and very attentive (I always drink a ton of water and like it when it’s refilled before I have to ask… small, but still worth the service). Kind of a hidden gem, though, still because we were one of two tables at 7p on a Friday night. Either way, don’t let the slightly shady neighborhood scare you because it’s definitely worth a try!

Cute and charming little place with a full bar. It has that Baha feel to it. My favorite thing about this place is that they have fresh fish. Sadly they hadn’t gotten the Salmon delivery the day we went in. I opted for Mahi Mahi A La Diabla (four chile’s red sauce). The fish was a bit over cooked and the sauce was overwhelming. The dish also included borracho beans and rice.
At $ 15 for the plate I was unimpressed. The red sauce had good flavor, but, it drowned out the fish. I ended up scraping the sauce off so I could have more fish flavor. They should really tone it down with the sauce. Less is definitely more with this dish. The beans and rice were average. They brought nothing to this dish. In fact, I didn’t even finish them.
We also got the fried shrimp. That was spot on. Good shrimp done right. The Mexican fries were quite tasty. Not sure what was Mexican about them though. The chips and salsa, again, were spot on. Fresh crispy chips, and, some salsa with both flavor and kick. I would like to go back and try some other options. Service and staff were friendly. The place was clean.

This place was listed as a hot new Dallas restaurant to try on
so I was excited to try!
When my friend I walked in to the actual interior of the building, we felt a little awkward as all we saw was a large bar and a small dining area. We decided to sit outdoors on the patio but it was a nice day so I didn’t mind. They had a big fan blowing cool air and had the tv with something I’m sure entertaining on.
Despite all the rave reviews about the ceviche, my friend & I listened to a personal friend of ours who had been here and has been proven to be a foodie. This friend actually advised us NOT to get the ceviche at all! We still wanted an appetizer so we decided to be adventurous and try a «Cockteles» which is basically a cocktail. They have 3 options available and we chose the one that came with EVERYTHING! Shrimp, octopus, AND oysters.
Why o why are people talking about the ceviche? They should be talking about the combo seafood cocktails! It was most likely THE BEST cocktail I’ve ever had. All the ingredients are so fresh and they do not hold back on hooking you up! Every spoonful I bit into had an abundance of seafood along with thick cuts of avocado. Omg so good.
We ordered the Parrillada for 2 and omg — SO MUCH FOOD! We could not handle it all. I love the addition of the cactus. Don’t be scared! Try it! Tastes just like another veggie.
I am docking this place for service. There was another Spanish speaking couple next to us who the entire waitstaff paid more than enough attention to and neglected everyone else. We had to flag down staff for utensils along with napkins and refills.

Palapas Seafood Bar will transport you away from the sounds of traffic and the washateria across the street to a place with thatched grass roofs and mariachi bands serenading you as you enjoy some fresh fish.
We arrived Friday evening at 6:30 to no wait, plenty of patio seating in lovely weather, and caught the last bit of happy hour for some tasty $ 5 margaritas. The margaritas were just right, not overly cloying or sweet.
Service was excellent. We decided to get the pescado zarandeado and ceviche mazatlan. Our food took a bit to come out, because the pescado zarandeado is a WHOLE grilled fish. No matter, we had the warm chips and spicy salsa to tide us over.
My ceviche was refreshing for a hot day, but the star of our meal was the fish. The snapper was split open and marinated with some tasty red sauce. It was perfectly grilled — so tender! My husband did it justice, leaving nothing but bones on his plate.
While it is a bit expensive, it’s worth it for the ambiance, service, and tasty seafood. Nice touch with the mariachi band!