If you love catfish or relish in the occasional ghost story, then you may have already heard the rumors about Catfish Plantation. Rumors of ghosts haunting visitors, rumors that it has been on television numerous times, rumors that they have all you can eat catfish. All these rumors are true! Okay, I can’t personally vouch for the part about guests being haunted by ghosts, but I was able to verify the rest! Catfish Plantation was even featured on Ghost Hunters and King of the Hill.
Catfish Plantation is located in a residential neighborhood and is easy to miss. The parking lot is located behind the building. From the street you only see what appears to be an unassuming house built in 1895. It has plenty of seating outside on the nice wrap around porch. As you approach the entrance you will start to notice ghosts everywhere. Not the scary kind, but rather drawings of ghosts, and wooden ghosts with cut outs for kids pictures. The ghost theme continues inside with some rather interesting decorations including a statue of a ghost coming out of the wall.
I arrived with a party of four adults and two children. While waiting to be seated, there are plenty of ways to stay busy. There is an entire book of entries by guests that have shared their personal ghost experiences. There are also pictures in the waiting area and menus available that have the entire history of the plantation available to read. Much of the house burned down several years ago in a fire. Was it started by a ghost?? It was rebuilt and still has the feel of an old Victorian house.
My group ordered two appetizers and everyone shared. We ordered a plate of fried pickles and a plate of hush puppies. Hey, I never said we eat healthy! The appetizers arrived less than ten minutes after we ordered them.
I ordered the Plantation Platter which came with catfish and three large shrimp. I was worried that only three shrimp would not satisfy me. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. These were quite possibly the largest shrimp I have ever eaten. It would probably only take about five or six to make a pound. Not only were they large, but they were fresh and cooked to perfection! The catfish of course was very fresh and tasted great. I would expect great catfish from a restaurant with catfish in the name and Catfish Plantation delivers. The presentation would have benefited from some garnish. This is especially true when you have a platter full of fried food. Even though I don’t eat the garnish, it makes me feel better to see something other than brown on my plate!
There were a few choices on the menu such as key lime pie and bread pudding. While key lime pie is my absolute favorite, I was in a cobbler mood and not even my precious key lime pie could change that. To my disappointment they had run out of the peach cobbler earlier in the day and were only left with strawberry cobbler. Having lived in Texas my entire life, I didn’t even realize there was such a thing. I thought that cobbler only came in peach, cherry, or apple. Well, I needed my cobbler fix so I took my chances with the strawberry. My gamble paid off! I was greeted with warm cobbler and a cold scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. It was topped off with whip cream and two cherries (which my kids promptly confiscated). The cobbler had the perfect combination of sweetness and tartness from the strawberries. I would certainly not hesitate to order it again.
We were seated about 15 minutes after we arrived. This was in line with what I was expecting considering we did not have reservations. Once seated, our waitress was very prompt with taking our order and delivering our drinks. She refilled all of our drinks before they ever went empty which I always appreciate. Our food all arrived at the same time about 10 to 15 minutes after the appetizer.
Overall, the service was very prompt and everyone was extremely friendly. In fact, the only flaw in the service was very minor. Our waitress brought our check without asking if we would like dessert. Other than that, the service was flawless.
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I can’t say if Catfish Plantation is full of ghosts, but I can say that it is full of charm and good food! It is certainly worth a trip if you live in North Texas.
Location: Catfish Plantation