Top Cat

I think they closed down as of Oct 13. Past it on my home from the Fair last night. Bummer

It’s been a long time since I last ate here. Something really, really bad has happened since then.
The shrimp used to be huge butterflied «monsters». Not anymore! Now they are smaller shrimp that have been flattened out to appear as large as they used to be. Problem is they are now very thin and apparently cooked the same amount of time as the former big ones because they are not tough.
I used to think the 6-​piece shrimp basket was one of the best deals in town. Not No More.

Best Catfish. Their sides are only so-​so. But Catfish by itself they cannot be beat. They have a weird selection of Pie’s. Potato, Pecan, some other odd one. They need to get rid of those pies and offer, Pumpin, Chocolate, Coconut, cherry, or something more mainstream. The soda machine drinks don’t taste right either. Come for the catfish.

Fried Oysters! Two words that grab my attention. Two words that make me feel great and guilty at the same time. Any place where you can get great fried oysters is a place that I will frequent on a regular basis, and according to Unilocal,Top Cat is one of those places.
I’ve already been to Top Cat a few times since my discovery, and I’m a fan. The restaurant itself is simple and straight forward, nothing fancy at all. Fanciness is not needed though, because it’s about seafood, and they do their job well. The oysters are solid! Good seasoning, not too much, and the oysters taste fresh. They were awesome one day I went, and pretty decent on a different day, so the quality varies. I’ve never had any bad experiences though. The «po-​boys» aren’t «po-​boys» in my opinion because they are missing that all important french roll, they serve it on Texas Toast. Texas Toast, French Roll, either way, it makes an excellent sandwich! The catfish is decent, it’s some of the best catfish in the area.
The only disappointing thing is the french fries. French fries and hush puppies are a SIDE though, not the main dish, so if you are looking for fries only, this isn’t the place. If you are looking for a nice spot to eat good, fresh seafood, this is your spot. If you are in the area, I recommend it!

Service was awesome. They advertise «fresh never frozen». I had the catfish PO-​Boy sandwich. The fish was fresh and the sandwich was tasty. Couldn’t give it a 5 cause I just didn’t care for the fries. I will be coming back soon. Prices were not that bad for the amount of food you get.

great, fresh fish. One plate is enough for two people.

Top Cat on Lemmon USED to be my Absolute favorite place for catfish. I have been eating here for nearly 25 years. The food has ALWAYS been absolutely marvelous, filling and a GREAT value UNTIL…
About 2 months ago, my office lunch pals and I ordered the largest family size meal that they offer and some extras, about $ 40 worth of food. What we were given were fillets that looked like they had been sliced in half.
When I called back to complain, I was told that the new owner changed the size of fillets. I went back to Top Cat and their proposed resolution to my problem was 4 fillets and I would be mailed a coupon. After a month, I called to question the whereabouts of my coupon and was treated so rudely I swore I wouldn’t even think of Top Cat again.
I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER FILLET FROM TOPCAT EVER!!! I’ll eat Captain D’s first.
PS, my coupon came 2 weeks later, for $ 10 off my next purchase. Gee… Thanks!

Top Cat from the outside appears to be some dive joint that
happens to sell some seafood.
Well, it may be a dive, but they cook some really good
tasting seafood at a reasonable price.
There’s not much to the interior, three booths, several high
tables, and a bar-​style seating around the windows, that’s
it, nothing fancy, nothing special.
The menu is pretty simple, mostly catfish, whole or fillets,
and shrimp. Those are the main items, but there’s
more on the menu; ostyers, crab, salads, gumbo, etc.
You place your order and pay, then they’ll bring it
out to you when it’s ready.
Now for the best part, the fish is actually really good.
It’s not greasy, not small pieces, not over seasoned, it’s
just good crispy fried fish. The orders are served with
french fries and hush puppies, both of which are very tasty
also.
My only real complaint… they don’t give you jalapenos with
your order, you have to order them as a side item. C’mon man
we’re in Texas where the jalapenos! Maybe it’s just me, but
I like a good pepper or two with my fried catfish.
Great place for a quick lunch or quick take-​out on your way home.

Oh man this place reminds me of my childhood when I used to go to fish frys at my grandparents house. This place takes me way back!
The value here is incredible! HUGE portion of fried catfish, fried shrimp, fried hushpuppies, fried fries… um…lets see… i don’t think my beverage was fried… you get the point. All this for like $ 7
It was easy to order at the counter, quick turnaround on the fried fun!

as a southern woman i luuuuuuv me some catfish! of course id rather catch it, clean it and fry it up myself, but who has the time? top cat does!!!
ok, i don’t know if they actually catch it and clean it themselves but it’s def the best fish joint around. ;-) they get there fish from east texas so it has that good bayou taste since your close to the louisiana border.
you can get it a whole, a fillet, nuggets or strips of catfish. and they make a mean southern coleslaw, hush puppies, tartar sauce, fried okra red beans and rice and peach cobbler. i have to specify «southern» because i’ve tried some southern staples in other states and it’s always a bad knockoff. always.
the fish is always fresh tasting, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. just right. and someone’s momma obviously told them how you’re suppose to fry catfish because they use a half corn meal/​half flour batter. that’s old school, holla! (if you go somewhere and they just use a flour batter to fry their catfish, leave immediately!) believe me, the batter you use to fry with is key.
the fries aren’t special, but i don’t go there for fries so it’s all good.
def check ‘em out!

I don’t know if its as good as it gets because I’m fairly new to this category of dining establishments, but I do know it probably can’t get much better than this.
I had the Lunch Combo with one catfish fillet and three fried jumbo shrimp. Wiped the plate clean boy!
The fries aren’t bad, but they aren’t special. What is special is the corn meal they use on their fried seagoodies. It maintains juicy, flavorful meat within a very crunchy crust of flavor. I tell ya, that’s hard to do.
As for the building, its pretty old. They’ve been there for 26 years (and I expect they’ll be there for another 26 years), so the bathroom looks like it belongs in a museum due to how small the door, sink and everything else is. Its actually admirable in a sense, the place gives off a vibe of history.
So if you wanna escape to the ‘80s one afternoon and have some damn good fried seafood, lunch it up over here!

Fried Catfish is my favorite guilty pleasure. But it has to be fixed right. Top Cat does that. They get their fish from east Texas. The filets are good size and perfectly breaded. Their fries are ok and I like the hush puppies, but neither would get five stars. But I don’t go to get catfish for the fries or pups. I’m there for the fish. The tarter sauce was right on point too.
We live in uptown and Hook Line and Sinker is more convenient, but their catfish doesn’t even compare. Even though we can walk to Hook Line and Sinker we will get in the car and drive to Top Cat.
So happy to have found the perfect catfish so close to home.
Top Cat I love you!!!

As you leave Uptown on Lemmon toward Inwood, imagine that you stopped somewhere in Louisiana, near a bayou maybe, in an old diner for corn dusted catfish, oysters and fries. I was impressed with the fried food, it was like some old spot my Grandparents might have taken me to on the way to the lake. Good olé’ southern staples. They got red beans and rice, fried okra, and chess pie on the menu. Kitschy faded atmosphere is totally «good people — real people» vibe. For what it is, this place nears 5 stars.

I have been eating at this little seafood diner for over 20 years and still love it. Whole fried catfish and fried oysters are my weakness and Top Cat fills the bill. I love the fact that the seasoning is just as I like it. Tasty, but they don’t try to go over the top with trendy spices like some of the so called cajun places. The whole catfish is cooked to perfection and is practially greaseless. The fried oysters are a work of art. It is a friendly place serving ultra fresh food. The half shell oysters are also fresh and cheap. I highly recommend to anyone who likes gulf coast seafood. Reminds me of some of the little seafood places in Galveston.

Does eating seafood count as eating healthy if everything is fried?
Yes, you may be asking yourself that as you greedily dip your fried oysters, then your fried shrimp, and then your fried catfish, oh and your fried hush puppies and french fries into your choice of sauce. It is possible for your taste buds to be crying in joy and for your body to be crying in disgust as you devour the delectable fried seafood options at Top Cat. When we asked if their side of oysters were fresh, not fried, the guy behind the counter said, «no, everything we serve here is fried.» Ok, well that settles it.
Top Cat uses an awesome corn meal batter to fry all their seafood. The slightly gritty, but very fine crust is very addictive. You can tell everything is fresh, never frozen because the oysters are still juicy and the catfish is succulent. The whole fried catfish definitely tastes different from just the catfish fillets — they are even more succulent and flavorful.
Top Cat isn’t going to be winning any beauty contests anytime soon, but the interior is clean. It feels like a cross between a 50’s diner and a Louisiana seafood shack. The server Flora (I think?) is a total sweetheart. Whether you’re passing through or you live in the neighborhood, if you’re craving fried seafood, Top Cat is hard to beat.

Numm… Numm!
Visited this place this past Saturday. Thank goodness I had my freakin’ GPS on me, b/​c my Dad wanted to go here, but couldn’t remember the NAME of the place, but just gave my freakin’ CLUES about the location of this place (as he sat back in the passenger’s seat to wish me good luck on getting us there). Good thing that I was born «special» (GENIUS special that is), because my quick thinking is the only thing that got us to our destination!
Dad ordered the fried catfish basket, and I had the fried oysters/​shrimp. Both meals came with fries and hush puppies. Their iced tea was even good, but I wanted a beer. Couldn’t, b/​c I didn’t want to freak my Dad out (since I was driving and all). The prices were pretty fair too. The seating is tall tables/​stools, and there are a few booths to kick back in as well. This place has a mixture of clientele (ghetto/​trailer/​…normal folks 2). We both left this place FULL… especially me, …b/​c I started to eat on my Dad’s catfish when I saw him slow down. Ha!
Try a slice of their pie after your meal if you have room. I saw that they had sweet potato, chess pie, etc. Dad and I will DEFINITELY be back… Anyhoo… this place is a «hole in the wall», but they pump out some good eats!

We discovered this little restaurant on a resent trip to Dallas and I can honestly say that I haven’t had hush puppies and oysters as good since I lived on the Gulf coast as a child. The restaurant has a burger-​shack atmosphere that may not be for all people, but I loved it.

This is the best place for fried oysters in Dallas. It is difficult to find fried oysters with the right amount of seasoning and flavor, but Top Cat has it down to a science. They not only do oysters right but their catfish, shrimp and other seafood is just as good. This is a very casual place with barstools around the exterior windows. Lots of the locals just order and take out. The prices are about $ 5 – 9 and they even fry up a whole catfish to order. Hushpuppies are just okay to me, but the fries are good. This is a great place to just plunk down and eat some good fried seafood.