This landmark catfish and fried pie restaurant has been among the best for 50 years
Fifty years ago, an Oklahoma family opened a homespun catfish restaurant on the banks of the Red River.
Now, the giant WinStar gambling casino on the highway draws a bigger crowd, But travelers still find their way to McGehee Catfish Restaurant.
Some 50-year-old restaurants aren’t what they used to be. McGehee seems every bit as good.
On a visit last weekend, McGehee offered not only its near-perfect fried fillets but also first-rate grilled catfish, along with the sugar-dusted fried pies famous in southern Oklahoma.
If you’ve never heard of McGehee, then you’ve never talked to a catfish fan. The restaurant — originally a complex with fish ponds and a landing strip — is on the river west of Interstate 35, about 90 minutes’ drive north of Fort Worth.
Along with Huck’s in Denison, Bill’s Fish House near Waurika, Oklahoma, and Doug’s Peach Orchard in Terral, Oklahoma, McGehee carries on the legacy of the Texoma area as catfish country.
The tour buses don’t stop as often now. The rustic walls and shelves look bare of the old souvenirs and kitsch.
The hours are shorter, too: dinner Thursdays through Saturdays, lunch Saturdays and Sundays.
Yet a lunch was full of the same McGehee’s flavor.
And — surprise — there’s a dinner that isn’t fried.
A grilled catfish platter ($17.40) offered catfish three different ways, with cole slaw, oniony homemade hush puppies and McGehee’s famous green-tomato relish.
The cook mistakenly put all three seasonings — peppered, Cajun and blackened — on all the fillets. The result was exceptional: Ask for all the seasonings on yours, too.
The grilled platter showcases McGehee’s farm-fresh, light fillets. An all-you-can-eat fried dinner is $21.25, or order a regular dinner.
McGehee’s also serves steaks, chicken strips and burgers.
The dessert alone is worth the detour: co-owner Wanda Shellenberger’s old-fashioned hot fried pies dusted with sugar with a choice of about 10 fillings, including peach, apricot, blackberry, chocolate, cherry-cheesecake, coconut and seasonal specials.
McGehee’s can’t sell alcohol and has signs saying it’s not allowed, but that isn’t rigidly enforced; 13487 McGehee Road, between Thackerville and Marietta, Oklahoma, 580-276-2751; mcgeheescatfish.com
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
