Best Seafood: David's Seafood Grill

350 E. FM 1382

Cedar Hill

972-293-0005

After opening about 40 restaurants in his career, Duncanville resident David Wilson thought his latest creation would be a little easier, would grow a little quicker and be less stressful.

“But I was wrong,” he said.

But all the stress and long hours has paid off in the form of a popular restaurant with a loyal fan base — and David’s Seafood Grill in Cedar Hill is also the winner in the Best Seafood category in the 2009 Best Southwest Neighbors Choice Awards.

“The day I changed the name (from Rockfish), within the first two weeks or so, I saw a decline in sales. But after about a year, we started to turn it around, and it’s been steady progress ever since,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s menu offers a variety of choices in seafood and other types of food. His firecracker shrimp appetizer is a favorite, along with his specially made potato cakes, and once a year he gets in a shipment of Copper River Salmon that steals the show.

He’s also fond of Thursdays, when he features Spanish paiea.

David’s offers plenty of seasonal specialties like the Copper River Salmon, and there’s a hint of Creole and Cajun influences in some of the items on the menu courtesy of Wilson’s upbringing in New Orleans.

Wilson is the chairman-elect of the Cedar Hill Chamber of Commerce and also serves on the Cedar Hill Education Foundation and is a member of Leadership Southwest’s Class of 2008.

Wilson is also something of a culinary “scientist” always trying out new ideas, and although he works countless hours and is seemingly always on the job, the reward comes with satisfied customers.

“That takes care of the bumps and the grinds,” he said. “When I see how much people enjoy something, that removes the tiredness and re-energizes me.”