On Canal Road in Orange Beach, in a small retail center that would be easy to drive past, Big Fish Restaurant and Bar has quietly built one of the strongest reputations on the Alabama Gulf Coast for fresh seafood and sushi. The restaurant, owned and operated by Leck and Jana Lilayuva, is known for a seasonal menu built around fresh, never-frozen fish, beef, and sushi prepared daily, all served in a chic, white-tablecloth setting that manages to feel more intimate than fancy.
The space is divided into several small dining areas, each set with white tablecloths, so even on a busy Thursday night the room carries a buzz of happy conversation without drowning out your own table. The wait staff is attentive and unhurried, and the menu rewards the indecisive: nearly every fish on the board can be prepared sauteed, bronzed, blackened, grilled, or crispy fried, and the sushi list runs from classic rolls to signature creations.
Fish Cut to Order, Every Night
The heart of Big Fish is the fish itself. Leck Lilayuva can be found in the back of the house nearly every night, personally hand-cutting the seafood that goes out to tables. Regulars have watched him take delivery of freshly caught fish and trim it on the spot for the evening’s dinner crowd, and that insistence on freshness is the through-line of the whole menu.
Ordering tripletail, a local favorite, is a masterclass in options: prepare it simply with lemon-infused olive oil, mashed potatoes, and spinach, or go “Big Fish Style,” sauteed and topped with scallions and ginger over spinach and jasmine rice in a sherry soy broth. The kitchen’s Asian-inflected approach shows up throughout the menu, from the pork gyoza appetizer to rolls like the Red Dragon and Black Dragon.
Sushi became part of the story when Chef Mimi Yi joined the team, and it has since become one of the restaurant’s calling cards. Locals will tell you that when Orange Beach wants sushi, this is where it goes. The full bar and deep wine list round out a dinner that can run from a casual bowl of miso soup to a multi-course seafood tasting.
From a Longline Boat to a Model’s Walk
The backstory of the restaurant’s founder reads like a novel. Leck’s father is from Bangkok and his mother is from Birmingham, and Leck grew up along the coastal area working on his father’s longline fishing boat. His father owned Nicki’s Seafood and Thai in Orange Beach, and Leck worked essentially every job in the restaurant before he was out of high school.
Then came a detour. Modeling agencies discovered him after graduation, and he spent time working in New York before visiting family in Bangkok. From there he built a modeling career that took him across Asia and Europe, and along the way he ate his way through street markets and vendor stalls, quietly collecting ideas and techniques from cooks he watched at work.
The Meal That Started It All
When Leck eventually returned to the Gulf Coast, he met Jana. To impress her, he cooked a meal inspired by the cooks he had met overseas. It worked. The couple married and became business partners, and on a cold January night in 2010 they opened Big Fish Restaurant, blending Asian, European, and Southern influences into a single menu.
Opening night left little room for practice. Leck found himself jumping into the kitchen fire, cooking for a full house and teaching himself the rest as he went. A decade and a half later, he still runs the back of the house while Jana runs the front, greeting guests and keeping the dining room’s warm rhythm. The restaurant opened officially on January 5, 2010, and has become a fixture for locals, especially once the tourist season winds down and the room fills with familiar faces.
A Locals’ Room With a Traveler’s Palate
Big Fish is open Monday through Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m., with happy hour daily from 3 to 4. The address is 25814 Canal Road in Orange Beach. Reservations are wise during peak season, but locals know that off-season weeknights can be the best time to snag a table and actually hear your dinner companions.
Save room for dessert. The house-made coconut tort has ended more than one meal here, and it is the kind of decision nobody at the table regrets. Between the sushi, the seafood, the beef, and the vegetarian options, the kitchen’s range is unusual for a town this size, and it reflects the founders’ road: from Bangkok markets to European runways to a small dining room on Canal Road.
Dinner at Big Fish is a reminder that the best restaurant stories on the Gulf Coast are often family stories, written one hand-cut piece of fish at a time.