There's always something cooking in one of the Watson households, said Genice Watson Hoerchler. Her brothers and parents are avid cooks, and when they're not whipping up something for their own broods, they're catering. So it was a natural step to open a restaurant and invite the rest of the world in to enjoy their dishes.

Parents Marvin and Peggy Watson, along with Genice and sons Mickey and James, recently took over the former Seasons de Provence space in downtown Acworth and turned it into Watson's Gulf Coast Seafood. It's a family affair, with each playing a role in the kitchen, bar or dining room.

Renee Brock/Special (ENLARGE)
Watson's Gulf Coast Seafood's crab cakes are topped with a roasted red pepper remoulade. The recipes are family favorites from Mobile, and Watson family members are involved in all aspects of the restaurant.
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"We've catered in the past, but it was always Marvin's dream to have a restaurant," Peggy Watson said. "When he finally retired, that's what he wanted to do."

The recipes come from family kitchens in their hometown of Mobile. "Our families have been there all their lives," said Peggy Watson. "Our seafood is different from Louisiana's, where it's more Cajun."

The look of the space hasn't changed much from its previous incarnation. The bricked patio is still a work in progress, with umbrella-topped tables waiting to be arranged. Plans call for a bar as part of the outdoor area to accommodate waiting diners. Inside, there's still a small bar to the left and wood tables and chairs to the right along the exposed brick wall. (In fact, they're the same tables and chairs with French provincial styling.) A few ocean-themed accents are the most notable decor change.

The big difference, of course, is the menu. Start with a plate of shrimp and crawfish scampi; buffalo shrimp or crawfish tails with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks; crab cakes with a red pepper remoulade; fried green tomatoes; or fried dill pickles. Before you order, servers arrive with a basket of spicy hush puppies with tartar sauce.

Main dishes include a platter of peel-and-eat shrimp or a low country boil, complete with corn on the cob, sausage, red potatoes and coleslaw; spicy grits with a creamy shrimp gravy; gumbo with rice; tuna steak; shrimp and crawfish scampi; and pasta with shrimp and crawfish. The house signature entree is a large portion of flounder filet stuffed with crab.

Desserts are made by Marvin Watson, who's happy to brag on his multi-layered Kahlua and walnut chocolate cake and coconut cream pie. There's also Key lime, strawberry, pecan, lemon or chocolate meringue pies. The pound cake is purely Peggy Watson: "It's my best recipe," she brags.

Lunch features baskets of fried fish, oysters or shrimp and chips; po boys stuffed with shrimp, oysters or fish; a burger; and grilled chicken sandwich. Seafood chowder and gumbo is a good pair for one of the three salads.

The cozy bar has several seats where you can wait for a table over a glass of wine or cocktail. There are three beers on tap and other domestics and imports by the bottle. There's a full list of classic cocktails, as well as a few specialty martinis.

The 15-bottle wine list features Columbia Crest as the house pour and everything is available by the bottle or glass. Look for the list to grow as the local clientele makes its preferences known.