Brandwave

Captain D's vs Legal Sea Foods:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Legal Sea Foods had more branded searches than Captain D's among seafood chains in the United States. Legal Sea Foods had about 18,100 branded searches, while Captain D's had 1,900. Legal Sea Foods made up 0.49% of all seafood chain searches we track, and Captain D's accounted for 0.05%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about seafood chains, Captain D's and Legal Sea Foods each appeared in two of the five answers. Captain D's was mentioned before Legal Sea Foods in two out of three answers.

Among seafood chains in the United States in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Legal Sea Foods, about 10 searches for every 1 for Captain D's

Legal Sea Foods 18.1K searchesCaptain D's 1.9K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both were mentioned in 2 of 5 answers.

Captain D's in 2 of 5Legal Sea Foods in 2 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Captain D's, named ahead of Legal Sea Foods in 2 of 3 answers

Captain D's first in 2Legal Sea Foods first in 1

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Top seafood chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Captain D's and Legal Sea Foods were each mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Captain D's was listed before Legal Sea Foods in two out of three answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Captain D's1st
  2. Red Lobster2nd
  3. Bonefish Grill3rd
  4. Long John Silver's4th
  5. Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen5th
  6. Legal Sea Foods6th
  7. Joe's Crab Shack7th

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Red Lobster3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Long John Silver's2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Bonefish Grill2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Legal Sea Foods2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Joe's Crab Shack2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Captain D's2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about seafood chains

5 answers

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United States on October 23, 2026.

Is Captain D's or Legal Sea Foods more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Captain D's and Legal Sea Foods by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all seven seafood chains we track, month by month, from searches in United States.

Captain D's and Legal Sea Foods among seafood chains in the United States, by month

Share of searches by month for Legal Sea Foods, Captain D's. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthRed LobsterLong John Silver'sBonefish GrillPappadeaux Seafood KitchenLegal Sea FoodsJoe's Crab ShackCaptain D's
Oct 202553%19.5%19.5%7.1%0.78%0.07%0.03%
Nov 202555%20.2%16.5%7.4%0.81%0.05%0.03%
Dec 202554.1%16.3%19.9%8.9%0.8%0.07%0.03%
Jan 202652.2%19.2%19.2%8.6%0.63%0.07%0.03%
Feb 202654.2%19.9%16.3%8.9%0.54%0.09%0.02%
Mar 202654.1%19.9%16.2%8.9%0.8%0.09%0.03%
Apr 202655.1%20.2%16.5%7.4%0.67%0.09%0.03%
May 202661.1%15%15%8.2%0.6%0.1%0.03%
Jun 202659.1%17.7%14.5%7.9%0.59%0.14%0.04%
Jul 202651.8%23.3%15.6%8.5%0.63%0.15%0.05%
Aug 202654.1%19.9%16.3%8.9%0.66%0.13%0.06%
Sep 202649.4%27%14.8%8.1%0.49%0.1%0.05%

How has the Captain D's and Legal Sea Foods comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for United States seafood chains in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Captain D's in the United States rose 90% over 12 measured months, from 1K to 1.9K in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Legal Sea Foods in the United States fell 33.2% over 12 measured months, from 27.1K to 18.1K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Captain D's’ and Legal Sea Foods’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Captain D's

1 branded search term

  • captain ds

Legal Sea Foods

1 branded search term

  • legal sea foods

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among seafood chains

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