Surf and Turf Tower Dinner Party Menu
Surf and Turf Tower Dinner Party Menu is the special occasion dinner party menu you’ll want to serve! Fill a tiered tray with filet mignon, snow crab legs, shrimp cocktail, and french fries!
Hosting a Surf and Turf Dinner Party is fun, but make it even more amazing and serve it on a tower!
I’m telling you, this was one of the BEST dinner parties I’ve hosted, and I’ll be doing it again and again.
Surf and Turf Towers are usually reserved for iconic steakhouses, like Ocean Prime Chicago, London House Hotel, or other high-end hospitality offerings.
Bring it home and serve all of your favorite steaks, seafood, and side dishes for an unforgettable experience around your table.
Hosting a Surf and Turf Tower Dinner Party
Okay, first! Let’s start with the tower itself. You’re going to need a tiered tray to serve off of.
I have something similar to this one, and I use it all the time. I originally purchased this for serving afternoon tea parties, desserts at parties, etc.
I’ve used it so many times for all kinds of parties! I think every host should have one or two!
Next, you’ll need to choose your Surf and Turf Menu.
Here’s what I served on my tower:
The top tray had wedge salads with blue cheese dressing.
The middle tray was loaded with pommes frites and french fries coated in garlic herb butter! Yum.
The bottom tray had two ribeyes, sliced, and three snow crab legs.
This was an intimate dinner party for three people, so it was neat and tidy.
We also enjoyed a shrimp cocktail, served in coupe glasses, and hung on a martini tree!
When you come to my home, expect the unexpected!
When I do this party again, here’s what I’ll be doing on the trays:
Top layer, jumbo shrimp cocktail on ice with lemon wedges. While the shrimp cocktail in glasses is cute, I’ll either serve it on the plate at the table or nix it all together, opting for an iced tray of seafood.
I’ll move the salads to shallow bowls and serve as the starter. It was difficult to pick up the salads and get them onto a plate; the salad toppers went everywhere!
The middle layer will either be the same, with herby french fries or twice-baked potatoes.
The bottom layer will stay the same, but way more crab!
Turf Platter Ideas
When choosing which cut of steak you want, remember this party is at YOUR home! You get to choose whatever you want! Or whatever the guest of honor likes!
If you’re serving more than four people, I would personally make my famous Beef Tenderloin recipe and plate it on the tower. It’s the chateaubriand cut, the filet mignon of the cow! And this is a showstopping way to celebrate someone.
You could do ribeye steaks, Denver steaks, or if your tower tray is big enough, do the Tomahawk Steak! That feeds a crowd as well, and is equally impressive.
If you have people who don’t eat beef coming, grill up some succulent boneless chicken breasts, like this Steakhouse Chicken recipe, and they’ll enjoy the meal with the surf options.
Here are my recommendations when you’re serving 3-4 people:
- Individual Filet Mignons would be incredible! Cooked in a skillet on medium-high heat and finished in the oven with butter on top! What could be better?
- Papa’s Grilled Ribeye is the perfect steak if you want to make a couple and slice them up to share. Since you are serving with other seafood items and sides, you don’t need a large individual steak for every person.
If you’re serving 5-7 people:
- Either roast a whole beef tenderloin or do the big daddy Tomahawk steak! These have so much flavor, and they’re perfect for sharing with friends and family around the table.
- Grill up a few 2-inch-thick New York Strip steaks, and you’ll be piling the slices high on your big platter.
If there are any more people than this, I would recommend having a buffet-style dinner!
Seafood Options for Your Tower
When you choose your seafood, be mindful of who’s coming for the affair. Do they love crab?! Several giant king crab legs will go over well!
Do they love oysters on the half-shell? Pack one section of the tower with chippy ice, pile it high with raw oysters and roasted shrimp cocktail, and place lobster tails on there as well.
Your people will be so impressed with what you’re serving!
If you’re looking for an amazing warm shrimp recipe, give this Tarragon Shrimp Recipe a go! I originally had it as a starter for a meal once, and now I use it as a steak topper when I am serving “surf and turf.”
The cream-based sauce is delectable and makes any occasion even more fancy than it started. I highly recommend you make this shrimp recipe if you want that real heart of Downtown Naples steakhouse experience!
Your Surf and Turf Tower Dinner Party Menu isn’t complete without something super fancy!
Side Dishes for Your Surf and Turf Dinner Party
You could serve your side dishes family-style with a big platter of fresh vegetables with a little butter, salt, and black pepper.
Another idea would be to do these Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles. These can be assembled the day before and then heated in the oven along with everything else.
I chose to serve frozen french fries that I cooked in the air fryer. Once they were perfectly crispy, I tossed them with garlic and herb salt, and they were just amazing!
When you choose your side dishes for your party menu, it’s best to keep in mind the oven space you have.
If you have one oven, choose recipes that bake at the same temperature as everything else so you don’t have any waiting time.
It’s also best to choose menu items that allow as much of the work to be done ahead of time! In order to enjoy your party WITH your guests, you want to be out of the kitchen as much as possible.
These Frozen Green Beans need no prep time and are always a hit.
Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese is always a steakhouse side dish winner! Or this carrot souffle or sweet potato casserole!
Don’t forget to ask a friend to bring dessert — one less thing on your to do list. But, if you don’t want to ask anyone to bring anything, pick up brownies from your market’s bakery, then serve with ice cream.
Such a crowd-pleaser!
Finally, how will you serve your Surf and Turf Tower Dinner Party Menu?
