Ocean

We went to Ocean for my 48^th birthday. We sat at the outside bar and waited for at least 15 minutes before anyone ever greeted us. Another 10 minutes went by before asking our drink order. After bringing our drinks there was a 25 min wait before anyone ask if we were ready to order. We ordered oysters on the half shell which were fresh but were served 30 min later without crackers and just a little bit of cocktail. We ask for crackers and lemon and were brought a few but not even one cracker for each oyster. We ran out out crackers and cocktail sauce and still had 6 oysters left. After another long wait we were able to get the bartenders attention to order our entrée. We both ordered the butter poached lobster at $ 48.00 each. We were told that there was only 1 2lb lobster left and they would cook that and split the lobster between us and then give us more lobster tail to make up for the 2 lb shortage each plate was supposed to have. We said that will be fine. We waited for another 1 and ½ hours and still no food. We ask the bartender who was obviously embarrassed about our order and he said they had to pick the meat from a fresh lobster and it was taking a while. We waited another 20 min and ask again and he confessed their was a 10 top table that came in and the kitchen was backed up. Keep in mind we had been there for well over 2 hours and the crowd had left and we were the only table left at the outside dining area. Finally our dinner was served. The lobster was not fresh. It was so over cooked I could barely cut it with a knife. I think they took chilled cook lobster from the raw bar and tried to heat it up or at least that is what it tasted like. Upon telling the bartender how bad it was and we needed our check he brought us a free desert that was good and did not charge us for one of the lobster dishes. He was understaffed so I think he did the best with a bad situation. Our bill was over $ 150. and on the way home we pulled thru a fast food drive thru and got something to eat. Bottom line… we should have went to Highlands Bar and grill. Lesson learned!!!

Oceans was recommended and I wasn’t disappointed! What an amazing diner and service! Outstanding place!!!

Has to be the best seafood restaurant we’ve been to in a long time! Being from south Louisiana our seafood standards are pretty high. Ocean has the freshest, most creative seafood dishes. My husband had the whole fried Snapper, he said the dish brought him back to frying fresh catches whole growing up! Do not skip the Baklava Ice Cream… it will knock your socks off! The service is impeccable!

This place is definitely at the top of my list. Service was impeccable, and food was fantastic!
We had a group of 6 and ordered appetizers, entrees, and deserts along with a bottle of wine. It didn’t take long at all to get everything.
It’s a great place for both business outings and romantic dates! The atmosphere was very welcoming and cozy!

Ocean is one of the best restaurants in town, hands down. We don’t get to go as often as we’d like but it’s at the top of the list when it’s time for a very nice dinner. After multiple visits over the past several years it is very consistent with great service, excellent food quality, and nice atmosphere.
For starters they bring you bread and olive oil along with a cucumber/​tomato salad topping. The Ocean Salad is a great option just make sure you ask for the fried feta (sounds crazy but it’s delicious). The raw oysters and sushi are also great appetizers. One of my favorite entrees is the cornmeal dusted fried whole flounder. You do need to ask your server when you sit down if there are still any left because these go quickly.
On my most recent visit I had the Gulf Grouper. The fish was delicious but the real highlight was the Crawfish Conecuh Bread Pudding! Holy cow! Think of it like a thanksgiving dressing. It was out of this world! I could have eaten three plates of just that.

Great service, great menu, great ambiance! Love the bar area and it was a popular place to be! We had Greek salad, lobster bisque, filet, fish special and bread pudding. All of it was delicious! Service was attentive, polite and knowledgable.

Last week I was walking around 20^th St south and passed Ocean restaurant, I saw the menu outside so I stopped to observe it. I’ve seen this restaurant over the years and always wanted to go. But as we continue to get new restaurants in Birmingham I would push it to the back of my mind. On this particular day I read the menu and knew I had to take my mom because she is a seafood lover as I am also. When I read the about the seafood tower I immediately made reservations for us. And boy it did not disappoint us tonight in the least. Along with the seafood tower we also had the crab cakes and salt and pepper calamari. Everything looked amazing and tasted so so delicious. We ended our meal with an awesome dessert, caramel lava cake. Rest assured Ocean we will be back to sample more of your fine wares

From California and visited my son and daughter-​in-​law in Birmingham. They took me here for my 61^st birthday, on ²⁄₂₈. What a excellent place. Larry, the General Manager and Logan our waiter made it a point to come by and welcome us to Ocean. His family is from San Diego area. All of our meals were excellent, service and so on. Nice portions as well. Would be great date night there. Thanks for everything on ²⁄₂₈.

This is a nice place in bham. it appears to be popular with the young professional crowd. I assume this since we could not hear our waiter do to the screaming and yelling as bros had to shout and brag about how many glasses of wine/​beer/​shots they had. It was also nice to listen to them «fight» over who was going to pay the bill. Everyone wanted to pay in order to prove how much money they made. Other than these people the place is really nice. Problem being these people where every where inside. The seats are really close together. The food was amazing. Our waiter was outstanding. This place has absolutely amazing food. it looks so good inside. Its just the crowd. I plan on going back just hoping it was a one time thing.

Also went here during restaurant week. I ordered sushi and my husband went with the salad/​osso buco/​bread pudding from the fixed menu. My sushi (tuna Hawaiian roll or something similar) was excellent. The osso buco was very bland, very fatty, and frankly, unappealing to look at! I can understand an ugly dish that is delicious, but the whole thing was ‘meh’. The bread pudding was worth the entire bill though, IMO. The wait staff was awesome, including the manager.
I’ll keep going back because they are a reliable establishment for an excellent meal, but restaurant week was not their best showing.

Ate here with a date on a Friday night before a concert at Iron City. We were seated promptly at our reservation time. Service from Jay was excellent.
Everything we had was a standout:
Lobster tail appetizer
Ocean salad with fried feta
Reg grouper with crawfish grits
Cornmeal fried scallops (outstanding, unusual to see fried scallops on menu)
Portions/​price ratio was excellent given the quality of food.
Overall outstanding experience. I used valet which was quick and organized, otherwise parking looks like a zoo. Will definitely return.

I just had dinner here with a colleague while on a work trip to Birmingham. We chose this restaurant based on good reviews and how appealing the menu sounded online. We had crab cakes as an appetizer that were served on a bed of sweet corn relish that was a lovely mix of sweet and spicy. For dinner I had the seared scallops with black eye pea and bacon hash. Everything was cooked to perfection and I was actually very surprised how much I enjoyed the hash. My colleague had the grouper special which she described as «smaller than she expected but appropriately filling.» Basically she cleaned her plate and was full so I guess that means it was good. We didn’t order dessert but the manager brought us an order of s’more pot de crème because we were out of towners. It was amazing. Needless to say we had a wonderful first impression of Birmingham at Ocean.

Wow. I’m really in awe about what just happened. My husband and I had an 8:00 reservation. Upon arriving at 8:00, we were told our table wasn’t ready. We then waited 10 minutes while we stared at multiple empty tables not being set up. Finally, a water boy comes up and says he will take us to our table. He then immediately halts himself and says it’s not ready and there has been a confusion. Finally, we are taken to our table. We remained polite through the entire process. My husband proceeded to sit down at our cramped corner table when the waiter came up and curtly asked him to move. My husband asked why he needed to do that and the waiter said (with an attitude) that he had only set two place settings and my husband needed to move to the other place setting. My husband stated that he did not want to move to a corner seat that he could barely access. At that point, we left. I have never seen such ridiculous and controlling behavior from a restaurant that tries so hard to parade as «fine dining».

Ocean is a hometown favorite. I’ve eaten here about a dozen times and only had one bad experience. The service is most consistent and the servers are knowledgeable and well developed.
Had dinner with a girlfriend recently and we dined nearly three hours! The Ocean salad is my favorite! The Oysters Rockafeller is incredible! My go to dish is the Scallop entrée. I felt adventurous on this last visit and enjoyed the fish special. It was good but I can’t even remember which type of fish I had so it wasn’t amazing.
Matthew has served me several times. He has incredible memory recall and is very personal. Great place for corporate dining, date nights, celebrations, and quality time with friends.
They have a great bar with a huge water feature. One would feel comfortable dining at the bar as well.

Excellent quality seafood! The sushi, oysters and entrees were extrodinary. I was very pleased with this restaurant. There could be a little space between the tables… making it feel less cramped and crowded… however, my wife and I were able to meet some very nice people due to the proximity of the surrounding tables so the atmosphere worked for us.

I sat at the bar with my friend Rick and we had great sushi and great mussels. It was great food in a great location. The bartender was smart, funny, and knowledgeable without being snooty. ‘Go there.

I am a seafood lover, and was definitely not let down with the entrees that I have ordered here before! The sushi here is pretty amazing! I do hate that they closed the adjoining 26 (because they had a great happy hour and it was a lot less expensive.) I hear that they will be re-​branding it and opening again soon though. The food that I have eaten here definitely warrants five stars. However, I was not blown away with the atmosphere. I was a bit underwhelmed after having eaten at the fashionable 26 next door. The bar area is beautiful, but the rest of the place is rather bland… especially for such an expensive restaurant. I prefer to eat on the breezeway side, which opens up to the street and feels a lot more elegant than the main dining room.

Never fails — Ocean is where I seem to always find the perfect pearl for the evening. Though I do miss the stoli elit martinis since they no longer carry it — my experience last week reminds me that this is my safe place to go where food is consistent/​oysters are beautiful — and the delicate way how entrees are explained makes me want to try every dish on the menu! I’ll see you again next month!

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham. The food is amazing with a trendy environment. During oyster season I suggest trying their oysters. Their staff is knowledgable about them and explains where they are from and they are able to provide suggestions. Ocean also has a wide cocktail selection. It’s pricy but worth every penny. If you are looking for amazing seafood in Birmingham, go to Ocean!

SOLID FOOD AND GREAT SERVICE are the best thoughts to come to mind when thinking about Ocean. Without resevations we were lucky to score a table in the veranda section. We were offered a choice of tables and at first we went with the one overlooking the outside but had to change our mind when the evening coolness brought the biting insects. We then relocated to a table closer to the back away from the windows.
We love to order various things from the appetizer menu to see all of the talents of the chef and we were not disappointed. The trio of ceviche was as good as we have had. the wild mushroom and goat cheese was good but not among the best of the apps we had. Both the octopus and beef carpaccio were excellent and the real surprise was the combo of tuna and watermelon– not a pair you would normally put together, but it totally worked. The textures worked so great in your mouth. And another favorite was the fried green tomato and spicy shrimp combination.
Our server was very attentive and paired our appetizers very well and refilled our drinks as needed. For dessert, we opted to split the peach trio— so good! Add an Espresso with a snifter of Chambord and an excellent evening is concluded.