Coastal Bistro & Bar

⁴⁄₅ stars for happy hour, 3.5÷5 stars for dinner.
I absolutely love coming here for their happy hour. Their $ 5 cocktails are all delicious and they switch them up every few months. My favorite is the Pom-​Pom. The $ 5 appetizers and $ 3 oyster shooters are also a good deal. They used to sell $ 1 oysters but now they’re $ 1.25 oysters so that’s a bummer.
I’ve had dinner here as well but I’m not impressed by the food. The clam chowder, lobster roll, and pan seared salmon are good but nothing special. My friend held her birthday dinner party here and we were served a customized 4 course meal. Again, the food was good but not memorable.

Looked on website for times and took a group on Saturday for lunch… no go… door was locked. I called today and was told that they are not open any longer on Saturday since August. I explained that it is on the website and the defensive answer was that she just works there and has nothing to do with the website. I explained that we had an inconvenience and she said that the website is at fault… gee, put a damn sign on your door on Saturday at least. If you have a website service, cancel the contract if they can’t update what you are paying for. And for the record… apologize for our inconvenience… don’t blame someone else!

We love this place! The chowder is as good as it gets, as are the shrimp and grits. It has kind of a New Orleans flare but nothing too spicey, tho all with a lot of flavor. Not a real extensive menu. I actually wasn’t sure I’d find something to be excited about as much as my wife loves the shrimp and grits. Then I discovered the chowder, where a bowl is a generous serving that’s enough for a meal. We’re regulars and plan to stay that way. We’ve read the reviews here about bad service but that hasn’t been our experience, in any of our 10 – 12 visits over the past year or two.

This is one of my regular spots on the main social drag of Clayton. It’s probably the best value in the area in terms of seafood and especially oysters. They also recently just redid their menu within the past month adding more seafood and more varieties of how it’s cooked which is pretty cool. I highly recommend you try their oyster shooters with vodka! They also have $ 4 valet, take reservations on OpenTable and regardless almost always have a seat including a fairly large bar with a TV. I don’t think the staff ever turns over and they are friendly and always accommodating. The seafood broil and fish tacos are also very good especially combined with a cold glass of Stella on draft. I’m sure I’m the Duke of this place by now which won’t be changing anytime soon. Go!

Wow!!! This was one of the worst restaurant experiences I have had in a long time. As many of the other reviewers have commented, the service is HORRIBLE.
This review is based on going to Coastal tonight, Saturday, 11÷7÷15 at 7:45 pm and were seated immediately. After a fee minutes we were brought drink and dinner menus, which we browser for a short time and then the waitress came to take out order. This is when the service took a rapid nosedive.
We started waiting for our drinks, and then waited some more, then a while longer, then when we thought our drinks were coming as the waitress was walking towards our table with 2 drinks on her tray, she and the bartender started getting in an argument about them telling each other how to do their job. Instead of bringing the drinks to our table, she set them down on the edge of the bar and then proceeded to walk to the front of the restaurant and help some other tables. Meanwhile our drinks were just sitting there for what seemed like a long time (I timed 5 minutes). During this time we heard the manager scold the waitress and bartender for arguing (about straws not being stocked), but no one addressed the issue of us getting our drinks. Eventually the drinks came and they were mediocre to say the least. Skip the blackberry moscow mule and the bourbon drink.
The food came at the same exact time as the drinks. For appetizers we had a bowl of clam chowder and a goat cheese tart. They were both surprisingly good and we would recommend them.
I ordered the fish tacos for my meal and my partner had the Baramundi oven cooked style. As soon as I saw them delivering the fish tacos to the table I was already frustrated because they had been sitting in the kitchen window since the time our appetizers came out. The fish tacos were certainly not what I expected and did not satisfy me. They were composed of an unknown white fish with a very heavy rubbed seasoning that was quite salty and a bit spicy. We have had many superior fish tacos in St Louis (ie, Mission Taco). The Baramundi was quite nice. The fish was flavorful and cooked well and nicely plated with a pesto rise and green beans.
It turns out we were not the only table getting terrible service. The table next to us (a table of 4) were served their meal in horrible fashion. Initially 3 of the 4 were served their entrees. It turns pit one of the 3 who were served was given a dish not ordered by anyone at the table. So then 2 of the 4 people had their meals. They waited, and waited, and waited while the manager and a male server tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually they seemed to figure out that none of that food had been intended for that table and told them it would just be a few more minutes before everyone had their food. At that point one of the people who was initially served returned his dish (the Bouillabaisse) saying it was not good at all. Eventually everyone was served and they did their best to eat their meals. The people who go the trout seemed to be quite happy.
Overall the service was absolutely terrible, the food was okay, and the drinks left a lot to be desired. There have been many reviews who have commented on the poor service and it is my bad for not heading their warnings.

I hate to give three stars, the food deserves 4+. However, the staff brings it down to a two star. This is the second time this week we came in. Earlier in the week we stopped for our first time and enjoyed the meal. We were not at all impressed with the server. I left with mixed thoughts. We decided to try again, stopped in before 6:30 to try the happy hour specials and then ordered a meal after the special apps. The food was great again. The oysters are really good for $ 1.25. The fish tacos were good. The jambalaya was very good. The salmon tartar was excellent both times. We had a different waitress this time and she as well, lacked skill set. We had to ask for biscuits after the table beside us got some. We sat for over 7 min waiting for water to be refilled as she walked past the table and looked at the glass three or four times. I had to practically beg for a dessert menu.
Conclusion-​the food is good but the staff is very bad. They need to clean their act up or I don’t see them really making it. It is 7pm on a Friday night and there’s only three tables in here. Last Saturday at 7:30 there were four. Maybe the bad staff is the reason they cannot keep their restaurant filled.

Was not impressed. The interior was cute, they had nice tables and really comfy, plush chairs, but I could not get over how cold the restaurant was! They had the ceiling fans on full blast. The food was adequate, but not worth the expensive price tag in my opinion. I had a bite of the crusted trout and half of a lobster roll. Portions were very small. The fish was fresh but not very flavorful. Overall bland. Probably wouldn’t return.

Went out for a «nice» dinner with our daughter the other day. I had a groupon for Coastal, so we took a chance that it would be okay for our 9-​yr-​old daughter. It was great. Although we made reservations, 7:00 on a Friday, it wasn’t necessary. The crowd down the street at BARcelona was vibrant, but here there were only a few tables. I don’t get it, really. We loved it.
We started with the fried oysters. I know it’s kind of low-​brow, but there is no way to get two-​thirds of this group to try raw oysters and I hadn’t had them since the last time I was a Hodak’s at least ten fifteen years ago. They were great. The breading was heavy — not other way to describe it — but oysters can take it, unlike some more subtle seafood. My daughter thought they were gross, as expected. They came with an aoli sauce that was very good. If you even think you might like this, give it a try. Same with the trout entrée. We all just loved it. It’s the one dish that would for sure have us coming back for more. My mouth is watering as I write this. Best I’ve had since Zinnia closed. My wife had the halibut, which was the most expensive item on the menu. It was good, but really not all that memorable. Our daughter had the lobster mac and cheese. This was her first time trying lobster and she loved it. For me, it was good. Very dense with cheese.
The service was attentive and friendly the wine list was very good. I really can’t find anything to complain about. Definitely recommended on a Friday or Saturday if you find yourself going out on a whim.
The next morning, my daughter said, «That place we went last night… we should go there more often.»
I guess we will.

First off let me say it was restaurant week in Clayton. But, the décor is strange… What is the theme?.. The reviews were Good and it was lacking everything. Waitress was super nice, but the food was whack. We stayed for 1.5 of the 3 courses. I would recommend 6 other seafood restaurants within 3 miles before Coastal. maybe it was a bad night, but shouldn’t you be on point Friday at 7:30?

Had dinner with 3 friends on a Friday night. Was surprised so few people here given the day and time. We had the starter sampler with fried oysters, pot stickers, onion rings and a crab cake. Oysters had a nice spicy breading and were very good. Pot stickers were fried crispy and not the best. O-​rings were as expected and decent. Crab cake mostly breading… Skip that one.
For entrees we tried the pan seared trout which was excellent. Grilled salmon was also very good with interesting sides and favors. I had the jambalaya which really resembled a paella more than the cajun dish, but was laden with clams, mussels and shrimp and overall pretty good. Could have used more sausage and maybe some spicy chicken to really round it out.
Service was a bit slow despite very few diners that nite. Guess they were taking breaks due to the slow nite. Decent craft beer selection and wine by the glass.

Had an amazing Saturday night at Coastal! We ordered: A dozen East Coast Oysters on the half shell, fried oyster appetizer, crab cake appetizer, 4 vodka oyster shooters, smoked tomato basil soup, halibut, salmon, lobster ravioli, and the trout. For desert we had, the caramel crème brûlée, lemon desert, and peanut butter crunch bar. All items were EXCELLENT! Must try this place out!

Party of 4 on a bustling Saturday night, no problem. We were promptly offered a seat at the «bar table» (my term), which, I think may have been the best table in the house… bird’s eye view of all the action. The owner was there making sure everything was running smoothly, the service was pleasant and efficient, and the food was delicious. We enjoyed oysters, potstickers, salmon, jambalaya, portobello ravioli, and a pork chop… and EVERY plate was cleaned!

I visited Coastal for happy hour recently. My friend and I had discovered that Coastal has dollar oysters during happy hour, a rare find — so we were excited to try this place. We came in on a weekday, and it wasn’t very busy at all. Only 3 other parties were seated in the restaurant. Our service was very prompt and courteous. The décor of the restaurant is very nautical, with a beautiful tall chandelier made from seashells, among other nautical flair. I definitely though the interior design (furniture, wall art, color scheme, light fixtures, etc) was very well done; it was very inviting and made me feel like I had been transported to a seaside spot.
We ordered peach sangria and their blueberry mojito to start. Both drinks were artfully crafted and had a decent amount of fruit and mint. For food, we ordered 12 oysters; fish tacos; and salmon tartare. The oysters were as good as they could be, considering that Missouri is landlocked. The fish tacos were a little spicy, but very flavorful and delicious. The salmon tartare was served with toasted pieces of bread. I preferred the fish tacos to the salmon tartare, but I enjoyed both.
Glancing at their full menu, I’m glad we came for happy hour. Unilocal has a 10% off coupon that you can use if you check in, but this can’t be combined with HH. If I came during lunch or dinner, I would have tried the lobster roll. I don’t know if I’ll be back to Coastal, given that there are so many other restaurants in StL that I want to try, but I had a good experience & will recommend it to others oyster/​seafood lovers.
I took 1 star off due to overpriced fare… I understand that fresh seafood needs to be imported regularly, and that those costs can add up – but $ 8 for a single slice of carrot cake seems steep.

Oysters tasted like they came from Baltimore harbor.
Cocktails tasted like they were mixed for a frat party.
Service was horrible, even by St Louis standards. Waiter poured wine for three of the four people at the table and left the fourth with an empty glass. Forty minutes into the meal he asked one of us «where’s your water glass». He hadn’t brought it. Desert took 35 minutes. We were told this was because the cake was ‘baked from scratch’. Somehow I don’t think it was baked in 35 minutes.
Other than the disgusting oysters, the food was okay. But you get get much better within walking distance.

I always find a little difficulty in rating a restaurant when the service is impeccable, but the food is so-​so. That’s what we have here… I mean, service is ridiculously good. An employee overhead a member of our group tell someone else «pass over some of those chips», and out came an extra plate of chips.
Who does that? We were all just amazed. (Other examples contribute to the incredible service too.)
The potato salad was REALLY good. The salmon burger… meh. Lobster Roll, didn’t taste very fresh.
So there you have it. I’ll try it again, which without that incredible service, I wouldn’t. I hope other menu options are better.

I really wanted to love this place when we went during Clayton Restaurant Week but unfortunately they came up short when I tallied the +/​-​below:
+ Hot biscuits with seasoned butter which included a little sprinkling of salt crystals — each one added a little burst of flavor.
+ Risotto — I’ve only successfully made risotto once in my life so I have an increased level of respect when served properly cooked risotto. They not only got it right but the addition of lemon and asparagus was a perfect accompaniment for the blackened fish it came with.
+ Apple pie — my, oh my what an amazing piece of apple pie! Chock full of apple slices, not overly sweet, crumbly topping that caramelized slightly. This alone would bring me back…
Now for the other side of the equation:
— Made a reservation but then the hostess tried to seat us at the bar… ummm, NO!
— Restaurant Week menu included exactly zero items from their regular menu. That made no sense at all to me if it is an opportunity to showcase your place.
— Appetizers amounted to about 4 bites — a bit small even for restaurant week.
— Round two of the biscuits came out cold.
— Lobster pot pie was mostly devoid of lobster. I counted what would amount to less than an ounce if gathered and weighed. The wife claims the key ingredient was completely absent but I took inventory when dividing the dish and there were about 5 morsels.
— Overcooked grouper… at a place which is supposedly known for seafood. Good flavor but it was just a little hard to masticate in that certain way you get when fish has been cooked a bit too long.
All in all, I am likely to go back on some weeknight when they are not terribly busy so that I can hopefully catch them at their best. I really need a seafood restaurant in the area to love…

We dined here as part of Clayton Restaurant Week. CRW gets 5-​stars from me, BTW, and I encourage you to Google it if you are unfamiliar.
We made a reservation and arrived promptly. The hostess asked us how we would feel about sitting at the bar. Huh?! We (as politely as possible, given my annoyance) explained to her that we did not make a reservation so we could get stuck sitting at the bar. She took it in stride and basically gave us our pick of tables. We were handed the CRW menu’s but not the regular restaurant menus.
The server comes and introduces herself. She chats for a minute and takes our drink orders. Husband asked her for a different straw and she went to see if they had any. As much time as it took before we saw her again, I would have assumed she ran to Wal Mart except she didn’t turn up with a straw. In the meantime, she took orders from at least two tables who arrived after us. She came back and took our order.
She was very friendly so we asked her for recommendations and a little bit about the restaurant. This is when she told us that none of the CRW items are from the regular menu — they do an entirely different menu for CRW that vanishes when it’s over. I found this odd because even though it is a charitable event, it seems like a great way to promote the restaurant. Not offering us regular menus and having all different food seem counterproductive to this notion, but whatever. She offered us a look at the regular menu and we gladly took her up on it.
She sold Husband an oyster shooter, which is an oyster, cocktail sauce, and vodka in a shot glass. As much as he likes all three of those things, I’m pretty sure he won’t try them together again.
Appetizers were baked brie and grav lox. Both were delicious little offerings. Entrees were grouper and lobster pot pie. The grouper was blackened and served on a bed of asparagus risotto that stole the show. The fish was good, but the risotto was amazing! I could not see or taste any lobster in the pot pie, but the puff pastry and other filling was good. Husband claimed that he only took two pieces of lobster so he could leave some for me to try — so either there were only two pieces of lobster in the pot pie, or he hogged all that there were. Hmm…
For dessert we had a triple chocolate mousse and an apple pie. The apple pie was too tart for me and I didn’t want to eat a big ball of dairy so I only sampled the mousse. It was good but not great.
Overall, there was some weirdness associated with the experience but I would probably try them again because there was enough on the regular menu to interest me.

Drove 45 minutes with 5 of my friends expecting a great experience, but unfortunately, left disappointed.
Too bad the food disappointed because I liked the interior upon arriving. In front valet parking makes getting «there» easy. Seating is well thought out, tables are spacious and there is just the right amount of room between them to give the place a good vibe overall, but also allow your table to have its own conversation.
For our appetizers, a couple folks ordered the beet salad, a very creative presentation. I had the New England Clam Chowder, which was just ok. Missing some seasoning (salt). For our entrees, a couple of us got the BBQ Chilean Sea Bass, one got the Trout, one got the shrimp and grits, and one the fried oysters. I thought my BBQ Sea Bass was going to be a glaze on this delicate fish, but the well cooked fish was swimming in BBQ sauce, absolutely smothering the taste of the fish. The oysters were fried beyond recognition, and the trout was blah. I was also very disappointed in the wine selections.
Very disappointing because prices are not inexpensive, and service was very good. Just can’t recommend Coastal based on our experience

Complete perfection, yet again! My guest and I decided to grab a seat inside during Clayton’s well-​known Parties in the Park event. Coastal’s interior décor was absolutely adorable — a cross between beachy, rustic and shabby chic. A comfortable, yet ultra trendy place!
We started off with our favorite cocktail on the menu, the Blueberry Mojito. If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to order it during your next visit. It’s oh-​so-​refreshing! We shared a couple of appetizers including the Lobster Mac and Cheese (my new favorite!) and Fish Tacos. Once again, we were impressed with the food taste and quality, and friendly service. As an added bonus, we used a Unilocal Check-​In offer to receive 10% off the bill. We’ll be back!

I stopped in here for a late lunch the other day after babysitting in the area.
Immediately when you walk in you’re overwhelmed with ultra trendy 60s type décor. All the red, white and black suit the place quite well. I love love love the chandeliers and the chairs for the dinner tables. They’re are several booths along side of the far left wall, but I chose to sit at a table set for 2 by the window. It was pleasant to people watch as people walked by. The window seat also is right beside the door you would take to go out on the front patio.
The German hostess was very kind and brought me my water and menu. After looking over the menu I realized they had all of kind tasty choices for seafood. You literally could choose if you wanted oysters from the East, West, or Gulf Coast. You could pick a single order, half dozen or a dozen all varying in different pricing according to region. I was about to settle on that before my server approached me to see if I had any questions. Luckily, she pointed out a dish to me that I had overlooked that came with mussels and clams that was cheaper than the oysters dozen. Oyster versus clam? I’m not picky. I know there is a difference, but at this point I just wanted a meal with shell fish and worth what I paid for. In addition to my seafood dish, I ordered a Caesar salad.
It honestly didn’t take that long my for salad to arrive. It was a good portion size that I ended up to-​go boxing since I didn’t want to fill up on it before my main entrée. A cute little country style biscuit and whipped butter came also with my salad. I didn’t know they were going to do that. I liked the added touch to the salad.
My main entrée was amazing! It was dressed with different diced vegetables then underneath the veggies it had a sponge like bread that had absorbed the broth from the seafood. It was very light and tasted wonderful. It really complimented the clams and mussels together.
For dessert I ordered one of the $ 3 shooters. I got the banana rum cake that came warm in the small cup. It is also the only one on the menu served warm. It was certainly a delightful finish to my meal and not overpowering in taste. Simply perfect.
I’ve got to say I love Coastal. I definitely see it being a hot spot for Clayton professionals who would come here on their lunch break. The lunch menu was pretty extensive too which gave you a lot of options versus limited per your typical lunch menu.
I’d definitely like to check it out at night sometime for dinner. Best bet is to save it for a night you can splurge or a special occasion. Don’t expect to spend less than $ 40 for 2 people if you get the works.