The Old Oyster Factory

Pretty good. Happy hour oysters and shrimp were the best thing! The staff was fantastic and the food was pretty good

This is a must go for a beach vacation. The view alone is worth it. One bonus is that this place actually takes reservations while most places on the island do not. However, we still had to wait about 20 minutes to get our table for which we made a reservation. However, there is a really nice deck on the water with live music and a bar where you can wait, so it was not so bad. Lots of fresh food and I really like the Lowcountry Gumbo. Food was quite good. We were all happy.

Old Oyster Factory is popular mostly for its beautiful location, which is gorgeous if you have a window view at sunset. They try to compensate for extremely long waits with a lovely outdoor bar area and a juggler who performs for kids.
That being said, even with a reservation, we waited for over 30 minutes and when seated were told repeatedly that the kitchen was behind and that we would have continued long waits for our food.
Hush puppies were good, Oysters were fantastic. Entrees were fine but many in our party felt they were under-​seasoned.
Many better restaurants on the island.

Would’ve been 5 stars if the simplest of things, a baked potato and green beans, had not been either over cooked or undercooked — I’m not sure which but the potato was hard and the green beans were flavorless. Sides aside, the swordfish was delicious. Properly cooked and flavorful. The hush puppies are very good, served before the meal with a slightly sweet honey butter. The location is definitely the selling point. Beautiful views from the window tables and patio. We also tried the Italian Margaritas, a very tasty mix of traditional margaritas and flavored Italian Ice — very tasty!

My husband and I were very excited to have dinner here on our first night in Hilton Head as it had been recommended by 3 different friends. We took our 2 children, both 13 years. We enjoyed the caprese salad but we’re very disappointed in our seafood entrees. My tilapia was very «fishy» and it is a mild fish that usually is not fishy. It actually tastes as if it had been frozen and microwaved. My husband’s swordfish was not much better! His baked potato was not even good. Our girls had non-​seafood meals which were good but not great (steaks). Overall, very disappointed in our first meal on Hilton head!

You never know where to go for good seafood when you’re in a tourist location. We read reviews and went with The Old Oyster Factory. We made the right choice. Seafood specials were excellent, fresh and cooked to perfection. All four of us had different seafood dishes and no one was disappointed. Best seafood we’ve had on vacation. We will be back.

Best shrimp in Hilton head. They use a very light breading on their shrimp. Not heavy fried food. Hush puppies are awesome too. We never miss coming here if we are in the area.

We started off with a half of dozen oysters and they were delicious! I ordered the grouper while my fiancé ordered the seafood medley. Mine was the obvious better one. Did I mention the garlic Parmesan rice is delicious?! It is definitely one of the best sides I’ve had in a long time.
The atmosphere is a little weird. The interior reminds me of a rustic barn out in the country that is used for weddings but it is called the old oyster factory. It is very loud when it is crowded but it does down once the rush starts subsiding.
Our service was fantastic in the beginning both of our servers were very attentive. However, near the end of the meal they took a VERY long time to come back to the table. We were bragging about their service to each other since we both used to be servers, but a little disappointed once we finished our meals.
All in all it’s a great date spot with a gorgeous view, but be a little weary about the service.

Oysters were great. View was pretty. Server was very helpful. Gluten free menu was nice.

Excellent food. We encouraged our kids to taste oysters for the first time and they loved them, cooked with smoked bacon & spinach with a bernaise sauce. For entrée we chose salmon, Wahoo & Surf n Turf. All absolutely delicious. Service was average — took 15 minutes to place our drinks order and our app dishes were left on the table whilst we ate our mains. We felt we were unlucky rather than this was the norm. Download the ‘kids free Tshirt’ coupon. Great views of the marshlands. Very enjoyable evening. We’d go back again!

If I were to rate this place solely on its location, then it’d be four or five stars. The view (assuming you land a spot near one of the windows) is gorgeous. The food starts out strong with a basket of delicious hush puppies. It’s all downhill from there.
We were served by some Hungarian dude named Ferenc. (Why isn’t anyone on Hilton Head Island actually from Hilton Head Island?) He repeatedly hit on my wife, laying it on thick with his accent. We get it. My wife is attractive. But she’s there for the mahi mahi, not to get her groove back.
The food is just «okay.» The salads seemed less than fresh, featuring limp lettuce and overripe vegetables. The calamari is decorated with sweet peppers that saturate the calamari in an attempt to cover up the bland breading. The filet mignon and breaded shrimp was cold and overcooked. We ordered the lava cake and the cheesecake for dessert, and were surprised to find both drenched in strawberry sauce (which goes unmentioned on the dessert menu). Again, I think this is an attempt to cover-​up the blandness of the ingredients. The cheesecake was likely ordered out of house and frozen, which would explain the fact that the crust was completely soaked.

Went over Mother’s Day weekend to eat at Old Oyster Factory. The food is Okay while the views are exceptional. The food was okay but very expensive. They bring hushpuppies to the table to start your meal. Husband got the Charleston Swordfish. It came on a bed of potatoes, green beans, and 2 shrimp. It was tasty. I ordered the Gumbo and side order of Scallops. I had asked the waitress if the gumbo was spicy. She said no. When it came to the table it was just the opposite. I could not eat. She was kind to not charge us for the gumbo. The Scallops were cooked well, but you only got 3. We did not order a dessert so I cannot review. Husband did order a local IPA beer

You know a spot is good when you’re on vacation, finish dinner and say, let’s come back for lunch! The restaurant is beautiful, on the water. We were warmly greeted upon arrival and had a great table outside. Our server was on top of it! Not a lot of chit chat just great service. The food came out quickly and was all delicious. I loved the hush puppies to start instead of a bread basket. We had oysters, wedge salads, grouper and the seafood combo entrée. 5 stars all the way!

My husband and I visited for our 10 year anniversary. We went on a Friday night (reservations @ 8:30). It was busy but not packed. We were seated immediately. We had requested outdoor seating and were seated as such. The view was very unique. The marsh was clean… quiet. No music outdoors so was a nice ‘romantic’ dinner. We had Peetey (sp?) as a waiter. He was great. We had shrimp, steak and Lobster. The steak was more done than my husband had ordered, but great flavor. The beer we were drinking on draft ran out, so we were given one draft that emptied the keg and one bottle… and were told that round was on the house. All the waiters/​waitresses were very helpful and would check on us constantly… regardless of us not being their table. Was a great time.

This place is popular! Be sure to get your reservation in advance, since this is a popular spot on the water and boasts spectacular views on nice days. We had some bad weather, so the view wasn’t as important, but next time we are in Hilton Head we would absolutely come back and make sure to take advantage of the full experience.
A full coastal seafood experience is what we wanted and the food did not disappoint! We dived in fully with Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, the «Hot Combination» that had Oysters Rockefeller and Oysters Savannah. For our entrees we ordered one of the daily specials and the Surf & Turf. So much food! Our server was excellent and so was the food, which we enjoyed with some local draft beer.
Loved it, would definitely come back.

We went for the view and the happy hour. Not really worth either. I had the 75 cent oysters (James River, VA– only option) and shrimp. Not the most flavorful variety of oyster, and shrimp slightly over cooked– guessing not fresh. Hush puppies lacked flavor as well. Hubs had cod bites: he said they were alright and that the aioli was good.
Although the wine list was extensive and decent, my glass of Decoy Merlot tasted as if it had been open a few days too long.
I thought the cocktail menu looked creative; should have tried one of those instead. Service was attentive, sufficient and polite– no complaints there.
Skip this dining choice– there’s way better out there.

Visited here on Easter Sunday. We had reservations and we’re immediately seated. If you are looking for waterfront views while dining this is most definitely the place to be. The dining area is over the water with windows on three sides of you. I can’t speak to pricing on other days but Easter brunch was, we’ll say $ 30 per person that included your salad, entrée & dessert.
I had the prime rib which was prepared exactly as ordered and was very flavorful. This was served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Both were what you would expect as accompaniment to the entrée. The chocolate lava cake for dessert was a nice finish to the meal.
They had a kids menu and my 10 year old enjoyed his chicken tenders & fries.
Our server was on top of her game, being very attentive throughout our meal. No one enjoys being away from family on a holiday but all seemed to have on their «game face «.
I would have preferred more entrée selections but because it was a brunch, understood there were only so many options being offered.
The location is a little off the beaten path and the surrounding land area is certainly nothing to write home about. In spending a week at Hilton Head I am overall pleased this was one of our dining stops.

Love the location and the food was good. Fast and friendly service. We were able to make a same day reservation for dinner. Make sure to ask to sit outside or if you come at sunset (which I recommend) ask for the side with the best view.
We ordered the Oyster Sampler, the crab cake appetizer (which is one large crab cake) and the crab and asparagus soup which was good but heavy. You get a basket of fresh, hot, hush puppies with your meal too.

My family and I came here on our last night at Hilton Head. Made reservations and we didnt have to wait too long before our table was ready. It was in the back, lower room where you could see the people fishing from their boats and a nice view of the sun setting.
For starters i had the Low Country Seafood Gumbo which was good but i had better during our trip, and for the first time ever, i tried an Oyster (Oyster Rockefeller) which was kinda like a Mussel but mushier. Would i eat Oysters again? Maybe but not ready for the raw ones yet.
For my main entrée i ordered the Grilled Key Lime Salmon with julienned veggies and extra side of the Savannah red rice. Imo the veggies werent julienned because julienne means strips but the veggies were sliced (kinda hard to see as they were under the fish). The meal was very good though.
For dessert, i had the crème brûlée was was amazing and so was the Chocolate Fantasia. I really enjoyed the ambience and menu and would return. Its a great last night restaurant at Hilton Head!

You’ll pay for the experience, but this is certainly a place worth stopping for any seafood lovers vacationing to Hilton Head. The location and views at The Old Oyster Factory are simply amazing — HIGHLY recommend sitting outside where you can feel the breeze and enjoy the marsh. Crab cakes, smoked salmon, oysters, house salad — it was all absolutely delicious.
We had some server issues during our visit, but I’m not going to knock them down any service points in the rating. I saw every other server in the joint going out of their way to help their tables, being present, answering questions, giving tips about the area, explaining the food, etc. I’m chalking our personal bad experience up to a new person on shift or someone having a bad day, and the next trip can sway me away from that.