Half Shell Oyster House

Unilocaled failed us. Food is mediocre. Salads looked like they were out of bags. Caesar was a garden salad with a dollop of dressing in the middle. Fried oysters were chewy. Server was attentive. Beer was cold.

I had the oyster sampler with Rockefeller, charbroiled, and New Orleans style oysters. The Rockefeller have spinach and cream cheese and are amazing. The charbroiled have a garlic butter sauce. The New Orleans have a Cajun smoky flavor. I am beyond full because it was irresistible.
I had the bananas foster cheesecake for dessert. What a treat. This place was heavenly. My husband is from Mobile and recommended other places but this was closer to my hotel. I WILL GO AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT!

I didn’t want to go to a chain restaurant while visiting the gulf area, but I was pleasantly surprised. The food was much better than I anticipated. We had shrimp and grits, blue crab cakes, fried green tomatoes, gumbo and red royals. I would happily order each menu item again. I doubt I will ever be back, but if I lived in Alabama the Half Oyster would be a dependable go to restaurant.
With jazz music playing in the background, the décor is reminiscent of New Orleans with murals and lighting from The French Quarter, antique fixture, wrought iron railings, wooden doors from New Orleans, and a menu to match. If you are flying in or out and need an upscale place to dine look no further!

My husband and I went during the Christmas holidays and throughly enjoyed every single item we ordered. We loved the original half shell in Gulfport, MS. I was thrilled to finally give the mobile location s try too. We can’t wait to take our daughters that both enjoy good food as well. My family is from New Orleans so we enjoy food!!! We throughly enjoyed the baked oysters prepared different ways. The crab cake was phenomenal and the shrimp salad was divine! Looking forward to our next trip back very soon!

Absolutely exceptional. Best sampler grilled oysters I have ever had. Ate at the bar because it was a twenty minute wait for a table. I had soup (oyster, crab and corn) which was delicious. Got a great treat when cook sent over 2 oysters while we waited. Then a bigger treat when we told him. We wished he would open one in Oxford and he said there were going to in about 6 – 8 months!

I just wanted something simple, so I opted for the Voodoo Shrimp Po-​boy with the sauce on the side, bc I didn’t want to be overwhelmed with «voodoo» & it was fair. Maybe I should’ve just jumped in with both feet & ordered it as it was intended… my bad! I will be going here again to try some of the other choices that other Unilocalers have been raving about!
The actual restaurant is lovely & the service is professional & top-​notch! Easy to find — I-​65 & Airport!

We are here for the first time last night. The wait was long, but it was very crowded and the people were moving fast. I called about call ahead seating, which they don’t do on Saturday nights between 6 – 8! I had the grouper topped with lobster and asparagus. For the price I would have expected more than two asparagus and lobster tail, not claw meat! My husband had the snapper lameur which he said was really good. The service was great, however, and I will try it again. The cheese grits were so good!

One of the best lunches I’ve ever had!
Started with the Oyster Sampler (Combination of three
Charbroiled Oysters, three Oysters Bienville, three Oysters Rockefeller, and three Oysters
Orleans). From there is was Seafood Pot Pie, chucks, and I mean chunks, of shrimp, crawfish, & crabmeat mixed with all sorts of fresh vegetables covered with this tasty buttermilk crust… amazing. Last but not least was the cheese grits, so much cheese that it turned the grits this wonderful orange color. The staff was on point the whole meal, a fresh glass for every drink, not just filling up your existing glass, a nice touch.
Can’t wait to come back.

We went here for lunch and had the blackened redfish, a shrimp Po Boy and a dozen oysters. The redfish was some of the best fish I’ve ever tasted-​perfectly prepared, flavorful and tender. The shrimp Po’ Boy was very good-​loaded with shrimp. The oysters were fresh and delicious. The service was efficient and friendly. This is the complete package.
Like the Terminator, I’ll be back.

Raw oysters, bisque, fried oysters, royal reds (shrimp) and crab cakes — everything was fresh and delicious! I’ll be stopping back by on my next trip through town!

We were stopping for the night in the pouring rain and we’re looking for tasty and quick! We ordered the lobster crab corn bisque and it had large delicious pieces of lobster! The oyster Rockefeller was incredible and the crab cakes and shrimp & grits were tasty as well. The voodoo sauce was different on the shrimp. I should have gotten it on the side. The service was quick and the food was hot and quick as well.
A must try!

I finally tried Half Shell this week and I was totally blown away! Walking in, I adored the wall with the oyster shell and the copper bar top was pretty cool. The atmosphere is classy and comfortable.
The food is off the chain! I ordered the seafood pasta and the sweet potato crème brûlée and my friend ordered the lobster quesadilla, which happened to be the appetizer of the month in November. My seafood pasta was creamy and delicious and the sweet potatoes were tasty too. They weren’t stingy with the seafood. Those lobster quesadillas were fit for a queen! I’m really hoping those end up on the permanent menu.
The service was great. We sat at the bar and Samantha took great care of us. The prices were very reasonable for what we ordered.
This place is a must try if you’re in or around Mobile! It instantly became a favorite of mine!

Ryan was excellent tonight
Awesome food and service
Oysters were the best I have ever had!

Best Shrimp & Grits Ever!
Very dense & rich so the lunch portion was just right. I used my side of broccoli to sweep up every last bit of the sauce. Service was fast & friendly. Great experience all around.

Wow! This place is amazing! For appetizers I had the Fried Green Tomatoes and crab cakes. It was a great combo and a delicious way to start my meal. For my entrée I had the pecan and bacon crusted redfish with sweet potato crème brûlée and asparagus with Gorgonzola butter! The fish was perfectly cooked with a delicious pecan crust and topped with crumbled bacon and tasty white sauce. The Gorgonzola butter was awesome on the perfectly cooked asparagus and definitely worth the extra $ 2. Sweet potato crème brûlée is equally as delicious as everything else on my plate. I will definitely be back next time I’m in Mobile!

First time here, so we decided to try it out for lunch. Really nice place and plenty of room. Started off a bit slow with the drinks and a server, about a 15 minute wait. Now, after that was settled, everything was excellent. My wife went with the crab claws and I went with the shrimp & grits. Between us, we also ordered the fried okra, Cajun potatoes and the sweet potatoes. As I mentioned, everything was great and we’ll definitely be back. I’m thinking about the seafood pot-​pie next time.

Half Shell Oyster House was just okay in my book. I read the Unilocal reviews and was expecting my taste buds to be blown away, but was disappointed in some of the food and definitely in the service. The smoked tuna dip, oysters Orleans, fried oysters, sweet potatoes, asparagus were all great. The remaining oysters in the sampler were just okay. The fried shrimp was just okay. The cocktail sauce was meh. The server was slow, failed to keep our drinks filled, and was even slower with the check. Some of the décor was pretty cool though, like the oyster shelled walls. The food was extremely overpriced.

Supper with the family, Greeted with a warm smile and seated quickly on a busy happy hour. The wait staff here are the best I’ve experienced, they know the food, pay attention to details and are just right friendly.
Oyster Sampler is a go to choice, 12 oyster 4 different succulently delicious fruits of the sea. Three entrees Shrimp Orleans, Fried Oysters and Grilled Snapper. All cooked just right. Snapper was the star followed by the Oysters. Sides were a good compliment to the main dishes, you get a choice. If you don’t go for the Sea Food GO for the Turnip Greens, I’ve eaten green all my life and never had any that got close the the smokey goodness of these. :)
Maybe should have given five stars, 4 ½ for sure, the price was a-​little high, ok

My husband and I ate here last night and we were «wowed» by the food and service!
Shea was our waiter and his suggestions were right on the money!
We began with fried blue crab claws and they were some of the best we have ever had. The cocktail sauce had just the right amount of heat. It complimented the crabs instead of overpowering them.
For our main dishes, my NOLA born hubby ordered Blackened Redfish with sides of broccoli and fries. The dish was served with a lemon aioli sauce. The fish was seasoned perfectly, the fries were excellent and the broccoli was cooked just right. The aioli sauce was great on all three offerings.
I opted for the Half Shell Salad topped with fried oysters, served with the house Balsamic dressing. I wanted to compare to Acme’s fried oyster salad. Look out Acme, Half Shell is giving you some very stiff competition and with the addition of avocados to the mix they may have outdone one of my all time favorites! The oysters were cooked to perfection.
Shea strongly suggested the Bananas Fosters Cheesecake and I’m glad he did! We have had this dessert at other places and every time it ended up tasting more like banana pudding than cheesecake. That is not the case at Half Shell. This was truly the BEST Bananas Foster Cheesecake I have ever eaten!
We will become regulars at this restaurant!
The only challenge was the darkness of our table. Next time we will request a well-​lit booth. It was difficult to read the menu or see our food.

Appetizer: yellowfin tuna tartare. It was delicious… the tuna was tossed in citrus lime mixture with diced jalepeno and green onions. It rested on top of fresh, diced avocado. Siraccha and sweet soy glazed accompanied this dish and wasabi. I loved it and wished it had a crunch factor to it. If some wonton crisp chips were served along side this dish, it would be banking money!
My oyster sampler was delicious! I loved every oyster I had. The oyster chefs felt that some of the oysters did not look good, so he sent four more oysters to my table! Score! I have tried many different places, this is the best for cooked oysters!
Hubby had the grilled shrimp po boy. Tartar sauce was definitely homemade. Sandwich was soft but not soggy. Nice flavor to the shrimp therefore no extra sauce is needed.
Next time, I want to try dessert! Too full this time around!