John’s Oyster Bar

I have been eating at John’s Oyster Bar for over 20 years and have always had a Great experience, UNTIL tonight:-(My wife was given a glass of water as usual, she began to drink it and about halfway down the inside of the glass was (a thick layer of GOO caked to the glass) my wife kept her cool and set it aside. I on the other hand asked for the Manager. The Manager on duty Angela Henschel came over to our table and apologized and walked away. Upon receiving our bill there was no adjustment made until I asked. Angela again apologized and went on to tell me she has new employees and she will COACH them further on this issue. What ever happened to TRAINING our employees and having our Managers take accountability for what goes on in our Businesses. F the coaching session, take the employee aside and let them know this is unacceptable and if it happens again it could mean termination. This is a HEALTH issue, there is no reason to serve in DIRTY glasses. As a side note, I did see Angela remove an entire rack of glasses and take them to the back, which means they were also DIRTY AND DISGUSTING. COME ON UPPER MANAGEMENT, pay attention to what goes on in your restaurants. I can guarantee you would have not used the glass that was used on my table

Clam chowder check… Fried oysters check…
That all I have had here so far, but I’m officially hooked. I just can’t stop… I need help. The clam chowder here is awesome and the half dozen fried oysters are just a bit of heaven. It is delicious, crispy, tasty, goodness. I will be back and I will try something else on the menu, but I may relapse and just order my chowder and oysters again. I may need to attend an OA meeting (Oyster Anonymous) to get over this. My family and friends have serious concerns over this addiction. Thanks Nuggett for fueling my addiction.
The End.

Food was good, but floor manager. or whomever.was scolding the staff in front of customers., And belittling workers in front of customers. plus using a vacuum! services was ok, just don’t try to play. Keno!

Always liked this restaurant! I’m glad it was not messed with like trader dicks was! Hopefully the new owners will keep what is good and just remodel.

Try to visit The Oyster Bar on the last night I’m in town for a visit. Always get the combo pan roast, just love it. Was never anything but the best. A relaxed atmosphere with great food and service.

The Nuggets gem in Sparks. It’s been a staple since the 50’s. Take a step into the old ship style restaurant with waiter staff decked out in sailor wear. This is where the original pan roast is found and all others are copy cats and can’t match this. If your in Sparks looking for a great dining choice, I highly recommend the Oyster Bar. The food is great and prices right.

There’s something uniquely exciting about this romantic little spot. The seafood/​Sea theme is adorably corny which is made even more by the uniforms worn by staff.
My hubby and I came here for our «second» Valentines day dinner, (the first being Louis basque a week before) …Now…many times have we attempted to brave cupids holiday crowds for a romantic evening out, and we were fully prepared to do the same here, yet the crowd didn’t follow us this time!
The place wasn’t packed with hour waits or seatless at the bar. We were immediately sat in our booth, which we opportunistically cuddled up next to each other in. (It feels like a secret cabin… it’s as if nobody knows except locals, and we are privileged for knowing the Intel.)
The waiter brought us bread and menus which we barely looked at. I knew what we wanted… Pan Roast.
I’ve tried a few items but the Pan roast is what has to be sampled here. I quickly ordered, the Lobster Pan Roast for me and the Clam Chowder for Mr. Right, with a small Cesar salad to share. Perfection…
…No, literally, the food was perfection! An enormous amount of tender lobster in the most decadent and rich soup I’ve ever had. I’m salivating just thinking about it! The clam chowder was thick and creamy with huge pieces of clam. Dinner was perfect, and the food is always delicious, which makes this a favorite of mine.

A friend has been talking his place up for a couple years. Always telling me I need to try the place. Couldn’t stop talking about the steam pots, how great the staff treat you… on and on.
Tonight he was in town I decided to give it a try… let me tell you something. The steam pots are where it’s at. We sat at the bar, they cooked them right in front of us. They smelled so good while cooking.
Once they where finished… one word AMAZING!!!
My friend lives in AZ so is only on town every couple months. All of the staff remembered him, they came up and say hi asked personal questions on how he was doing they really remember him. For me the entire experience was awesome.
If you want to try the best oyster bar in town try this place. They are truly second to none! Will definitely be returning.

Maritime décor: Check. Luscious seafood: Check. Excellent service: Check. Dinnertime is always an adventure considering the diversity that Reno has to offer, but sometimes the choice is easy. This was one such night, as I knew that I could only be satisfied with some seafood. However, I didn’t want to go to my usual haunts, and I am taking a break from my usual AYCE sushi places. I loved the Atlantis Oyster Bar, but I had been hearing great things about the original located in The Nugget in Sparks. This place is decorated in a seafaring way, with serves in matching uniforms to complete the experience. The menu is varied and contains some great standards like cioppino, pan roasts, cocktails, stews, and fried dishes. I decided on a combination pan roast and a combo cocktail to start. Everything was exceptionally fresh and arranged beautifully. I sat at the bar, so I got to see all of the kitchen action and drama, including my main dish prepared right in front of me. The pan roast was heavenly, with a warm complex broth with hints of celery seed and other flavors. Bursting with oysters, crab meat, shrimp, and lobster meat, it is one of my favorite dishes. This place is fantastic and easy to see why it is a standard. Do yourself a favor and visit today!

The place is called oyster bar that’s why the three stars. Oysters were small but DELICIOUS! Husband had the seafood Louise combo had
two kinds of shrimp the small salad shrimp and my be a 40 – 41 shrimp. Crab? I think a little crab salad Lobster? Maybe but didn’t see it. I also had a lobster roll. It had lobster with a mix of fake crab and it was lobster salad not a lobster roll. Anyone remember Sea fare at Harrah’s in the 80s? THAT was a Seafood Louie combo! Served in a Gigantic shell !

What a wonderful meal! The staff is very attentive and the food was perfect. Enough said.

Great food, everything was delicious! You will not leave hungry, portions are very generous. Wait staff was very knowledgeable and friendly

My friends and I visited John’s Oyster Bar on Saturday, November 21 as part of our monthly girl’s supper. Below is a collaborative review:
Pros:
Very large servings (enough to take home for 1 – 2 more meals)
Atmosphere was good — a bit noisy at first but nice ambience
Cons:
Have to walk through a smoky casino to enter the restaurant
Parking is quite a distance away (this obviously doesn’t matter if you are staying at the casino). The best place to park, if you can find a spot, is the parking lot to the west of the casino (on Victorian). It’s the closest entrance.
No alternative options such as steak, chicken for those who do not care for seafood
Overall, the group enjoyed the dinner. On a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being best), there was an overall rating of 6.5 (see reviews above). Between the six of us we ordered cioppino, gumbo, pan roast and shrimp and salad. All stated that their meal was flavorful with just the right amount of spices. The servers were very attentive and made sure we had what we needed (water, bread, etc.).
*I wasn’t sure how to rate Attire — we saw people very casual to very dressy.
Suggestion…if going on a weekend, make a reservation! The restaurant gets quite busy.

Defiantly not the same Oyster Bar as it used to be. Have been coming here for over 40 years and this experience opened my eyes to how ownership changes do effect every aspect of a business. Sad to say.
The décor in the Nugget has been changing and it was nice to slide into the old comfortable booth with the ships hanging around, The table still has the clear coatings and the cups and spoons still say JA Nugget.
The waitstaff are still there! Very knowledgeable with any question that one might have with the menu. Quick to serve you and get you out of there. Attentive yet they give you enough space to not feel crowded.
The bread no longer has that crispy crust. It still has the freshness of in house baked bread, but the crumbs are missing when you rip it open. (less of a mess for the cleanup!).
We all had pan roasts and we all were disappointed. 90% broth, that was watery and lacking in flavor. The small amount of seafood was fresh, but over cooked, I counted 4 shrimp in the shrimp bowl. The oysters were plump and tasty in the combination roast. Quality was just not what I have grown to respect from the Nugget.

Home of the best Clam Chowder ever!
Family grew up coming here since it first opened.
It now has a new owner but the food is still great!
They have very delicious white and red clam chowder. It’s a must to order.
This past visit I ordered soup and a lobster roll which didn’t disappoint.
Really wish they had locations in Cali! Very very good!

I would give this great seafood restaurant 5 stars. I do hope the new owners well not remodel this great 1959 reataurants. How can you find such reasonable seafood around town. Certainly not in SF CA.
Our dinner was very good. Had the combo seafood Louie salad very fresh seafood and crisp romaine lettuce. And my hubby had he’s very favorite shrimp pan roast.
Our waitess Elaine, was on top of it, with quick efficient service.
We do still love the NUGGET, even won a bit of cash to take home.
Look forward to another great meal there.

How I didn’t know about this amazing seafood bar sooner really upsets me! Let’s just start off with that fact that I have never been to a «seafood bar» before and I don’t know if it can be topped after last night!
John’s Oyster Bar was delicious, fresh, fun and the inside looks like an old school ship wreck! Loved all the décor hanging from the ceiling (ropes, nets, ship parts, etc.) It was a Sunday night and it was PACKED. There was a wait if you wanted to sit at a table which made me really think this place is a good hot spot. We were able to grab a couple of seats at the bar so we had front row action.
We started off with bread and butter and who doesn’t love (and eat too much) of this? I had the whole dang loaf. After that I ordered the FRESH lobster sandwich with came with a plate of fruit. This was heaping pile of amazing-​ness. Fresh lobster, cold, with plenty of sauce, lettuce, veggies all mixed in together on a hoagie roll. You can not just pick this up and eat it, its more of a fork and knife kind of sandwich. This thing takes up your whole plate so you will not go hungry.
Since we sat at the bar, we were able to watch the chefs cook all the food it made me want to order so much more but I was SO full at the end. This is a great spot to come with friends or for a romantic date night with a spouse! They have so many yummy options on the menu, I will with out a doubt be back for more of this hearty seafood party!!!

We were greeted promptly and even though we were a big party, we were given a great table in the rear and wonderful service. First we started with bread and drinks, no shortage of bread. I had the cioppino, it had great flavor and had a wonderful variety of seafood. Some had muscles and seemed equally happy. Others had the fried seafood platter and were happy as a clam. We didn’t stay for dessert because we were so full, the checks were brought to us promptly and many of us had separate checks, everything was done perfectly. Great restaurant with wonderful food and service.

Ordered the dozen raw oysters and wasnt that impressed. Small compared to any other oyster I have around town, and this one by far is the most expensive.
Also tried the Tequila Oyster shooter, maybe a better idea when in the mood for a shot. Really really strong, 2 — 3 oz?
Might come back to try something else off the menu.

We try to eat at John’s Oyster Bar on every trip we make to Reno, but it doesn’t always happen; however, the times that we do make it… the food is always good.
My personal favorite is their seafood extravaganza and it seems like that’s the only thing I end up ordering every time we come here. I haven’t been disappointed with their food or their service, although sometimes it can be a little slow. My family loves their chowder a lot so they tend to order it every time as well.
As long as we continue to get good room rates at the Nugget, we’ll continue to dine at John’s Oyster Bar.