The Half Shell Oysters & Seafood — Restaurant in Lunenburg

If you’re like us, walking along the beautiful harbour looking for the best spot… THIS IS IT!!! Stop, wait a minute, and go get the best seafood and tasty dinner you’ve been looking for!!

Such an amazing little spot off the harbour with the view of the ocean the wraps along around you. Outdoor dining or patio ocean view it can’t be beat. The people whom work there are kind, happy, and all around just awesome service.

Now to the best part the food!! The menu full of delicious paired items, and a selection of seafood options you’ve been looking for. No matter what you choose on the menu it’ll be the best of what you chose no matter where you go.

The food comes out fresh, and beautifully plated one would wanna shed a tear it’s so incredible. We chose a few items off the menu as shown in the photos, to which didn’t last long after we ate them so fast.

The clams and oysters were a hit for our party and what appeared to be also the case for many around us. We chose the scallop linguini, which features giant and juicy scallops, delicious and rich sauce on a bed of pasta. The seafood chowder which was full of all the best seafood, excellent flavour and a great choice on an over cast day. And last but definitely not least was the tacos. Many wouldn’t think tacos seeing all the other awesome choices of seafood, but stay with me. The tacos, given 4 choices also cater to many different taste buds and also those like myself who live for them. I had chosen the quesadilla one which came in a fresh corn tortilla stuffed with gooey rich cheese, and pan fried seasoned mushrooms. I also grabbed one fish taco, which came with a tasty piece of fish, fresh pickled cabbage topped with the perfect sauce.

I could go on and on about the food, the flavours, the amazing staff… but if you’re down in this areas the view on the patio can be beat. Coming from Alberta to see the ocean and experience the food, as well as the culture. This my friend...

We were in Lunenberg to the evening and saw this very inviting restaurant up above the harbor area. We arrived just as the sun was setting enjoyed a great evening of food and conversation over our dinner. This outdoor eating experience was the perfect cap to a beautiful day.

While only open seasonally, this restaurant focuses on fresh seafood. They had six different types of oysters that you could get served on the half shell, broiled or done Rockefeller style. I had two of two different kinds of oysters, the Chebooktook from New Brunswick and the Gowanbrae from Prince Edward Island. They were served on ice with a slice of lemon and cocktail sauce in a cute little squeeze bottle. The oysters were perfectly shucked and delicious.

For entrees, I got the seafood paella which was packed with a ton of seafood. There were shrimp clams in the shell, mussels, scallops and fish. The flavors were great and it was a definite treat. The price point was very fair based on the amount of seafood you got. The dish came out very hot and looked beautiful.

We also got the Scallop Carbonara which was also delicious. It had all the traits of a perfectly executed carbonara with the addition of perfectly seared sea scallops. This dish was rich in its flavors and generous with the scallops.

The team at The Half Shell was small but extremely efficient. Everyone jumped in and worked together to make for a great dining experience. The tables are fairly close together up by the bar, but frankly, we enjoyed that was we met a very nice couple from Dartmouth and had a great conversation over dinner like we were old friends. We would could highly recommend dinner here if you are...

The best part of this oyster bar was that the oysters were extreamly fresh and delicious. Unfortunatly there were too many downsides for me to give them a good review.

When we arrived our table was fairly grimy from the people that would have sat there previously. No big deal as it was very crowded and it looks like they turn over a lot of people. A waiter cleaned our table very quickly. They brought us menus but thet also contained this grime. All I could think of is dirty seafood smudges that have been sitting out on the sun (bacteria). Easy fix would be to wipe down the menus at the end of every shift. My largest complaint is that none of the oysters were fully removed from the mussel. Considering that they were $3.25 per pop - this absolutely should have been done. Also found the presentation to be poor (again considering the price), with a squeeze bottle sitting sideways in the middle of the platter? Our server was uninformative - when asked what type of Oysters they were serving, response was (2 kinds from PEI, 2 from Nova Scotia, 2 from New Brunswick). Ok - but what are the names of the Oysters?? Flavor profiles?? Lastly, our party also ordered mussels which were very overdone.

It's really great that Lunenburg has an oyster bar now, and I gave them a 3 star only because I would like to go back again next year to see if theres been improvement. (Knowing that they are new) Otherwise unfortunately I would have given them a 2 star just based on price vs quality. I definitely would be so critical if they were $2 oysters, but at a premium price I expect a...