Up The Creek Raw Bar — Restaurant in Apalachicola

I’m back again in Apalachicola

After that horrible dinner I had at The Station last week, I had to come back and rehabilitate my enjoyment of the local Cuisine.

So I called The Hole in the Wall and to my surprise, closed they already were (7.54pm Friday night) and the same thing happened last week, so what does one do?

Well, I went to the boondocks of Apalachicola, down by the fishing pier.

Hahaha... Anyone would think that’s kind of far from Market street and the only traffic light in town —which happens to be a red blinking light!—but it’s not. It’s the other two blocks outside the two main blocks that make up this very sleepy little town.

So this time around, I went to Up The Creek Raw Bar and Wildlife Observatory.

As I was going up the weathered wooden stairs, the very first thought that came to my mind was... ‘is this place even sanitary?’

Then I went inside, and was relieved to see a “normal” looking restaurant. And that’s exactly where I stayed, phew!

So, I ordered the lobster bisque with a dozen raw oysters, and I was extremely surprised to see how small the oysters were.

You see, Apalachicola is the Oyster Capital of the World, small oysters here, no way! Needless to say, a disappointment it was. And as to the lobster bisque, it was on the watery side quite a bit!

Oh well, the good thing is, at least the food was ok, unlike the horrible oysters I had at The Station last week.

I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to Apalachicola any time soon, but if I do, it will be to go back to Tamara’s Bistro, where I had the best cuisine in the entire State of Florida.... believe...

Six months ago I gave 5 stars. I ate here on Sunday 24 May and was extremely disappointed as this was one of my favorite places to eat. The problem is a 15% service charge they put on your check without any notification of doing so. I asked why my meal was so much and was told it was so they could buy masks and COVID stuff for the employees, none of which were wearing masks. The surcharge isn't on the menu and there are no signs posted stating the extra charge. The lady at the register that explained this to me acted as if I should have known. When the food arrived at our table it was in Styrofoam take-out boxes, this lady just laid it on the table turn around and walked off and didn't say a word. We needed ketchup, which I had to go ask for because no one asked if we needed anything. By this point i am furious and my meal is totally ruined because it seemed as if the staff didn't care. On the way out a woman and man was working a beer stand down stairs greeting customers and I complained to them since no one up stairs cared. She said she would run it up the chain, that does no good for me. I did mention that we have ate here many times and this would be the last time. They also have a sign printed inside that talks about employees making more on unemployment than working, if work is available they should be at work, not on unemployment, very unprofessional! I won't be back as there are other places in Apalachicola that has food that is just as good and extremely good customer service. To finish off I will say my food was good and did taste as...

I am giving five stars because the food was very good. The classic oysters were so curb, big, and tasty. We also ordered the grilled conch fritters and they were good also and had mango salsa on top. There are three in the basket and they are quite large with shoe string fries Me and my husband shared them along with the oysters and a small salad and it was more than enough for the both of us. The only thing that threw me off was when we entered they gave us the menus, seat yourself, and when you’re ready just come up an order at the bar. The drinks you also served yourself as well as the salad bar. Sitting at the table someone did bring the food but that was it. there was absolutely no service so I was thinking “wow I don’t have to tip here”but I wondered how those girls were making any money. Does the restaurant count them as servers witch pays $2.25? When I got the bill there was a tip line and a suggested tip amount. It was such a quandary I did not know what to do and I have never been in this situation before or I got absolutely no service but was request to tip. I asked two ladies who were sitting outside and they said they did Not know in that situation either. I went ahead and put a small tip on there because I didn’t wanna look like a total butt head. But I guess...