Delaney Oyster House — Restaurant in Charleston

Worst Dining Experience Ever at Delaney Oyster House

Here is a TIP, Sara.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but our experience at Delaney Oyster House located at 115 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC, was truly disappointing. 🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮

The moment we arrived, our server, Sara, was by far the worst we've ever encountered, we should of just left. She was unprofessional, inattentive, and lacking empathy. Her attitude suggested she simply did not care about providing good customer service.

Sara appeared disorganized from the start. It took a long time for her to acknowledge us, and when she finally approached, she seemed unsure of the menu and unable to answer basic questions about the dishes. She forgot our orders multiple times and needed frequent reminders, causing unnecessary delays and frustration.

Despite the restaurant being nearly empty, the hostess refused to put two tables together, despite our request, which made the dining experience uncomfortable and inconvenient, splitting our group.

The food was equally disappointing. The oysters, which we had been looking forward to, were poorly shucked and served with a bleaching taste. The seafood platter was greasy and lacked freshness and proper presentation. It appeared that the kitchen was struggling, but Sara showed no concern or effort to check on us or address the issues.

We spent $300 for four people, and to make matters worse, they refused to refund the spicy blue crab rice. It was a cheap and poorly prepared fried rice dish with burned rice taste and only a few shreds of crab. Unbelievable!

The octopus tasted like bleach and super spicy, making it completely inedible.

The Cheddar Bay hushpuppies were burned and tasted like charred cardboard.

When I asked the waitress if she could bring us another order that was not burned, her response was that "because of the cornmeal, that’s how they are." She seemed very bothered by the request. See our picture and the pictures from another customer. Big difference.

Throughout the meal, Sara was distracted and inattentive, rarely making eye contact, forgetful of our requests, and displaying a dismissive attitude when we tried to get her attention. Her demeanor was unprofessional and dismissive, which only added to our disappointment.

People should be aware that this restaurant is not up to standard, and it’s only a matter of time before someone experiences food safety issues.

Sara doesn’t take pride in her job. Her approach towards the customers is making comments like, If she likes it, fine; if not, oh well attitude towards a little seven year old boy is cold and straight up wrong.

This lack of professionalism and care is evident and contributes significantly to the poor experience.

When you go from a reputable restaurant and try a place that like this, that misleads customers into believing they are a high rated establishment. Like a 4.8 NOT! All lies!! The inattentiveness, lack of empathy, and poor customer service Sara exhibited simply did not seem to care attitude made the entire experience even worse.

Overall, this was a deeply disappointing experience, marred by poor service and subpar food. We expected a much higher standard from a reputable Charleston restaurant. Unfortunately, our visit was overshadowed by inadequate service and management’s refusal to accommodate basic requests.

I cannot recommend this restaurant, and we will not be returning ever….ever, ever,...

First off, I’m still going to rate 5 stars as our server and food was exceptional and some of the best we’ve had from fine dining. Only issue was the following: We had a reservation for 8:45pm on the outdoor porch. There were tables holding us from being sat at reservation time which was okay to wait for a little bit. After 20-25 min we were still waiting for the upstairs porch. They offered the bottom outdoor porch which was right by the kitchen and had no atmosphere out there so we refused. The manager (male) sas very nice but I do feel like they should have been a bit more informative to the parties upstairs since they had no open tabs and were just sitting there, talking when there’s such limited space in a small house. As someone who has worked in various industries and customer roles, politely informing them there were parties still needing to be sat and if they would continue to hang out, we could accommodate in the bar area or another space would have been an as easy option to offer to the diners taking up tables while their children ran back and forth to the hotel next door. I know it’s a sticky situation but when you’re spending 350+ on a meal for fine dining, all diners should feel welcome and accommodated and I did not get that based on our reservation.

But overall, I will 100% recommend this place to friends and family. The oysters were fresh, caesar salad was some of the best I’ve had. My husband had the waygu steak which had a sauce that was so good! I had the daily catch which had a great mint broth. My kids also raved about the kids menu and how good everything tasted! Our server was great! Knowledgeable and so very nice. He also gave us wonderful suggestions and was honest if he felt there were better options on the menu for what we were looking for.

The male manager did give us a complimentary desert for the troubles of the sitting arrangement which was very much appreciated!! It was also excellent!

We would return in the future in hopes to be able to sit on the...

Seems the only vegetarian option is the hushpuppies, but I planned ahead and ate before so it was fine. I ordered cocktails and my wife ate dinner here. There are close by vegetarian options though. This is a seafood restaurant first and foremost so don't go here expecting a wide array of options- but that's fine. It's what they do and they do it well.

First off, this restaurant is next door to and apparently owned by the same person/people/soulless corporate entity that owns Hotel Bella Grace, a horribly unwelcoming and inhospitable hotel in a great location (so they don't have to care to change). I think whoever is in charge of running this restaurant should teach the hotel manager how to do... anything. Please.

The service here was actually good, unlike the hotel. Our server was extremely busy and multiple people delivered orders to our table. However all of them were attentive and friendly. Even though our server was busy every time she interacted with us she was a model server. Friendly and upbeat without pressuring us into ordering things we didn't want. Portions were small and expensive but worth it for a splurge - you won't feel let down by the menu prices here like you will Hyman's Seafood.

However, imagine having that dining experience in the cramped study of a 17th century beaureaucrat. Creaky hardwood, stuffy air, 90 degree temperatures. This is not an atmosphere for the weak of constitution. And if you bring children here, a pox on your family. It can be hard to spend an hour here, but it's still worth it.

And at least here, you won't feel shoved out the door, like you will by the incompetent hotel staff next door. At least the Oyster House is welcoming and attentive.

If the same person DOES own both, and is reading both my reviews, it's extremely transparent which brings in more money/asks more effort from you. The restaurant. Because that's the only thing you care about.

If I was mistaken about the ownership, ignore that...