Black Diamond Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

I fall a bit short of my fellow Google Map raters, and I rate Black Diamond a solid 4-star establishment. There were things worthy of a 5-star mark, other items were more on the order of a 3-star rating. We had a few drinks (Cat 5 Hurricane, Peppermint Bark, Tanqueray/Tonic), all were good!

Let me start by briefly stating that "AK" was our waitress... she was awesome... walked us through the menu, explained lots, and answered all questions... as the place got busier while we were there, she still stopped by an often! 5-Star service... attentive, but not intrusive ... thanks AK!!!

General observation about the place... Food service... everything came out of the kitchen HOT (temperature), a few dishes so hot we had to let them cool off before enjoying them! Lots of locals eating there (speaks volumes), including many "Winter" Texans. Great conversations with the locals!

We opted to start with oysters... some of the half-shell variety and then the oyster-trio. The half-shell oysters were "da bomb" ... plump and juicy, with horseradish and cocktail sauce on the side (we were yearning for a mignonette sauce, but no luck).

The baked oyster trio was a bit out of our "what we like" zone... a dozen oysters fixed Roberts-style (cocktail sauce, jalapenos, cheddar cheese), Rockefeller-style (cream cheese, spinach, bacon, Swiss cheese), and New Orleans-style (white wine, butter, garlic, parmesan). Our fav was probably the "Nawlins-style, which were very good.

Between the fried goodies and the entree, we sampled a cup of the house gumbo, a bit "fishy" for our palates... when we make gumbo, it never includes fish, usually shrimp or chicken/duck with andouille sausage. The gumbo was good, just not our preference.

And in Port A/Corpus Christi, why not enjoy some fried food, right...? The next food salvo consisted of fried oysters and fried mushrooms. Fried oysters were tasty, but a but limp. The fried mushrooms were on point, exactly what anyone would want... piping hot! Deelish! One note about the batter on both the oysters and the mushrooms, it was a bit salty, remedied by removing some of the batter and dunking in ketchup! LOL

We split the one of the daily specials as an entree ... the blackened mahi-mahi topped with crab and "crawtails." Very tasty fish, but the blackened seasoning was very overpowering, a bit too much. We scraped some of the seasoning off, and the fish was very good. The side of grilled veggies was great!

So, a solid 4-star place, with outstanding oysters. We'd likely go back to Black Diamond just to eat the oysters on the 1/2 shell, they were some of the best we've had in a long time. Shucked and served ice-cold... YUM! Recommend Black Diamond next time you're in the...

I have traveled around the world a couple of times. I’ve eaten at 3rd world restaurants and I have never experienced such horrible customer service at any restaurant as I did at Black Diamond Oyster Bar. My son’s last day of school was today so we headed to the coast to take a break from life stress. Unfortunately when we arrived at this restaurant we totally went backwards on our stress level. My 9 year old son didn’t want seafood so I ran just around the corner to Chick-fil-A to get him nuggets and Mac and Cheese. I had already ordered $70 worth of food that was coming but I wanted to make the entire family comfortable on this first day of our vacation. Unfortunately, after the nice waitress had already told us it was ok to bring in the Chick-fil-A the Restaurant manager rudely approached us and told us we had to get rid of The Chick-fil-A food containers and throw the food on a plate. My nine-year-old son got extremely upset and started crying and refused to continue eating after the food was discarded out of the original containers. In the meantime our $70 worth of food had just arrived so we were sitting there with our oysters and other food and my wife had to take my son to the car and was not able to re-enter the restaurant I ate a small portion and asked the nice waitress for the bill so I could get it paid and take the rest of the food to go. Well, I was shuffling through my money and the waitress took all the food and discarded it in the trash. I asked her why she had done that when there were still six oysters and a couple of the meatballs left for my wife She did apologize and said she would pack a half order and the meatballs to go for me In the meantime, my stress level was getting very high and my wife was already very upset over the whole food issue. After an hour had passed another waitress finally showed up with my Nacho plate, which was kind of ridiculous after being there already over an hour. So I told the manager lady to please remove the nachos off my bill and she did so. Nevertheless, the entire evening was a huge fiasco. We didn’t enjoy our meal, the manager lady upset my son and I spent a bunch of money for horrible evening. However, the waitress was a sweetheart. The food we ordered was very delicious, but the manager lady was horribly rude and inconsiderate to a nine-year-old child. I would return to this restaurant if this manage was not there. Darn she really screwed up the start to...

Growing up & living on the texas coast has been amazing. Finding this diamond in the rough got my foodie antennas up. I figured my gf & I could eat here & try something new. Driving in sucked Huge dip to be aware of. Parking was great Looking at the restaurant from the outside was nice not knowing what to expect. Walking up the little flight of stares, opening the door to the first impression of the inside....all of this was nice Small kick back spot - feels like home We started with the Rockefeller Oysters or the equivalent....these seemed undercooked, but the presentation was beautiful. The little piece of bacon really makes these over the top on flavor.

Next, we were served our salad..the proportion was nice on the smaller side, which was refreshing .

Waiting for our fish & shrimp to be served, we're talking & having a great time looking around & really excited about what this restaurant will be about.

Rice seemed to be out of a box. Maybe even worse. It was very bland. The shrimp was delicious and edible.

Now the finale The fried fish can be compared to h.e.b. or dollar store fish from the freezer section...open the bag, grab a fillet...soak it in water for days or months....then pat it dry with a paper towel...coat it with breading & deep fry it.

This fried fish is the reason I decided to take these moments from my life. This deep fried fish should be the reason the owner of the restaurant reevaluates what it means to own a sea food establishment in a coastal fishing town or city ....seriously I felt embarrassed & disappointed...I'd go as far as saying I felt disrespected by what was served to me.

My gf & I have been together for over 5 years & I taught her how to fish... She loves it & we eat seafood like no tomorrow.

We aren't foodie snobs by any means, but we know quality . The owner should dig around & find shame for what they describe as fish.

If you need a fish dealer for locally caught fish I will pay for my commercial fishing license & sell real fish to you . I'm not joking.

All I have to say has been written.

Thank you Christopher Vela

Oh and yes I did see the chalk board with the special...but...