Shuck Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

I love these little Bivalve Mollusks. They can range from briny, sweet, earthy with a hint of umami, soft, and obviously a full range between. Living in Southern California we have access to a few different kinds from the PNW and Baja readily, but the Maryland, VA, East coast and other worldly oysters are the biggest supply issue. Sure you can get them, but you'll pay for them and it's a matter of having the right source. A lot of big seafood companies procure oysters in bulk, but you'll never find the specialized variety, the quality and freshness that true fish mongers get you.

Seafood gets a bad rap for a few reasons. People seem to think that all seafood comes from the same place and is sourced the same. The term "sushi" grade is not to be used lightly and respected as such. A few fishes seafood dishes and we forget what praise we should give to the fresh seafood versus paying disrespect to less than fresh seafood.

What I like about Shuck is that it's the first of its kind in the area. It's oyster specific, but does offer a few other items like Clam Chowder which isn't as thick as you'd think, but the clam juice used is much more fresh and with the fresh herbs really sings. The clams aren't tough and it's not loaded with too many potatoes and cream making it too heavy to where you lose the overall clam flavor. We're so used to chicken Caesar I was surprised how good the anchovy is, it's not a lot, but its enough. The freshness has a meaty steak like flavor. All their items are well plated and simple. Not that I was disappointed with their grilled cheese, but a 10 minute drive to Santa Ana's Grilled Cheese Spot can get you dozens of bread, cheese, toppings, sauces, etc options for grilled cheese and to me there was nothing special about it. I mean I guess you have to try and make it kid friendly, which it isn't kind of. Oyster Po Boy is typically a New Orleans variety. The southern creole variety using fresh caught oysters quick rinsed, battered in a corn meal based coat and fried, they cook quickly. A large hoagie, non-baguette type. All the fixings of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, house made remoulade. The Shuck variety I can't tell what they use to fry, but it was stuffed with 6 oysters, but not enough sauce. It's a little too fancy for me. It's open, it's bright, it's simple, it's clean and they cater to everyone. The newbie, the novice and the backstory and history of their species is nice. I know more about regions than species, so I learned a thing or two.

GO EARLY, they source daily from all over the country and I'm positive their timetable from anywhere on the West Coast is impeccable based solely on fresh taste and texture. Their east coast counterparts I can't speak to specifically on timetables. Shaved ice in trays, homemade horseradish, house sauce, sides of lemon and enough of the briny own liquid to readily go down. Most east coast oysters are have a brinier taste due to the Atlantic having higher salinity. I like PNW because the natural sweetness of the oyster itself sings through more. It's not this super high end restaurant pushing fresh seafood, it's an oyster bar service the freshest daily catch. You shouldn't fill up on this and at $3 per it's not too bad. Maybe not here, but if you can find Wellfleets or Bluepoints and Olympia's. Together that combination just does it for me. I think it's the northern colder nature of the oysters that I like hence my love for the Tomahawk from Mass. I sometimes forget names. I suggest calling in to see what they have and their supply's if you can't come early. No corkage fee, but I prefer a cocktail with my oysters than beer and I'm surprised at the reds because we all know seafood goes better with white and I don't see any beef dishes (sausage excluded). The servers service can be hit or miss, but the chef's and most everyone associated here gives an excellent experience all the way around. Don't' plan on being here for hours and hours either, it's not a 5 course meal...

Highly disappointing experience and nobody in our office will be returning.

A group of 8 (office) made a reservation at least a month in advance for a birthday celebration. We have gone to Shuck many times and were shocked at the experience this time. Reservation was at noon and food order was in by 12:20. We waited over an hour for the food to come all at once (starters and meals- oysters too). We saw other people who had come in after us get their food first which was frustrating but we were all very kind about it to the server.

The server was the WORST server I've ever had in my entire life. She was extremely rude from the beginning, unapproachable- was blaming us for the delays, and confrontational even when nobody is in our group was. When we got the bill that was $700, I asked the server (younger hispanic woman) if there was anything we could do about the bill given that it took over an hour to get our food. I told her we come here often for office parties and have never had that happen, she responded "well how great for you guys." She immediately was rude, defensive, and blamed our group and the shortage of staff. She said because someone in our group came in later that it affected the food order, but he didn't even order any food or drink, lol. I've worked in the restaurant industry and I get it that people call out and stuff happens, but I WOULD NEVER treat a customer like that. She was getting angry when I calmly asked for managements phone number. She handed me the business card and followed me back to our table. She stood there staring and I said "I got it from here, thank you" and she continued standing and staring. The whole table felt super awkward and she doubled down. She made comments on my PHYSICAL APPEARANCE (seriously) and asked me if I wanted her first and last name. I said, your first name would be great and she responded that her name was Kimberly and demanded my name which was weird. After we paid, she demanded that our group leave. It's important to note that none of us responded in anger. She was trying to provoke , especially me, and I kept my cool. I was just in shock that this was even happening at such a "nice" establishment.

The manager was hard to get a hold of and she passed me on to someone else who I explained in detail what happened. When I told her the servers name, she told me there was no Kimberly on staff. The servers real name was Janet or Janna which I had to research and find out on my own. Days went by while they were "investigating " and I reached out for an update. She said they took care of it and ensured it won't happen again, no detail at all. Our group of 8 people all witnessed the same thing and that was still the outcome. Crazy. I know that if I ever commented on someone's physical appearance (negatively) and made a large group that uncomfortable, I would have been left no tip and I probably would have lost my job. The fact there were no consequences for her other than the tip was just astonishing, especially for the price of the food here.

Bottom line, don't waste your money here. The staff is rude and are defended by management when they give you a fake name because of their horrible customer service. There are plenty of great restaurants in the area which provide a positive experience with excellent food.

Good luck staying in business down here treating your loyal customers like that! NEVER will go here again along with the others in the office that witnessed...

Fantastic oysters. The operation itself is the most inefficient I've observed in some time, and the service in particular needs improvement. First off, you're greeted by a sign that reads: Short staffed. Then you find out that tables are only available for reservations; walk ins sit at the bar or outside. The tables outside are dog friendly, which is like, the last thing I want to deal with when eating hundreds of dollars in oysters. Additionally, the tables are in full sun, so bring a hat or SPF just in casies. We opted to be packed in like sardines at the bar, which is still behind COVID-era plexiglass, thereby barricading the passage of oysters from shucker (yes, singular) to patrons. This causes a lot of unnecessary stress on everyone, especially me, as I sit there and watch my oysters sit in the queue of other oyster platters, waiting for someone, anyone, to bring them on over to me. Take the plexi down and problem solved! There is no follow up after getting your food, so if you realize a plate with silverware was removed or the sauce you weren't done with is gone-- good luck. In addition to two dozen oysters, we ordered 6 tacos (very tasty 2-3 biters) and a bowl of chowder. The chowder was barely warm with enough garlic to choke a horse. I wasn't sending soup back over garlic-- soup MUST be hot. New order in. I watched the chef put my second bowl in the window. Servers picked up other items but my soup remained. I watched servers fill glasses with ice, a bucket with ice, and input orders into the system-- all the while chef is ringing the bell thinking the same thing as me: It's going to be cold for a second time. And it was. When I finally got the attention of the server, I asked that it be removed from the bill. She obliged but rushed off before asking me if I wanted anything else-- almost as if she'd rather not. Well, she got her wish. Wasted two bowls of soup on me and didn't sell me something else. Yikes! Bottom line: Shuck is an uncomfortable place to eat with dire service. The fabulous oysters make up for that only so much... on a busy weekend day to only have one shucker is pure lunacy. Why not limit seating so patrons get what they pay for. The restaurant couldn't handle the amount of people in it today and as such, wait times for a dozen oysters topped 30 minutes. Of course hot food was held up, too, due to servers prioritizing dropping waters at new tables, or fussing with a computer instead of caring about fresh, expensive food getting where it needs to be. Awful music, too. P.S. I later visited Shuck's website and no where does it say that you need to make a reservation for a table to sit comfortably in a place where you're dropping considerable loot. Then you go to make a reservation and you must do so 12 hours in advance!! Plan accordingly or feel ripped off by the seating options complete with dogs, small children and UV rays...