City Oyster & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Delray Beach

Worst service ever. There is no excuse! My fiancé and I work very hard and wanted to enjoy a date night. We decided to try a new restaurant and it was a huge mistake coming here! Google hours say the restaurant closed at 2am (must just be bar hours) apparently they close at 11pm on Saturday nights. When we walked in the hostess told us to sit wherever we want, like it was a diner! (in a restaurant with dirty tables here and there) instead of doing her job and seating us in an open section. My fiancé sat first and got our order started, everything was fine until I came back from the restroom. The server seemed to be in a rush and we didn’t understand why (we thought the restaurant closed at 2am) instead of him telling us right away the kitchen was closing soon, he rushed us. He wasn’t very helpful with food recommendations & didn’t seem very patient. Told us he had another table outside and that he would come back to us AS we were trying to order drinks with him..we were very patient but confused as to why we were being rushed and not treated like valued customers (our first time here!!!!) the servers energy was very chaotic & uneasy, which quickly changed the environment for us on our date night. After he rushed us into our food orders, he walked over to enter the order & talked about us to his general manager Dave. His service was very transactional & he seemed to have no interest in offering a welcoming experience! We asked to speak to Dave (the general manager) in hopes that we could remedy the already terrible experience. Dave didn’t seem to care very much, his body language was very clear. My fiancé explained the situation to him and Dave offered his service moving forward. Our calamari came out, it was terrible. Of course by the time the manager was at our table ALL of the staff were tuning in, being nosy and talking about what they didn’t know. THE DRINKS WERE AMAZING. The bartender Diana is very RUDE & knows no boundaries, minding business that is not hers. The bartender Tabitha was super sweet, accommodating & understanding. The ONLY way I would ever come back to this restaurant is if Tabitha served us from beginning to end! My fiancé and I have both been in the service industry, 16 years combined! It’s so disappointing to see the direction of the hospitality industry. I hope no one else’s ever has to...

Quality ingredients, confused menu. "City Oyster," conjures the image of a metro seafood bar and restauraunt, and the decor matches the theme. The menu(s) - plural, do not. There's a sushi menu, and I guess I understand if you've got quality fresh seafood, why not showcase that front and center? But the pan-asian inspired menu and flavors, plus mishmash of let's put lots of ingredients together American style hand rolls, lacked the authentic simple Japanese treatment to really showcase the fish rather than a muddled pan-asian inspired seasoning dialect. The "traditional" seafood menu doesn't do a better job. Appetizer wise, the oysters casino was more oysters breadcrumb with bacon flavor than anything more sophisticated, where I would have expected more pronounced pepper, celery and onion flavor in juicy clam broth. Or oregano, if making clams oreganata, which the dish was really more like texture wise, minus the accompanying flavor pallette. The dumplings were great, homemade, best I've had outside of Chinatown; and the chili paste very delicious, if a bit of a surprise on either a Japanese or seafood restauraunt menu. I had the grouper Hong Kong style, which while good, Hong Kong it was not - I would have expected XO sauce and instead, although the steamed veggies were perfectly infused with ginger, failed to hit it out of the park with any Asian inspired vegetables, like maybe Chinese broccoli and edamame - and the fish sadly didn't get the ginger or XO treatment, just a very well executed traditional fish grilled. The flavors conflicted, like the menus. Maybe scale down the Asian stuff to a bar menu and appetizers, and let some Asian influences, especially simple is beautiful, infuse the rest of the menu? I think that needless complexity is what prevents this popular restaurant to go from...

Lunch at City Oyster Sushi Bar in Delray Beach was a mix of highs and a few misses, but overall, a great experience. Being right on Atlantic Ave, parking can be tricky—especially on weekends—but luck was on my side when a spot opened up right in front. A quick walk to the meter, and we were set.

The place was packed, and we didnt have reservations, but was seated in a couple minutes. Shout out to reception staff! We chose outdoor seating, which was exactly what we wanted—casual, comfortable, and perfect for people-watching. The service was fantastic, with Anna taking great care of us from start to finish.

We started with a dozen fresh oysters (a mix from Maine and Massachusetts) and calamari plus light beers. The oysters were fresh and briny, a total win for my companion. For mains, I went with the King Burger, and wow—this thing was a beast. Juicy, flavorful, and tasted like a prime ribeye. Easily one of the best burgers I’ve had in a while. The chicken wrap, though, missed the mark—mushy texture, not appealing. We ended up packing it to go.

The fries? Generous portion, but they had that unmistakable burnt oil smell—definitely time to change the fryer oil. We left them mostly untouched.

Despite that, we left happy—amazing oysters, a killer burger, great service, and a perfect outdoor vibe. A bit pricey but the experience was worth it. I value service foremost, service here was tops on my list. Would I come...