The Oysterman - Duxbury — Restaurant in Duxbury

I don't even know where to begin to express how disappointed we were at our experience at The Oysterman. We came to celebrate a 50th birthday, had called and made arrangements earlier in the week, had made plans with the manager we spoke with on the phone to bring a birthday cake and have a little party. We had requested to reserve an outdoor table and had been told that if one was available when we arrived they would accommodate. Upon arrival for our 7pm reservation, we spoke with the manager and hostess who were just wonderful and willing to accommodate. There were 6 of us, they put us all at one of the 4 tops and said we could have drinks there and then they would move 2 tables together once another one opened shortly so we had space for dinner. And that would have been great... if it actually happened that way.

The table they put us at only had 5 chairs so my brother had to stand for about 20 minutes, meanwhile guests at other tables had chairs with just purses on them, and the staff made no effort to ask them to move their bag so my brother could have a seat. The waitress who was serving the patio could not have been more blatantly upset that we were there and it was obvious that she was completely ignoring our party and tending to the tables on either side of us. We finally intercepted her and asked for a chair and got a response along the lines of "Sorry but all the patio chairs are occupied." We asked if one could be brought from inside and she shrugged and said she'd see about it. She dropped a few cocktail menus on the table and that was pretty much the last we saw of her all night.

After we had been outside with next to no acknowledgement from the server, and one of us standing for about 20 mimutes, my mother finally went in to speak with the hostess who immediately brought out a chair, apologized for the delay, and took a drink order for us. After another 10 minutes, still waiting for drinks to arrive, we decided we were over the whole thing. Everyone was upset, disappointed, and hungry and we collectively made the decision to wrap up and move on to have dinner somewhere else after the drinks (if they ever came).

Nearly 40 minutes after sitting, the table next to us had opened and the patio server showed up and spun it around and said "I'll put you together now" - we said thanks but no thanks, we won't be staying for the dinner after all. The manager came over and apologized profusely, we explained that the experience so far unfortunately had soured the evening and we would prefer to just move on, and would be happy to move on sooner if the drinks weren't ready yet. He had the hostess bring them right out and comped the round, which we more than appreciated. We were grateful for the efforts at service recovery, and would like to call out and commend the hostess and manager who did take care of us in the end, but disappointed by the experience overall. The person who's 50th birthday we were celebrating lives out of state and this has always been a favorite restaurant of his - unfortunately we probably will not be back. I can understand that there may have been things going on in back that we weren't aware of, it might have been super busy/understaffed, etc, but there are some basic fundamentals of service that were missed here. Even if it was busy, just an acknowledgement to your guests of that and a promise to be along when able goes a long way.

1 star for poor service and atmosphere, no stars for food since we...

I went with my friend to this restaurant because she is in love with the oysters. Parking was great because they have a designated parking lot and it was easy to pull right in and get a spot. When we opened the door, we were immediately met with warm air and a friendly hostess. We were immediately seated and the waitress asked introduced herself, as Katherine, shortly after that what we were asked what we wanted to drink. We ordered a dozen oysters from the choices given (we chose to get oysterz from a local supplier in Duxbury) and then we ordered from the brunch menu. I got the 3 egg veggie omelette with onion, peppers, and cheese with a side of bacon and home fries. And my girlfriend got the Crab Benny of two poached eggs, lump grab meat, on homemade biscuits and a side of home fries. We both enjoyed everything about our meals very much and the atmosphere. We will definitely be going back for more oysters and also the Crab cakes as my girlfriend is obsessed with them as well. Great food, great parking, great service. Everything...

Easy-going atmosphere, featuring perfectly prepared fresh seafood and other delights.

Shrimp cocktail would have made a great meal by itself. Gigantic shrimp, with a very zappy cocktail sauce.

Buffalo cauliflower was coated just enough to make it interesting, crisp and tangy. Blue cheese sauce really tied it together.

Lobster roll was amazing. The roll itself was chewy and grilled to perfection. Chilled lettuce and sliced celery gave it a nice crunch and slight sweetness. And an entire lobster of meat sat atop it all, each claw perfectly extracted, all of it succulent.

Veg risotto had a deep and savory flavor. Rich and buttery. Too rich to eat more than half of it at the table. Happy to have the leftovers.

We'd read that the service could be slow, so we were prepared to enjoy a slower-paced meal. The wait for an outdoor table was about as long as they estimated.

All in all, it was a great choice for a relaxed...