Greenwich Bay Oyster Bar — Restaurant in East Greenwich

OVERVIEW: Slow, Friendly, but not great service, slowwww food times and some food issues. Maybe it was an off night (after reading other reviews) but IMO, Way too many great places with great service to want to have that experience at that price point again. Oysters were good. The Caesar salad was so over dressed I couldn’t eat it (dressing was tasty but it was dripping off of it). The scallops on the salad were fantastic! Crab cakes(yucky-all breading). The lobster risotto was good. Fish and chips were good too! The salad took 10 extra minutes to come out. When I mentioned the salad being over dressed (and you could clearly see not eaten), and that the crab cakes were yucky, we were met with “oh sorry”. No manager ever came by and they didn’t take the uneaten salad off the bill. My father was paying and didn’t want to make a big deal, so we didn’t ask for a manager. The dinner of 3 dozen oysters and 4 entrees took 2.25 hours.

LONG STORY: started with a 515 reservation. 4 adults and 2 children. I arrived on time and had to wander through the restaurant to find somebody to help me be seated. After being seated nobody came to the table for a good 10 minutes, but when they did I ordered drinks. The rest of my party arrived at 5:30. We ordered more drinks, waitress leaves, she checks in 10 min later (no drinks yet) and we ordered Buck a shuck oysters. The oysters took almost 40 minutes to get to us and the drinks at least 15 min. When the server came over to let us know, the oysters wouldn’t be too much longer, she asked if we wanted to put our entrées in so we did. No offer of bread. (We asked for some, as we were starving being there almost an hour with no food yet). The oysters finally arrived and we all had empty drinks half way through. We waited another 15 minutes for a server to come back by so we could order more drinks, which took another 15 min to arrive. Entries took another 20 min after we were done with the oysters. All came out except the salad with scallops- that took 10 minutes more because they forgot the scallops… when it came, salad was way overdressed. Scallops were delicious, dressing was tasty but way, way too much. Only took 3 bites of the salad. Since salad and the add on scallops were separate they could/should have taken the uneaten $18 salad portion off the bill. They did not. The servers are all very young (and friendly) and didn’t seem to have the timing and table acumen you might expect at a nicer restaurant. The serving and clearing of plates was awkward and carrying of drinks on trays was precarious. Menus left in a pile at the end of the table after oysters were served/cleared and we had to ask them to be removed. Just all the little things that stacked up this first visit. Maybe it was an off night. Everyone was friendly. Just expected...

UPDATE, September 2020: I'm leaving my original review so you can see just how badly they have fallen in my ratings. We were seated immediately but then waited a half hour to order. The staff seemed rushed and distracted. Our oysters came and were just dropped on the table without identifying the types. We were not given napkins or cutlery. Many wait staff passed us without stopping as I waved. Finally the oyster shucker stopped and quickly, and confusingly rushed through the names. We requested silverware but he returned to the bar, SIX FEET AWAY and just forgot our humble request. FINALLY after asking THREE servers for napkins and cutlery were we provided with the necessary items. The bisque was still good but the entrees were so disappointing we couldn't finish them. My cod was overcooked and my companion's paella was bland and overfilled with bell peppers. We were never offered bread. How this restaurant went from one of the best I've ever experienced to one of the worst I just don't know. The pandemic maybe? I can't say I'll be back after such a disappointing experience. At least they had good oysters. 2019: One of the best restaurants we have tried for the price. We started with lobster bisque, and oysters. The bisque had the perfect sweet/savory balance and had plenty of lobster meat. The oysters were expertly shucked and the selection was the best the northeast Atlantic could offer. For entrees the tuna was cooked nice and rare, but warm inside, i.e. properly tempered prior to cooking. The scallops were also perfect served with a sherry reduction over buttery mashed potatoes and tender asparagus. Dessert was a rich chocolate layer cake that was delicious and not at all cloyingly sweet. As New Yorkers, and world travelers, we like to think we have discriminating palettes. Greenwich Oyster bar will always be one of...

I was taken here for a surprise birthday dinner. This place almost ruined it. It took an amazing long time. I have food service experience and management and two other people in our party are also in hospitality. We sat for an hour without refills on drinks or even seen our sever. I honestly feel terrible for the waiter/ bartender/ busboy. That is an unacceptable work load for one person. It was only made worse by the manager saying a party of 5 is a large party and the food is made fresh so that take time. So for them that equals over an hour. We ended up missing meeting up with so more guys and had to canceled some other plans. The Poor management , planning and execution definitely shows. The worse part was watching other parties be seated, served, eating and leaving with us still there. (Side noted the seat are hard bring your own cushion) The atmosphere has a very cliche vibe hugs by the manager to some people and others being turned away for the restaurant being “ tooo “ busy with more then half the table insight be empty.. For some reason our table did not even get a table clothe. Toward the hour mark our party realized that service might not just be bad. Bless their hearts I think we might have been the. “Wrong” kinda people for them. I will never be returning due to the treatment...