316 Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Fayetteville

So me and my boyfriend came here last night, Aug 1st , 2020 at like 8:15 pm. We were really excited to be here since this is like our favorite restaurant in town. We got what we normally get which is steam pots. I don’t know if there was a fill in chef or something in yesterday, I’m really not sure. However the food was, for the first time, horrendous! Literally it was terrible. The seafood was extremely dry, most over cooked shrimp I’ve ever tasted ever. Hardly no water in the pot, hardly no seafood on it either. The seasoning was terrible. Very under seasoned. The parts that did have seasoning, it was extremely overseasoned. The corn was nastyy. The liquid in the pot wasn’t even the same color as it usually is. Some of the seafood in the pot literally tasted like chemicals. Like some of the mussels and shrimp. The sausage, which is my favorite part of your steam pots, was super salty. It was a terrible experience trying to eat that. We barely ate half and we didn’t even get a to-go box to bring that mess home. Only things that were good was our waiter, he was a black man with a red mask I think. He was amazing. Always checking on us. We really didn’t have to ask for anything. Awesomeee waiter. I had a few mixed drinks too and they were good. Also for an appetizer I had raw oysters. They were good (they better had been lol, they’re raw). But the main dish omgggg it was a horrible experience trying to eat that with a smile. I hope the next time we come there, that same chef isn’t there. I wish we could find out his name so I can ask if he’s there before we’re seated so we can leave. In this review I didn’t exaggerate at all. I really feel I under-exaggerated.

UPDATE: I did send them as message on FB, as told to do on their reply. They did make it right by providing a $50 gift card towards our next dining experience and personally apologized. I very much appreciate that. Nice to see that they made it right. Due to that I changed the rating from a 1 star...

Went here over the summer of 2015 and again in 2016 because I was craving their oysters on the half shell. My family coming from the Bay in Florida, I can tell when seafood is not as fresh as a place may advertise but 316's raw oysters on the half-shell are definitely the freshest you could find this far inland!

Also, the two shot challenges (I forget the names) come in these awesome collectible shot glasses (which are pretty large, just a warning). One version of the shot is a raw oyster mixed in with a liquor and I think some cocktail sauce and is smaller (in ounces); the second "harder" challenge (The Rooster Shooter) is a raw oyster, liquor, horseradish sauce and some other stuff, BUT the size of the shot is bigger (in ounces).

The challenge is that if you take the whole shot in one gulp (raw oyster and all), you get to keep the shot glasses.

I did the second "harder" challenge, the waitress was super sweet and even told me she tried to find the smallest oyster for me but didn't have much luck. My friend and I both downed our shots, admittedly it took more one gulp for me (more two and a half?) but it actually wasn't that difficult or that bad tasting. The challenge is more of a mental game, and even though we both took more than one gulp each to down our larger shots, the waitress still let us keep the shot glasses!

Aside from definitely being willing to do the challenge again for a different shot glass (I collect them) I get cravings for their oysters on the half shell! You can truly taste the ocean still and their cocktail sauce is one of my top...

Arrived with a party of 8 and were seated within 20 mins of our arrival. We were told to call ahead and let the receptionist know we’d be coming. Once seated the waitress came over and took our drink order. With a party of 8 there should be more than 1 server. It’s Understandable not to have the manpower to do so but there is always a manager or assistant to help. The waitress was very sweet and she did an amazing job keeping up with the demands of our party. But the quality of the food was less than impressive. I ordered the 3 course (flounder, shrimp and clam strips fried) with a sprite. Oyster Rockefeller and seafood dip. Everything was terrible. The fish was undercooked as well as the clam strips. In my opinion the price of the food should match the quality. But it did not! My bill was about 70+ with gratuity included. In the menu it states that parties over 7 (on the same bill) automatically includes gratuity. While I recognize the way the service industry works, I also believe that I should have the ability to tip accordingly based on service. My entire party ended up with 6 bills. Each with gratuity already included. Needless to say I will never eat here again based off of food quality alone. I hope this review helps someone else to not waste money like we did. May the odds be ever in your...