Original Oyster House Boardwalk — Restaurant in Gulf Shores

Dining at The Original Oyster House in Gulf Shores is a must during any vacation to the area. Over the past 8 years, I dined there several times, and the food and service are always incredible. Yes, there will be a wait, but it is worth it! A quick trip to the bar provides one with a delicious drink (I chose the Bushwhacker) to enjoy while waiting for a table.

We were quickly escorted to our table when our pager lit up. Our waitress, Becca, was fabulous! She was quick, courteous, and very helpful. From my seat in the the dining room, I couldn't help but notice how she seemed to keep track of everything that was going on in the room, making a point to help when needed or ask for help if she needed it. That same type of hard work was exhibited by many of the employees during our meal. It was amazing watching the gentlemen carrying such large trays of food above their heads!

I am not the typical individual who eats at The Oyster House, as I am a vegetarian. In my part of 10 at dinner, I was the only person who did not eat fish. Everyone in my group marveled over their appetizers (gator bites always are a favorite). I, however, cannot deny a good salad bar. It was like they knew that when we were seated, as I was directly beside it!

I popped up and filled my plate with fresh salad, hardboiled eggs, pasta salad, and warm rolls. As I ate, I couldn't help notice how much the other diners enjoyed the salad bar. I heard one mother tell her teenager, "I'm so proud of you for choosing salad!" Who doesn't love building their own? Every few minutes, an individual appeared and freshened the salad bar. Ingredients were refreshed, and any spills were cleaned up. Never did anyone miss out on a roll or, more importantly, never was the extra-large container of ranch dressing empty.

My family members enjoyed all sorts of seafood. My husband had a seafood variety plate, and my 3 year-old nephew enjoyed his grilled cheese. I was also impressed that the restaurant worked very hard to ensure that some of our family members with severe peanut allergies were able to dine safely at the establishment. Their food was served from a separate tray to ensure its safety. In such a busy restaurant, I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to ensure that their food was not contaminated with nuts.

Everyone's food came quickly, even though the restaurant was packed. Everyone enjoyed their food. No matter the requests we made, Becca smiled and said "sure!" I'm happy to have a place to dine comfortably so...

We came out for our forth dinner out, decided on "The Orginal Oyster House" after we got over the shock of 2hr wait we settled in and shopped all the small businesses along "The Boardwalk." My first recommendation is either come before 4:30 or after 8pm else plan to wait. But you can get drinks from bar and stroll the shops so that is plus. Bushwhaker or Jalepeno Margarita(wife highly recommends) helps time pass. After an hour twenty minutes our pager causes off, it's like sounding the dinner bell, we all jump with joy and scurry to the hostess stand as fast as possible without knocking over any innocent bystanders. We were taken inside, this place is huge and its busy (social distancing in place) so now I am really excited to try their food. Having 2hrs to sit and wait we were able to look through the menu and attempt to decide between all the savory choices on the menu. Which leads to my second tip wear loose clothing you will need them. We ordered a Capt Bud's appetizer sampler(fried pickles, cajun popcorn shrimp, mini crawfish pies) these animals scarfed it down before I could even take picture it was embarrassing food flying people losing fingers. I think someone even got poked with a fork..but no blood drawn. Next were the entrees and let me just say WOW, quality, quantity and speed of service all exceptional our waiter Eugene was phenomenal I never once saw anyone's water, tea or lemonade glass get empty that is huge for table of 8. Lets start with my cup of seafood gumbo that comes with Fisherman's platter it was so dang good with dark roux shrimp & crawfish pair that with fried oysters, shrimp, flounder fillet plus crab cake & 2 baked stuffed crabs & did I mention the side of cheese grits & red beans w/rice, now you understand the stretchy pants. I thought that was going to put me into seafood coma and all of it was freaking good. Next my daughter had the garlic/baked parmesan shrimp with side of steak fries, nope not on kids meal but flavor was knock it out of the park good oozing with rich flavor and melted butter. My wife ordered the Shrimp combo(stuffed, scampi & fried) plus sides of red beans w/rice & cheese grits). My nephew had baked shrimp alfredo it was amazing looking plus 2 sides..my sister & her husband ordered the stuffed flounder w/fried shrimp combo which comes with two sides guess what they ordered yep red beans w/rice & cheesy grits. Did I tell ya to wear stretchy pants this food was over the top quality and flavor. I highly recommend, yes we...

Let’s start with the atmosphere. I wouldn’t say there’s anything extraordinary about this restaurant. The carpet, tables, and decor are all dated and old. Old photos of people fishing from the 80’s or 90’s and faded aquatic posters on the walls. Maybe some people like that sort of thing, but for me, when I’m spending nearly $200 to done out, I guess I’d like things to be a little newer and in better condition. It didn’t feel purposefully kitschy like Cracker Barrel. It just felt neglectfully worn out. We were there on a Sunday evening, and it was relatively quiet. No special events happening. We were seated right away around 5:45pm.

Service was good. They kept our drinks filled and food came quickly. The salad bar was constantly being stocked so it didn’t run out of things.

Food: For the price, it was meh. Hit or miss. The salad bar was basic and not really worth the $13 they charge for it as a meal, and the plates for it are tiny, like side-salad plates that couldn’t even hold a dinner-sized salad and a roll. My daughter got the blacked Mahi Mahi, and it was very over-cooked and dry, but not bad tasting. I would expect a seafood place at this price point to be able to cook a basic fish well. Her side of Mac and cheese was also very over cooked. The pasta was mushy. My son got the Joe and Dave’s Favorite oysters and he said they were good. Peel and eat shrimp were fine. Some of the better hush puppies I’ve had. My youngest child got kids meal chicken tenders and fries. There were clumps of dust in the basket!! It was obvious that they aren’t cleaning well. Probably clumps of dust fell from the light fixtures or ceiling tiles into the stack of baskets in the kitchen and they didn’t notice. It was gross. Also, I know things are just more these days but a soft drink is $3.75, which is just insane.

Overall, it was a little over $160 for all 5 of us before tip, and I didn’t really feel like it was a good value or experience for the price, hit-and-miss on quality of the cooking, and serious concerns about the cleanliness of the kitchen, so I don’t recommend it. I’ll update after we try some other restaurants nearby with some recommendations for alternatives.

Update: if you want amazing seafood, go to Jesse’s on the Bay. It’s only a little bit more money, but the quality is light years better in terms of quality, taste, service,...