Fuller's Raw Bar — Restaurant in Hampton

*EDIT: After reading other not-so-great reviews, there does seem to be a correlation in ethnic background & service. Bummer man, it's 2025.

Original:

LONG review (apologies!)

Sooo underwhelmed, especially after looking forward to this spot from reading the reviews! Coming from a former server of nearly 10 years...truly this may have been close to one of my poorest experiences.

I had a short brunette (slight frame) as my server tonight..never told her name, mind you. I brought my pup, looking forward to sitting outside, and was greeted about 5ish minutes after being told "they'll meet you out there." No biggie! I was brought a food menu by one of the hosts, and then asked if I'd like a drink menu, of which I replied yes. She returned shortly with that, and silverware in a paper bag. Maybe about 5 or so more minutes passed by, and my server came around. I'd asked a few questions about the menu, one of which if they served raw oysters. She replied yes, and did list the 3 varieties offered, which I appreciated! I ordered the sampler and an app. The menu stated there were draft beer options, but she could only list 1 of the 6, telling me I would need to come inside to look at the list...leaving my dog. I hurried in and out, noting they also offered oyster shooters.

When my server returned, I'd ordered a draft beer and oyster shooter. I was not asked for my ID. I'm no spring chicken, but (begrudingly) I'm usually the only one carded when going out to eat with friends haha One less "inconvenience" for me, but isn't this required when the establishment holds a liquor license?

Maybe about 10 minutes go by, and the oyster sampler comes out. She asks if I was thinking of ordering any other food options. I reply I'm not sure, but ask for an ETA on the drinks. She apologizes with an "ah that's right," and heads back inside. When she returns with the draft, she mentioned something about being faced with a "bunch of kids with fake IDs" (I'm assuming as a reason for the delay). I then ask if ther oyster shooter was working, and she let's out an exasperated sigh, with something along the lines of 'ohhh yes, I'll go get that!'

No touch-back on the oysters, but some more time (maybe 10 minutes) go by and then the app comes out.. alright, I guess? The shooter is brought too and I'm asked if there was anything else I needed, of which I requested napkins. After I received the napkins, I was left without a check-in until it started raining (maybe 15/20 minutes later). I then just asked for to-go containers and the check.

Truly, I'd leave one star for my experience. The second star is simply because the oysters were shucked well, with no liquor left behind, and included the usual accoutrements – btw the Peachtree are reminiscent of Kumamoto if you're a fan! Plus, I only spent a little over $60 for my visit which was nice. Perhaps that's the trade off for the service, though. :(

I dunno, I'm guessing I was seen as an inconvenience for sitting outside. Really disappointing given that it didn't seem like a busy night, as I noted many empty tables inside when I first arrived a little after 8pm. There were quite a few staff congregating at the host stand as well (you know what that tells you). Looks like I'll be hitting up Harpoon Larry's instead of making Fuller's my go-to while in town — seems like a more popular...

I took my 88 year old parents here after a day at the VA hospital and we were staaaarving from not eating all day! We got there about 3:30, well before the supper crowd and parked on the street in front of Fuller’s. A nice employee opened the door and held it while I wheeled in my mom in her wheel chair. Another nice person moved a chair away from the table. It was my first time eating in this cute historical neighborhood, although my parents have been to Phoebus in years past. I do mean many, years, past. They saw great improvements to the area. It is very cute with great restaurants and cute businesses. At Fuller’s, We all ordered fish & chips with fries and slaw. We are slaw aficionados and appreciate a proper slaw which they serve here, well, I did add a squeeze of lemon to mine. Fuller’s puts the little cheese cloth shower cap on their lemons like a fine dining restaurant so your dinner mate doesn’t get a blast of lemon juice in the eye, a very Nice touch! The battered fish was excellent, the cocktail sauce was nicely sharp with plenty of horseradish, string fries got cold fast but it was ok since we filled up on fish and slaw. I ordered some raw or steamed oysters since they were the daily special. Minuscule and disappointing, like oysters served all over Tidewater and Southside. It should be illegal to serve such tiny young oysters. Anyway, they served these oysters with hot butter, like one would get with crab legs or lobster. This was a first for us, after eating oysters in a lot of restaurants and homes across the globe! I mean like, “never have I ever” been served hot butter with raw, steamed, grilled, smoked or fried oysters. Sadly, it did not pair well. We suspected as much! The chef is obviously not an oyster eater. But, there was hot sauce on the table and that was good enough for us. My daddy enjoyed the beer samples that our kind server brought him and picked out a favored beer on tap to drink with his fish and chips; nothing more classic than that! Mom and I got iced teas. Disappointing, unlike the great beer, since they don’t brew tea- or even have coffee for that matter! The tea was so weak it tasted like water but the kind server didn’t charge us so we just added lemon and sipped as necessary. I popped across the street to Scratch Bakery for a cup of coffee for the trip back to VB, while my parents shared a mini bunt sized upside down pineapple cake. It was a satisfying meal after a long day and before a long drive into the setting sun. The raw bar filled up quickly after 4:30 pm with locals and regulars. It seems to be a very popular place to be so busy on midwinter late...

The Fuller's Restaurant in Phoebus in 1967 was nothing like Fuller's Raw Bar, and the present owners confess the name is there for sentimental reasons rather than kinship. The old greasy spoon was a landmark, all right, proclaiming across its entire front window that you could "Eat Dirt Cheap at Fuller's," which was kind of an insider joke, as the place was never dirty, not even the food. But it was cheap, and that was its main attraction.

I don't think anyone today is going to enter a raw bar expecting it to be cheap--so after you have dined at Fuller's Raw Bar you may find yourself pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the prices are. Now I will not pretend that I eat raw oysters. But I love them prepared almost every other way: and the chefs at Fuller's Raw Bar prepare the best fried oysters I have eaten anywhere. People with an excess of panache may choose oysters from about five or six elegant sources, depending only on the supply chain I suppose, but this is Virginia, so you won't stumble on a bad one at Fuller's.

The problem as I see it is that the food is so good it becomes sort of addictive, and now there seem to be thousands of young and beautiful people booking a weekly dinner date--if not a daily one. So finding a parking space can require careful engineering, and obtaining a seat on the premises may require some patience. Service is quite attentive, and once you have a seat you will not wait long for your excellent meal; no one will interfere with your lingering enjoyment of your dinner . . . .

But don't tell your friends, or you may not find a...