Half Shell Oyster House — Restaurant in Louisiana

I'm a truck driver running these roads with my lovely wife. We run all over this great nation together. We got loaded in North East North Carolina yesterday morning. I asked her to find something good near our drops in Hammond. She found this place. An absolute dream for the oyster lover. We ordered a half dozen raw and a sampler platter. She ordered yellow fin tuna, and it was amazing!! I ordered the redfish, blackened! Out of this world!! As fate would have it, the first half dozen, raw wasn't enough. Much like book ends, we had them as an appetizer and again as dessert!!!! 😆 We get oysters in Florida where we're from, but these were obviously hand-picked monsters!!! We tried all four of the different ways they prepared them on the sampler and we withheld our private judgement to ourselves until the other one had tried them all. We both agreed on the creole oysters, but you have to understand, they were all delicious in their own way. Besides, who cares? We're eating OYSTERS!!!! Tyler S. was our server and she could not have been any kinder or attentive to our needs. She didn't 'hover', she came at the right time to check on us. Servers, I've noticed, have a knack for it, or they don't. Tyler surely does!! The atmosphere was great. I was on duty and had to drive, but there was a full liquor bar and we loved the decor. I only wish we had something remotely close to this in Southeast Florida. We could spend our retirement savings here!! If you're ever in Southeast Louisiana and love seafood, you could make a lot of mistakes with your choice of restaurant. This wouldn't be one of them. This place is quite special and won't soon be forgotten by us....

For the amount we paid, we expected much higher quality and much better portions. Mash potatoes were hard on top, and lukewarm in the middle. The shrimp platter came with 10 40-50 shrimp. Half pound royal reds came out with 8 shrimp, but there is no way they were 16-20's, 21-30's at best, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were gulfshrimp and not Australian royals. Fish on the sampler resembled a frozen fish filet, bland, tough, and poorly battered, served on sliced stale po-boy bread. Fries were standard fare, as well as the Gumbo; however, portions again were super small. The frozen kids burger was the best bang for my buck this evening. More fries came with the kids burger than came with the shrimp platter. The only other grilled item we got was also standard and nothing to write home about, but it was the only item that was hot.

The server was friendly, patient, and competent. The food service was quick, and everyone was busy doing something. It was 7:00, and cuts were definitely being made, apparent by the servers asking each other what side work they've done, and if the closer would come check them. We did wait 10 minutes for a cocktail despite the dining room being mostly empty, and I attribute it to attention being pulled away from service and put to closing, but this is speculation and the cocktail came after soup and salad but before entrees so it wasn't the biggest deal.

The restaurant was clean and everything was in its place. The table was tidy, and silverware was polished.

TL:DR: The 180 we spent on four people did not justify the mundane food despite quality service. Sorry, we had a nice time, but we'll be looking elsewhere for...

12/14/2020 Quickly becoming our favorite local spot. We came in for the AYCE Royal Red shrimp. It comes with a nice salad and small boiled potatoes. There's a little delay between plates, but that help to keep you in check! We left completelystuffed and satisfied. Service was great too.

11/14/2020 Stopped in to have a meal in the COVID era and everything was great. It was nice to have a competent waitress again, who took care of every need. We've eaten here a couple of times, so I decided to go with something different. Everything was great but from my POV the Snapper was likely Redfish. Still an excellent choice. My wife had the new Orleans Shrimp and grits, but did not notice that both of the similar grits dishes were smoked... and were they... make sure you like smokey flavor. Wondering if that dish changed from last time. The Uptown Quesadillas were amazing as were the drinks and service. This is one of our favorite spots.

Original: Came in since my wife insisted that I'd love it... and she was right. We came in late on a Tuesday night, but they were gracious and inviting. My wife loves the shrimp and grits... the drink of the month knocked her out of the park.Not many IPAs for me... but the local Hopitpulas was exactly what I needed. I had the filet and royal red mornay... also a special item. Everything was as I expected it to be. Even the steak was correctly cooked. I'd have rated it a 4 as I felt it didn't have that extra something, but the wife put the shrimp and grits at the top of her list... so a 5 it is! Definitely recommend a visit and we'll be back. Loved the New Orleans music...