Wharf Casual Seafood Moody — Restaurant in Moody

Arrived at 4:26 and the line to be seated was about 3 people outside the door. We had a 22 minute wait to reach cashier and place our order. Cashier was very friendly and most knowledgeable of the menu and after taking our order we were able to sit at our table almost immediately. I ordered a 24 oz Michelob Ultra which was handed to me at the bar as I made my way to our table. My appetizer of 1/2 dozen oysters arrived within 7 minutes of us sitting down. Oysters were very flavorful (not the largest I have ever had, but very tasty) and served with Saltines, hot sauce, cocktail sauce and horseradish. I would definitely order them again! As you can see from the pics attached, I ordered the Cajun shrimp cheese grits with blackened shrimp for my entrée and Stephanie order the Crispy fried shrimp with fries and hushpuppies. While most of both of our shrimp was delicious, a few were slightly overcooked, but very flavorful and fresh tasting. My cheese grits were outstanding and I even got a box to bring home for lunch tomorrow. Serving size was more than either of could eat. Hushpuppies were phenomenal!! We definitely would return for the quality of food we were served. Service was outstanding!! We had several waiters and waitresses check on us during our meal, and the manager stopped to make sure all was good as well. Although this is a new restaurant in town, everyone was knowledgeable and worked hard to ensure we enjoyed our meal. Will definitely go back again soon! UPDATE: 1/5/25 We decided that we would have an early dinner and return to the Wharf. Our order was taken almost as soon as we walked in door, by a very friendly staff member. Once receiving our drinks, we sat down and very shortly a waitress came by to check on us. Food arrived after approx 13 mins and, as usual, was very tasty. I had the fried flounder, fries, hushpuppies, and a mixed green salad. My wife had the fried shrimp dinner. As with the first time, food was served hot and delicious. Only 2 minor issues and it was not a big enough issue to bring to staffs attention, but as with all my reviews, I try to be as honest as possible with my reviews. While my entre was delicious, I had asked for my salad to be served without tomato's and almonds and both were mixed in. Wished they had an actual bleu cheese dressing instead of bleu cheese crumbles, but I settled with ranch and it was delicious. 2nd issue was my wife's fried shrimp....while she did eat them and enjoyed, the batter was not crisp and was a bit greasy. Again, neither of these would prevent us from returning. Very friendly staff, clean dining area and service was very good. I would strongly recommend trying this place if...

Here is our experience, but everyone should try this place themselves and not rely on our visit. First of all, we were surprised when we entered that you order your food, get your drink, and pay up front at a counter. Then you go find a table. The menu board is over the registers but I would suggest either paper menus you can look at when you come in or other boards you can view before getting in line as most people didn't know what they wanted and took a while at the register reading the board and making their decisions. We ordered fried mushrooms for appetizers. These were good and very plentiful (9/10). My husband really liked the "Wharf sauce" that came with them (10/10). I ordered fried grouper. I thought it was going to be a nice piece of grouper but it was four grouper fingers. It was fine (8/10) but I wanted more of the fish and less batter as again, if it were a piece of fish it may have been better for me. I ordered "smash potatoes" and grits as my side items. I thought the potatoes were mashed potatoes but they were the small, petite potatoes boiled and then somewhat roasted with a very garlicky flavor (8/10). I did not like my grits at all (0/10) but this is a personal thing with me because I HATE bacon and they had a very heavy bacon flavor so I'm sure most people would love them. My husband got the blackened honey pecan shrimp (6/10). These were small, overcooked, and had a very strange-tasting sauce to them, at least to us. He got green beans and french fries. The beans had a very heavy garlic and seasoning tsste to them and we both love garlic but it was overpowering and the beans somewhat hard, not cooked enough (3/10). The fries were just okay-tasting but very greasy (3/10). I liked the hushpuppies (9/10) but hubby not as much (6/10). Along with two soft drinks, this meal (with tip) cost us $65. We may not go back (because of food and price) but you should go check them out for yourselves. The staff was GREAT and...

We LOVED this place, its food, its staff, and the environment. It's fine dining made casual.

We almost didn't stop in because one reviewer ludicrously compared it to Captain Ds--apparently taking a swipe at the Wharf's innovative decision to have guests place their order on the way in. It's actually a brilliant setup, given the problem all restaurants now have with constant turnover of wait staff. (They still have a brilliant wait staff, by the way, but are not damaged when one takes their menu knowledge and moves on.) It also speeds the process of getting your meal prepared, eliminating the wait for a server to get to your table. Their menu is online, and I recommend you study it before you get there, so you come in prepared to ask questions and get the ordering done quickly. We were blown away by the exceptional service at the front, as their marketing guru Carlie told us about the dishes and brought samples of the sauces we were interested in. The Wharf's sauces are all made inhouse, and we found the ones we had addictively tasty. And their seafood comes straight from the Gulf. The place is very nice, with booths and plenty of tables that can be pushed together for large parties.

My husband is a fanatical snob about gumbo. If a seafood place doesn't make gumbo "right," he writes them off the list. Well the Wharf did it right--better than any place we've been. He also got a shrimp po'boy with the delicious roll brought in from New Orleans, and red beans and rice. He couldn't begin to eat it all. The portions are huge. I had the "petite" bowl of Cajun Shrimp and Grits, which was a belly full and outstanding with every bite. To my delight, the grits were filled with chunks of Conecuh sausage, which I love.

We live an hour away from Moody, but plan to make trips there regularly to try the other dishes. We'll be bringing in friends and family to join us, now that we know this...