Big Daddy's Restaurant and Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Mooresville

I’m not sure if all the hype had me overly anticipating how good the food would be or the pictures and other reviews etc. First, the ambiance, decor, and atmosphere is awesome and I enjoyed it very much. We arrived about 5:45 on a Saturday evening, and the wait was only about 5 mins. I was greeted by a gracious hostess and she was extremely polite and welcoming. Once we were seated, our waitress,Lucy, was very prompt in arriving and taking orders for appetizers and drinks. Having never been, we had several questions regarding the food, and Lucy was spot on and patient while listening and answering every question. One question that she did not have the answer for, she said she would find out, and she did just that very quickly. I cannot say enough about the service she provided. She was great. She brought 2 baskets of hush puppies and kept them coming. They were amazingly good and piping hot. Our party had 2 appetizers, one being the mozzarella sticks, the other, butterflied buffalo shrimp. While I didn’t have a cheese stick, the buffalo shrimp was completely to die for. I wished there was a meal comprised of just that as a main entree. The cocktail sauce and tarter sauce was extremely good. I could have dipped about anything in the cocktail sauce it was so good. If only that type of “momentum” and quality had continued. Unfortunately, it did not. The five of us had, (2) three-plate combo (2) two-plate combo and a chopped sirloin. So it was catfish, shrimp, flounder, and deviled crab. The plates come with slaw, hush puppies, and the choice of one side. I,e corn on the cob, fries, baked potato, NC sweet potato, steamed veggies, and one other. Flounder: Dry and way over cooked with just a total bland taste. There was no flavor profile at all. (See cocktail sauce comment) Catfish: (See Flounder Cocktail Sauce) Shrimp: Very very tasty and delicious. Slaw: Growing up going to fish camps my whole life, I understand the importance of a good slaw that compliments the fish. No exaggeration when I say it was the most horrific slaw I have EVER put in my mouth. Not only was it dry as a bone, the ingredients used makes it disgusting. Pricing: $23 for a three plate combo (fish, shrimp, crab) $22 for a two plate, and $13 for a CHILDS plate. The portion size for that price was laughable at best, and a pure ripoff. Telling the difference between and 2 plate combo and a child’s combo was impossible. For $1 more, the portion of food you get for the three plate combo vs the child’s combo is very little difference.

In closing, to say we where overwhelmingly disappointed would be an understatement. Had it not have been for the service, and atmosphere, I would have only given 2 stars to be honest. To be fair, if you are into crab legs, and oysters I suppose it may fit you’re agenda. If you are expecting good fish, look elsewhere. I would not recommend Big Daddy’s and I hate that it was disappointing. I was so...

I have not ate at Big Daddy’s in years. We now live a few miles away but decided to take that extra milage trip for seafood. We called in our order to take home with us. the lady who answered the phone was not very polite. We asked a few questions and she asked if we read the menu and suggested we do so. I wanted to know if they had colossal shrimp. With a long drawed out noooooo, she said we do have fantail. Then All I wanted to know is what sides came with the plates. I did find on their on line menus the answer at the very top of page. Like the introduction paragraph and no I did not read it. The menu should have said under each heading. All platters come with hush puppies , slaw and 1side. Not just at the top of the page above appetizers. Anyway food was ok. Tasted like your typical frozen food seafood restaurant. I got the bang bang fantail shrimp. Very stingy on the bang bang sauce. 2or 3 drops on each piece shrimp. I also ordered a side of the deviled crab. Tasted like stove top dressing. I love a good deviled crab but I could have got a better one out of my freezer. My husband ordered fried oysters. Again, little flavor. The food was ok. No better then king of sea or blue bay. The hush puppies are better at these 2 other places. Captains Galleys hush puppies came straight out of a box and into the fryer. Cook Out has better hush puppies. .Culvers has better fantail shrimp. The restaurant I wanted to go to was closed for holiday. Next time I want a good tasting deviled crab and/or shrimp, I will choose a more upscale restaurant. The prices are not much higher. Worth it if you get good...

TLDR: Big Daddy’s is like eating on an old school cruise ship. The food and service are decent, but they’re too big to be outstanding.

The first thing you’ll notice is this restaurant is enormous. There are two separate dining areas and they’re all pretty packed, especially on crab special Thursday. The decor is dark and campy, from the seaplanes haphazardly hanging from the sparkling blue popcorn ceilings to the potentially taxidermed nuclear-sized bass speckling the walls. The tables and chairs are basic but adequate. Seems about right considering the name is “Big Daddy’s” and there are three race cars bolted to the roof. There was a little crabmeat on my chair when I went to sit down, which I attempted to flick away but probably still remained on my pants.

The waitresses are friendly but appeared stressed from their workload. Nonetheless she aptly fulfilled our seven orders with a smile, and happily accommodated two returns to the kitchen.

The menu is insanely large, including several dishes any landlubber would appreciate. I enjoyed some of the humor on the menu. One in our party enjoyed her prime rib, while I tore into two pounds of delicious crab legs. One young man suffered some digestive issues with his bang bang shrimp, but it could have been something else.

Be aware there is an unfortunate 3.5% premium for using credit cards, and an 18% automatic gratuity for large parties. Also, in BIG BOLD LETTERS they express the right to refuse service to anyone. Not quite sure why that is necessary, but maybe it’s a North...