Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill — Restaurant in New Haven

I have eaten here countless times and I have to say this place has really gone down hill. I planned a birthday dinner for my friend with a couple of our friends. New Haven was the mid point for all of us and I had highly recommended that we go to shell and bones. We all drove 45 minutes to get here.

I'm going to preface by saying, the server was very sweet and this has nothing to do with her.

To my surprise, they were "out" of Pinot Grigio by the glass. I was told there was "just enough" for one more glass. Fine no problem. But what I was really taken back by was the fact that 3 of the 4 of us were looking for salads with the steak tips and they were out of steak tips. I had asked the server to ask management if there was anything they could do to accommodate us. She came back and to my disbelief, the answer was no. I could not believe they were unable to come up with some sort of solution for 3 people who were looking for the same exact meal. The only suggestion the kitchen had for us, was to order an entire steak dinner, and split just the steak. That is incredibly wasteful as we did not want all the sides that came with the meal. How is it our problem that the restaurant is out of the steak tips? Because of this, I was unable to eat due to my allergy to seafood, and I was not hungry enough for an entire steak dinner. I did not want to eat a plain salad with no protein. The other 2 people ordered the salads without the protein.

My advice is that management comes up with a plan for situations like this because not only did they lose out on a larger bill, but they lost 4 customers. I was going to order a bunch of apps for the table but I had such a bad taste in my mouth from 1st the lack of stock on hand for the house Pinot Grigio, but then being out of the steak tips with no solution offered, I was just ready to go home at that point. Since I was the one paying the bill, I didn't feel like the restaurant deserved for me to accommodate to their lack of service.

I was absolutely mortified. What a horrible birthday dinner for my friend. We spent most of the time talking about how appalling the lack of customer service was from the managements part. We wouldn't even mind if it were remotely busy in the restaurant, but it was a quiet night, there is no excuse. With that said, You will not be...

A fantastic place to enjoy a meal! The combination of indoor and outdoor dining options, along with a comfortable bar, high booths, and table seating with stunning marina views, made for a nice dining experience. The two outdoor patio areas, especially the open-air section with a sloped roof and the completely outdoor one, seemed perfect for enjoying nice weather while overlooking the marina.

Due to inclement weather, diners weren’t allowed on the outside deck, and the open-air section was reservation-only.

Onto the beverage and food review: The breakfast Bloody Mary was fabulous, priced at $19. It was strong with a nice bite, and came garnished with a jumbo shrimp, a piece of bacon, a cornichon, two nice smoky slices of chorizo, two olives, and the proverbial lemon and lime slices.

It was suggested that we try the Madeline oysters from Maine. The waiter, who overheard us talking about oysters, recommended the Madeline. There were four options that day, so we decided to go with both the Madeline and the Ichabod. We actually preferred the Ichabod oysters, which were a bit sweeter and hailing from Massachusetts.

The crabcake BLT was large and flavorful. I believe it was a special of the day, though I'm not entirely sure. It had a bit of spice, which was too much for me, but my husband enjoyed it. The sandwich came with seasoned French fries, perfectly salted with a mild, tasty spice. Both my lobster roll and his crabcake came with a side cup of a mayo-based sauce that was absolutely delicious. The new waitress couldn't explain what was in it, but I couldn't stop dunking my fries into that sauce.

My lobster roll was very good. The meat was cooked perfectly. It was accompanied by a side lobster butter sauce. That was a rich and flavorful. Besides dunking my lobster roll in it, I also dunked some french fries. An unusual version of coleslaw came with my meal. It was more shredded lettuce than cabbage with corn kernels that was unexpectedly delightful.

I highly recommend Shell and Bones Oyster Bar and Grill. I look forward to a...

(Last visited 4/3/2023.) My wife (fiancée at the time) and I just finished up an engagement photoshoot in downtown New Haven and it's time to eat! So we did some Yelp'ing of course and decided on Shell & Bones right on the water! Here's how things went!

Atmosphere/Appearance: This place is so beautiful and ducked off right on Winter Harbor in southern New Haven. It's seated right on the water and has some excellent views! Perfect for date night or just a nice hang out session. The inside is just as spectacular. It's clean, spacious, but a little confusing. There are so many dining areas, outdoor areas and just places to eat that I got a little lost in there, no matter.

Service: Ali took excellent care of us! She was sweet, funny, patient, made excellent recommendations and just made sure we had everything that we need!

Food: The complimentary bread was fresh, warm, simple and paired well with the salty, creamy butter. As a started I opted for their very famous New England Clam Chowder. It looked like no other clam chowder that I've ever seen, but it was SUPER FLAVORFUL. It even had a bit of spice to it. The herbs came through to shine, the soup was hot, complex, yet balanced and I really liked this. For my entree I was feeling steak so I opted for the Prime 18. oz. Ribeye. This thing was SO JUICY, but you know... fatty as well. I did have to cut a bit off, but that's totally normal for this cut of beef. I loved the charred flavors from the kiss of the dragon and the natural flavors of the good stuff. The scalloped/au gratin potatoes were so cool! They were served in like, a loaf, but sliced the long ways... they were just cool, but nothing to write-home about taste wise.

Value: It's an upscale steak restaurant... do what you want with that information. Lol. Don't pull on to a restaurant on the water in Connecticut and not expect to spend playa...

In conclusion, I'd love to come back here on a nice summer's day to have some wine and seafood while looking out at the water. Babe, if you're reading this... let's...