Atlas Oyster House — Restaurant in Pensacola

Overall, it was a very disappointing dining experience. We were told we had about an hour wait time, which we were fine with. We got a cocktail from the bar and sat outside, enjoying the beautiful evening. We were seated outside on the side by the atlas bar, and across from us, there was a table where it appeared a large party had been seated it was quite messy. When the bus boy came to clean it, he was obviously not happy with the big mess that was left very noisily, putting dishes and silverware into the bins. At some point, the hostess came and asked him to prepare the table for 2 separate large parties, then came the dragging of the chairs and separating the tables, all the noise was quite annoying coupled with the fact that we were right across from a speaker and the music was abnoxiously loud too. Samantha was our server. She explained they were short staffed and had been busy all night. Friday night, no surprise there! For starters, we ordered the fish bites and fried green tomatoes, both were good, but there were only 3 slices of tomato, for $15 a serving that was a joke! My husband ordered oysters Rockefeller, which he said were just OK. I ordered the warm spinach salad expecting the spinach to be wilted, hence the warm, not so. I got a bowl of spinach with pre-cooked cold sprouts and little bits of pre-cooked cold sweet potatoes when I asked Samantha about the spinach not being wilted, she said it was that way because the dressing was on the side. Did not offer me something else. As a somewhat upscale restaurant, this is definitely not the quality and dining experience we were expecting, we visit Pensacola frequently and have enjoyed our dining experience in the past. We were sharing our disappointing experience with another couple at the hotel, and they actually had a similar experience to ours. I hope the owner and / or manager reads this review and realizes that the food quality and service have really gone downhill. As a customer, I certainly don't mind paying for a good dining experience, but it's frustrating, expecting to have a good night out and getting the complete opposite. I don't expect to hear excuses. how it's busy, short staffed, backed up in the kitchen, certainly not what I'm paying for. So please take some action and take care of your customers. It's been over a week now, and as you can see, I'm still...

I left 5 stars on the first visit, but today I'm downgrading to 3 stars (average). The first visit (May 6, 2019, believe it or not - a month with no "r" in it) the oysters were full, plump, cold, fresh, and succulent, out-of-this-world delicious!

This time (September 5, 2019) we sat outside. We were given a choice of Pensacola Bay oysters or Louisiana oysters (our female server talked us into Pensacola Bay ones, so that's what we ordered). Well! She served us Louisiana oysters anyway, without coming back to our table to inform us that they were out of local Bay oysters. The ones that were served were small, gritty, and dark (as opposed to the expected light gray). I exclaimed to the server that they weren't what she described to us, but "I" ate them ONLY because I already had my heart set on some and they were right there.

I also naively ordered "sushi", although the sushi menu seemed MUCH more "basic" than true sushi menus. I should've listened to my gut feeling, but I went with two different sushi for as main entree. The rice fell apart when I picked it up with my chopsticks, and it wasn't as chilled and fresh as "real" sushi restaurants. Never again.

We've yet to try the Fish House, but will give that a shot one night. That will be the deciding factor of whether or not we revisit the establishment in the future.

Service was "eh". "Good", (meaning 'average'). Our food came in a timely manner (thanks to the cooks on a Thursday night), but no friendliness/smile, nothing memorable about her except dark hair and chubby? She appeared to be there to do a 'job', but that was the extent of it.

We do enjoy the...

Went here in a whim because the wait was slightly long at the fish house. Ate outside with the water in the background. Nice lit area with tiny light bulbs stringed up. The side of the 2 restaurants seem a little more upscale without having an upscale attire requirement. We were seated and greeted immediately. The food was superb. At first I didn't really see anything worth getting besides the grits a ya ya but the hubby and I both decided to get the evening specials. I got the crab stuffed red snapper and opted to change my sides to the collard greens and gouda cheese grits. The hubby got the steak with a potato cake stuffed with artichoke, feta cheese and something else I can't recall and covered with a sauce, served with a ear if sweet corn on the cob and grits. The little one got the chicken fingers and grits. The food was brought out in short time. Everything was presented and tasted delicious. My entree was covered in a sauce that made the dish taste amazing. We all received huge servings of the grits which were very good, it had pieces of corn in it too. My collard greens were cooked the way I liked them, not too vinegary tasting. I ate half of the hubby corn on the cob and it was delicious, very flavorful Mashup of sweet and buttery with a lightly grilled taste. Overall i was extremely impressed and pleased with our meal. Large serving size and the food was nice and hot. Would definitely return...