Sea Island Shrimp House — Restaurant in San Antonio

Well, the Sea Island that I "knew" is not the Sea Island that I experienced yesterday. For my birthday, my wife treated me to what previously was my favorite seafood place.

What a disaster! I can honestly say this was the worst birthday meal I've had in my Baby Boomer life! Beginning with the not so customer friendly service. My wife does not eat seafood, and was ordering the charbroiled burger. She only wanted lettuce and mustard, and the cashier rudely informed us that "we don't have mustard here". I was surprised by her cavalier attitude, and simply dismissed it as her simply having a bad day.

On to my meal, and the reason for this negative review. I ordered the "Colossal Shrimp Platter" which is supposed to consist of 6 "Colossal Shrimps" and 2 sides. I always order fries and coleslaw as my sides. To my dismay, the "Colossal Shrimp" were not "Colossal" at all. If anything, they seemed to be more "Jumbo" sized. So the shrimp definitely were not the usual size as they used to serve. The fries were not even fresh. They appeared to have been sitting under the heating lamps for some time.

The worst part was yet to come: my coleslaw was at room temperature! I'm sorry, but this is simple food poisoning 101. You never leave coleslaw at room temperature!

I simply tossed the coleslaw aside, ate only a few of the malleable fries, and at least enjoyed a well cooked pair of hush puppies. Even though I did not get my "Colossal" shrimp, I did enjoy the smaller "Jumbo" sized portions that I was served.

My wife did enjoy half of her hamburger, but even though is was well cooked and tasty, it still did not have her mustard condiment, and she only at half of it. I was still hungry, since I did not fully eat my sides, and enjoyed eating her half of the hamburger. I would have preferred some mustard, though.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant though. It was not teeming with customers, since this was on an uninspiring Tuesday afternoon. And admittedly the restaurant was clean and welcoming. So I will give the restaurant a 3 star rating for "atmosphere".

But having paid over $15 for a "Colossal Shrimp" platter that was anything but, along with mediocre customer service, and a potentially food poisoning encounter, this was definitely a disastrous birthday meal for me.

Sea Island needs to rename the "Colossal Shrimp" platter to "Jumbo Shrimp" platter or reduce their price for this platter. I'm a die hard shrimp lover, and I would NOT recommend this establishment to any fellow shrimp lover.

I know that prices have gone up and meal portions have become smaller, but there is no excuse for serving food that could be harmful to your health, like...

If you find yourself in San Antonio, looking for a place where the shrimp is fresh, and the vibe is as laid-back as a Sunday afternoon, look no further than Sea Island Shrimp House. This isn’t some seafood joint trying to impress you with fancy white tablecloths or a Michelin-starred pedigree. No, Sea Island gets it right with one simple mantra: fresh, flavorful seafood that’s never trying to be anything it’s not.

Let's talk shrimp. Big, bold, and beautifully battered, the shrimp here are the main event. Whether you go for the fried shrimp, shrimp cocktail, or the perfectly grilled shrimp you can taste the care in every bite. It's not the most complex dish on the menu, but simplicity is the soul of a great meal, and these shrimp are proof of that. Crispy without being greasy, tender without falling apart in your mouth. Just the right amount of seasoning to bring out the ocean’s natural sweetness.

Then there’s the fish platters, a towering testament to indulgence, packed with a parade of deep-fried treasures that include everything from shrimp to fish fillets to hushpuppies that could give anyone’s grandma a run for her money. It’s a dish that says, "I’m here to feed you, and I’m here to make sure you leave full and happy." Mission accomplished.

This is the kind of place where you can settle in, and enjoy your food without feeling like you’re in a place that’s trying too hard to impress you. It’s real, it’s honest, and it’s comfortable.

The service is what you’d expect from a place that’s been doing this for decades – friendly, unhurried, and competent. There’s a sort of no-nonsense vibe that matches the whole experience. You get your food fast, you’re treated well, and then they let you go on your way, full, happy, and not needing to break the bank.The manager Cesar spoke to us and other customers making sure everything came out just right.

At Sea Island Shrimp House, they don’t reinvent the wheel. They don’t need to. What they do is deliver exactly what you want when you want it: solid, reliable, no-nonsense seafood. And in a world where so many places try to complicate things, there’s something refreshing about a spot that knows what it’s about and sticks to it.

If you’re in the mood for shrimp that reminds you of the kind of meal you’d have on a dock overlooking the water, Sea Island...

BLACK TAX ALERT! (Or they're just straight up shady!) Kids eat free on Thursdays, but every time I take my son in on Thursday evenings to the Ingram and Bandera locations, whenever they tell me the amount due it always includes the full price of the kid's meal I ordered. Usually, I get some excuse like "I forgot," or "I just started my shift." They have said this even though the restaurant has had a lot of families with kids, and they have just served a family with children right before me. A couple of times I've said, "Oh, so you forgot to give the family in front of me their discount?" To which they've replied, "No, they got the discount." To which I've replied, "So you just forgot for me." That's always been the end of the conversation. Not once has an employee or manager, throughout the years, told me that you have to specifically ask for the discount. So, tonight I asked the manager at Ingram what their kids eat free policy was. I asked if families with kids were supposed to automatically get the discount. He told me the system doesn't do it automatically, but if you have a kid with you and you are dining in, they are supposed to automatically give you the discount. So I asked why every time I go to that location I have to ask for the discount even though I don't hear other families asking for the discount. Then he changes his tune and says that you have to specifically ask for it. When I tell him that's not what he just said a second ago, his conversation quickly devolves to, "I can see I'm not going to win this argument." I didn't know we were arguing, but I go ahead and tell him I feel like I'm being charged some type of "Black Tax." He stops another manager who is going by and asks him if you have to specifically request the kids eat free discount. The other manager seems puzzled by the question, and I don't hear a definite answer. I tell them that if you are charging people for kids' meals on Thursdays because they don't know about your promotion, that would be pretty shady, as opposed to simply telling them about the promotion. I think they just tried to hit me with the Black Tax. (P.S. The rainbow trout was tiny today...about half the size of what I've had...