Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Seattle

The best, and by “best” I mean freshest and most reasonably priced oyster happy hour, downtown.

When a all-knowing girlfriend says, let’s go get oysters…usually there’s a little bit of a wince bc of the hit your wallet will take.

But I was ever so happy to be wrong this time. We found street parking and paid accordingly.

Within minutes of sitting down, we were approached by wonderful server named Dawn and she took our order for a bottle of cava that was only $30. Just want to say thank you to Taylor Shellfish for having a bottle of bubbles that felt actually affordable.

These days finances are tight for everyone and it’s not so frequent extra cash to go out and unwind and distress after long days of work. It’s amazing to find an affordable bottle of bubbles. The bottle was deliciously dry. Realizing we wanted to settle in and spend a little time we asked for an ice bucket and instead of seeing us as high maintenance, Victor came over and delivered for us. Our bottle, opened it expertly with the softest pop, and and placed the bottle in the bucket, covered with a napkin — they do in all the best places. Class all the way.

We ordered a second doesn’t because the first dozen was incredibly fresh. Then the talk turned to work…so we decided to order a second dozen because the first doesn’t was so fresh. My girlfriend who had not eaten all day decided that she’d like to have the fish and chips which were prepared perfectly. Interesting was the coleslaw, which was tossed in a base that taste more like soy sauce, or tamari sauce. Very interesting and fresh.

We were in a good mood, and decided maybe we should splurge for dessert but we’re told there was no dessert. Half in jest I mentioned to the server that I’d love to make the case to the manager for a delicious dark chocolate cake to be the one thing available for dessert. What I loved was how the servers vibes with our good mood — and lo and behold. The manager actually came out to say hello. I was able to make my case for chocolate cake knowing full well that wasn’t going to happen….but the point was: they good naturedly listened.

Of course the oysters and reasonable prices will bring us back because it’s amazing to have $2.25 oysters…but it’s the service that will keep us returning again ans again…because we were treated like we mattered at the end of a really hard long day at work. Thank you Dawn. Thank you Victor. Thank you, Manager. Then we stepped out into the evening and we’re treated two beautiful lights on the street.

Highly recommend that because the worst thing is finding you’ve got a ticket because your scrimped on the street...

Holy Oyster! OK, we stopped by after visiting the Woodland Park Zoo. The last time we were in Seattle, we stayed literally footsteps from this location and didn't know about it. After eating here this time, I was kicking myself for not knowing about it then. I decided that since we were taking an Uber from the Woodland area back to Downtown, we could split the trip and stop here in Queen Anne. We didn't get here during the happy hour time, so it was a bit pricey, but it was so worth it.

The waiter let us know that they were waiting for delivery of some oysters on the menu, so we had to select from three. However, a few minutes later he informed us that they just got a fresh delivery and we would get those as well!

We started with the Geoduck, which was new to us. It's really fresh tasting, and not having anything to compare to, I liked it a lot. We then had the shucker's dozen. These were hands down the best oysters I've had in my entire life anywhere...ever. We decided on our own personal favorites. My girlfriend liked the Shigoku and I really like the Grand Cru. We let our waiter know those were our favorites and he said those were the freshly delivered ones and that the Grand Cru is like the big brother of the Shigoku. We ordered two more of each, which was cool, since you don't have to order by the 1/2 dozen. The Grand Cru are HUGE and so flavorful. These are not for the novice oyster eater, so if you're new to oysters, be aware that to me, it was like the ultimate oyster. The Shgoku oysters were a nice bite size and very delicate in flavor and texture.

The shucker really looked like she knew what she was doing. We literally watched them bring in fresh oysters and put them in those cool sinks with the running water. Our waiter was very friendly and prompt. He made a really good bloody mary.

If you are in Seattle and want seafood, I suggest you try this place first. They have a few locations, so you should be able to find one near you. I liked this location in particular due to it's secluded location, kind of...

I went in for date night with my lady and we had a decent experience until the bill came. I am one of the people who absolutely HATES hidden charges and surprises. And, that's exactly what they did. Extra 18.9% mandatory service fee added on once your receive your check. It was such a shock to me that I looked around the restaurant and the menu to see if this was disclosed anywhere and found that the only place its shown is mixed in with the * asterisks at the end of a sentence warning about risk of consuming raw fish. It was very deceptive and manipulative I felt. I asked the server if this was optional and was told no. And explained that I feel that if its not an optional charge then first, it should be disclosed, and second it should be built into the menu prices. If it's the cost of eating, then it's the cost of eating and diners should be given the right to evaluate if they can afford or not afford the meal based on the mandatory amount required to eat there. Not having hidden charges forced upon them in the end.

The server didn't have much to say about the issue and recommended I call their corporate office to discuss it, which I did. They admitted that their servers are required to disclose that up front and mine failed to do it but offered no remorse to my frustration. I felt it was a useless phone call and I there was nearly no customer service provided in understanding.

I will NOT be returning to any of their restaurants for dining after this experience from both the store and the corporate office

Part of me says 1 star and the other part says maybe they have a bad business motto but their food was quality and it should be more...