Oyster Bar & Grille — Restaurant in Shreveport

I will say first and foremost that LOVE the majority of the staff. They are great, especially the bartenders. I would name names, but I feel like that would be wrong on a review like this.

Their menu doesn't offer many things that I like, but that is not a reason to detract stars in my book. There are a few things that I really like, sadly, most of them are what I consider to be over priced. But I have never run a restaurant, so I the prices may actually be in line with their food costs, who knows?

The real reason for my 3 star rating is the amount of times I have had to wait for a ridiculously long time for my food. Both for dining in and to go, and when they weren't very busy. I admit that they are very often super, super busy. And I don't fault them for taking longer when that is the case. But I do fault them for taking forever when they are not that busy.

I have called in an order and arrived 15-20 minutes later only to wait another 20 minutes or more. I have been seated at a table and had an absentee waiter more than once. One night in particular we were seated on the patio and our server seemed to vanish completely. Luckily there was another very sweet girl who took great care of us. And when I say this next thing, please know that the people I was with as well as myself dine out often and have worked in the service industry. So, even though we felt our "official" server didn't really deserve a tip, we still left something, though it wasn't much, but we pooled an extract, semi-generous amount, and put it directly in the hand of the girl who actually took care of us. She was very gracious and almost embarrassed, but she deserved it for going above and beyond.

The other reason for 3 stars is that when I have had bad experiences, management that I spoke hasn't always reacted in the manner that I would hope for. Sometimes they are very apologetic, sometimes they don't seem to care. Now that I think about it, the very first time I went there, the waiter spilled ketchup all over me (I honestly don't remember how he managed it). As an apology the manager took our drinks off of our bill. That might sound like a nice, generous thing to do, until I tell you that between the three of us we ordered two sodas and a water... But that some years ago.

All in all, it's a pretty decent place, but some things could...

If I could give this place zero stars I would. WHO PUTS CREAM OF MUSHROOM IN GUMBO???? Never again.

I wanted to take a moment to provide some additional context to my recent experience at your establishment. I visited as part of a party of three professionals while in town, and overall, we had a mixed experience.

First, I would like to acknowledge the excellent service we received from the staff. They were friendly and attentive, and I have no complaints in that regard. However, I do have concerns about the quality of some of the dishes we ordered.

The gumbo, which I was excited to try, was not to my liking. It had an overpowering flavor of cream of mushroom, which was quite unsettling. Additionally, the dish was served with a type of rice, which I did not expect as a standard accompaniment for this type of entree. After sharing my thoughts, the waitress was gracious enough to remove the gumbo from my bill, as well as from the bills of my dining companions.

We also ordered the specialty bread (I regret I don’t recall the name), but it did not meet the expectations set by the menu description. The bread was topped with cheese, and the other advertised ingredients. The dish did not align with the description, and unfortunately, it was not satisfying.

The fried oysters were decent, but the grilled oysters did not meet our expectations. Furthermore, one of my dining partners experienced a stomachache after drinking the water, which was concerning.

When we inquired about the gumbo containing cream of mushroom, I received confirmation from multiple staff members that it did. This was an unfortunate surprise, as it didn’t match what I anticipated based on the menu description.

While I understand that not every customer’s experience will be the same, I do think it’s important to consider all feedback, both positive and critical. A more proactive approach from management, such as engaging with guests during their meal to check satisfaction, could be beneficial. Tone in responses to feedback also plays a crucial role, and a more measured and professional approach could go a long way in addressing concerns and improving customer relations. With that being said I will not be returning.

Thank you for your time, and I hope this feedback can contribute to the continued improvement of...

My fiancé and I came in today 9/29/24 to get a late lunch. We had to wait a little bit for a hostess but then someone came and sat us in a corner table. We waited about 10 minutes before someone came and asked us for our drink orders. While we were waiting someone sits an elderly lady down to the right of us and gave her water, chips and salsa and got her drink order. As that was happening we were waiting for someone to bring us waters, chips and salsa. This took about 8-10 minutes. Then a guy came by and finally asked us for our drink order. This guy looked like Abraham Lincoln. Then a girl walks up and ask of for our drink order. We told her some guy just got it. She apologized and said “sorry we were at 3 sections but now we’re at 4 I think”. Then the girl told someone to bring us chips and salsa and waters. We got those not long after she told us. Then Lincoln comes by with our drinks. We told him then what we wanted. I ordered a grilled chicken salad and my fiancé ordered a steak sandwich. Simple order! It was 2:50pm when we told him this. By this time a party was arriving where the fish tank used to be. I started thinking our order shouldn’t be long because it was a simple order. Well 20 minutes go by and this is the only time the waiter checked on us. He got us one refill and told us it shouldn’t be much longer. The elderly lady, “that was seated after us, got her food before we did”. Remind you we told him at 2:50pm what we wanted and it’s now passed 3:16pm. I started to get impatient around 3:20pm. By then I figured it would’ve been brought out. It wasn’t. I kept watching him and everyone else. No one checked on us. I told my fiancé it’s 3:34, this is ridiculous. He agreed. I went to the bar and got change for a $20 bill. We had one beer, a dr pepper and a sweet tea. I put $10 on the table. As we were walking out the hostess said “ have a great day!” I said “oh no we’re leaving because it’s been a a 30-40 minute wait for our food and we’re not waiting anymore. But we paid for our drinks the cash is on the table.” She apologized for our experience. This experience really upsets me because “before” the remodel and I guess new management I used to love coming here but now I really don’t care for it just like how our waiter didn’t...