Quahog's Seafood Shack and Bar — Restaurant in Stone Harbor

It was my husband’s birthday and he’d seen Quahogs on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives so we drove 2 ½ hours to try their food. We arrived in time to get a seat at the bar and enjoy a dozen oysters for $12. Our first clue should have been the locals that were there who came for the oysters but were planning to eat dinner SOMEWHERE ELSE! The oysters and the bar were very pleasant. Before making a reservation I called and spoke with Dena, the owner to find out what oil they cooked with. I’m allergic to soy and she assured me that, except for the fryers, they use a blend of canola and olive to cook their food. When we were shown to our table, our server was Andrew. I mentioned my soy allergy to him, and, upon double checking with the kitchen, Andrew told me that Dena had given me the wrong information. All the oil in the restaurant had soy. (Andrew, was a FABULOUS server. Caring, thorough, polite, efficient & intelligent. He deserves a better restaurant to work at…) My husband really wanted to try their signature dish, the moqueca stew. When he asked Andrew about it, he was told that the chef/owner who made it famous was long gone and that the place had new owners; Dena & her husband. But, we were there, so we ordered. BIG MISTAKE. Because of my allergy, I ordered only the steamed mussels and a bowl of chowder. When the chowder arrived, the kitchen had drizzled it with a pool of oil. (Is this a joke?) I sent the soup back and when it returned I ate about ½ of it (it was too salty and had two clam pieces in the whole bowl but I was hungry), until I found a little puddle of oil in it. I can only surmise that when I sent it back, someone in the kitchen stirred the oil in with a spoon and sent it back out. The mussels were another story. How do you screw up steamed mussels? Two ways: by putting NO care into making them so they were utterly tasteless and, even more special, by serving mussels that were brown and shriveled and clearly leftover from the previous day. But it was my husband’s birthday and I hoped his meal would be better. Nope. The smallest shrimp and clams you’ve ever seen in some kind of tasteless white glop with a pile of overcooked rice heaped in the middle. Quahog Seafood Shack? Do what the locals do, have the raw oysters at the bar and EAT ANYWHERE ELSE. And, Dena, I’d doubt you read these because you don’t care enough, but if you are… Yes, I did get sick. Because you don’t care about what you’re serving and your kitchen appears to...

Extremely disappointing - and DON'T COME HUNGRY, but do come with low expectations. I know I'll hear how it's supposed to be expensive, but tonight was plain bad. The 'special' was a lobster mac and cheese (looked like $14 on the board, turned out to be $24...SURPRISE) - I had to ask my occasionally seen wait person if they had run out of lobster - we found 3 pieces( and a 1/2 lobster was only $15), he had no answer. When we were informed that the lobstar mac and cheese was $24, NOT $14, the waiter got indignant and told that there "was lobster in there, it's expensive"(though 3 pieces of lobster in mac and chees already seems high at $14) The food was less than average otherwise, the atmosphere was the best part, but there was even an anomaly here - while we were in the midst of our 30 minute + wait for our food, the hostess-type came though and asked how things were going(once) - my gesture at the empty table and glasses only made her leave and never come back... A family of five that ordered some medium-priced tiny entrees ended up with a check for $90+. Long John Silver's is looking pretty good now - same quality, better price, friendlier staff, etc- and I can do without paying an additional $80 for atmosphere! The real disappointment was the service - the food is the institution and maybe they're used to paying high prices for crap and trendiness down there, but when you send incompetent, unattentive, uninformed, and unpleasant staff out there, nothing good can result - I hope you weren't wondering where the tip was, people. That was the only wau I could keep my expenses for an unsatisying meal under $100.

We went out to dinner after to actually eat...

Some of these reviews here MUST have been done by owners, employees, or their friends, from the look of them....."don't miss..", "for me, it's not summer..." - please. Maybe they have EXTREMELY low expectations, and it's just wonderful for them when used to eating rocks or sand at...

My wife and I love to visit restaurants that are new too, whether newly opened or just on our radar. So we have a rather developed metric as to whether to revisit or recommend a restaurant. Unfortunately, this one didn't make that cut. A friend gave us a gift cert for Quahog's so we decided to check it out. Firstly, they have no draft beer selections, only cans/bottles (fair selection). But, they were served without glasses. Complimentary 'chick pea salad' was offered that was accompanied by two packets of generic saltine crackers. A nod to the chef's Argentinian roots, perhaps. Our apps were equally disappointing. The guacamole was freshly made, but included huge slices of rock-hard avocado. I use calamari as a barometer for a chef's ability. The calamari was done well, but only came with six rings and one tentacle. It was accompanied by fried sweet plantains (excellent) and a run-of-the-mill barbeque sauce (very odd.) I'm sure these two represent their South American focus. Seafood is usually our go-to cuisine, and we choose the shrimp ceviche in leche de tigre and a Brazilian fish stew (moqueca). I was excited as the waiter said this was the most ordered dish. The shrimp in the ceviche had been marinated to the point that they were rock-hard and not soft and silky as they should be. The moqueca had a decent coconut broth and a decent amount of seafood, but the clams and mussels were so small, that their contents were almost not worth it. It was accompanied by a small, less-than-fresh, brioche dinner roll (no butter offered.)

Lastly, the back patio has minimalist décor and open rafters with visible OSB plywood in places. The tables were weathered painted metal or wood and were packed pretty tightly. While the décor was rustic and trendy, the quality of the food did not match the trendy vibe. Service was decent. If this had been my money instead of a gift cert, I would have been disappointed at the value...