Half Shells — Restaurant in University Park

I never thought that I would leave a bad review for Half Shells - Snider Plaza. We've eaten here for years, and everything has always been super fresh and tasty.

Tonight, I went to dinner with 2 friends and we were looking forward to great seafood and cold tasty drinks... The drinks, at least, were good.

To start, we ordered a dozen Gulf oysters on the half shell. I'm not sure what we were thinking because we all know the "months with an R" rule, and obviously, it's been exceptionally hot recently. But we trusted the management of Half Shells- Snider Plaza wouldn't have them on the menu if they weren't good.

News Flash - the oysters were NOT good. I'm not sure how we ate the first ones without noticing - except that we all use a lot of horseradish in the cocktail sauce, and we were happily distracted by the conversation. I picked up a second one, and as it traveled towards me, I caught the smell - they reeked! Then I really looked at the oysters, and they all had brown colored brine. The oyster brine should be clear, clean, and taste like the ocean - these tasted like a red tide.

I flagged down the waiter and explained that the oysters were BAD - as in spoilt. He expressed no surprise or concern and just took them away. I had to go wash my hands because I could still smell the oysters (blech). He did come back and ask if we wanted a different appetizer. I was hesitant, but again, we were kind of shell-shocked (pun intended) because we're used to such high quality from this Half Shells, so we ordered the crab queso. I thought it tasted funny - kind of sour - but my friends thought that it tasted ok, if not very interesting.

A manager did finally come over to ask what was wrong with the oysters. Again, I explained that they were BAD with brown brine and they stunk. He merely said, OK thanks for telling us. He didn't apologize, didn't ask if we were OK after eating bad oysters, didn't offer any explanation or apology.

How those oysters made it all the way to our table for us to eat is mind-boggling. They had to have STUNK when they were opened up. There was obviously no quality control going on if those oysters were allowed to leave the kitchen and be served.

I'm honestly shocked at US for not leaving after this. My only excuse/explanation is that we're all 3 the type of diners to give the benefit of the doubt to restaurants these days, knowing the difficulties they have gone through since the pandemic. Also, our history with good food and service and this Half Shells- Snider Plaza. In hindsight, we were dumb and should have left.

The rest of the meal was not necessarily bad - as compared to the oysters - but also not good. My friends both ordered the Shellfish Pasta, and I ordered the Grilled Ruby Red Trout & Gulf Shrimp. Everything was distressingly bland. It didn't taste like either of the dishes even had salt and pepper used in them.

My trout was dry, and the skin wasn't crisp. I asked for their Garlic Wilted Spinach as a side - which is usually delicious. Instead, I got a mound of watery, half sautéed spinach with no garlic and no flavor. The Gulf shrimp were tiny and overcooked.

The Shellfish Pasta was supposed to have a spinach alfredo but, except for a slight green tinge to the sauce, you'd never know there was any spinach used. They also said that the pasta, shellfish, and sauce were all very under seasoned.

When we got the bill, we were a little surprised that there wasn't any adjustment for the bad oyster experience, except that they "comp'ed" the oysters. Gee - thanks for not charging us for the horrible experience of eating spoiled seafood that could potentially make us very sick.

We're not the type of customers to cause a scene and demand things - but a manager with good customer service would have made sure that we were happy and that we left the restaurant feeling like this was an anomalous experience and would never happen again. It cost us $112 + Tip (because we would never not tip a waiter for bad food) - definitely...

This is an adorable gem at Snider Plaza. My best friend and I stopped at Half Shells for lunch when we arrived to Dallas from Austin. We were famished so we got to try a few items on the menu. Here's what I have to say about Half Shells:

Atmosphere: the place is small, cozy and beautifully decorated. The seating is comfortable and appropriately spaced.

Service: Alex was our server. He was incredible. He was hospitable, attentive and came around regularly to check in on us, refill our waters. The food was prepared and brought to us in a timely manner. They also made sure our entrées didn't arrive while we still had appetizers (personally, I find it a bit overwhelming when everything comes at once and defeats the purpose of having apps and entrées).

Now onto the star of the review: Food: OMG, that's all I have to say. No I have more to say, haha!

For appetizers, we ordered the Oyster Nachos and Chargrilled Oysters. The photos don't do it justice, honestly. The oysters were cooked to perfection and just melted in your mouth. Not overpowering and wonderfully combined with the other ingredients. We were hesitant about trying the soups because we had ordered a lot of food, so Alex later brought us samplers of each soup and omg, I wish I had room for more. I'd consider this my dessert! For our entrees, I ordered the Seafood Platter and Rainbow Trout. So well done.

Overall, one of the best places I've eaten at. I highly recommend you stop by if you're in Dallas. And for us Austonites, I think it's worth the drive! ;)

Thank you, Alex for an...

Enjoyed the crawfish considering this seasons scarcity, so glad they had some in stock!! Yay! Was initially disappointed that the restaurant didn't offer garage parking validation since the garage sign says for Snider Plaza, but guess that's up to the business to oblige their patrons. The bar made that clear upon our arrivala after I inquired as we sat down at the bar. The bar, however, is quaint and cute for sure.... just be mindful of the employee conversations you will surely hear. Good Bad or Indifferent, service related or another 🤔 😕 I was not pleased that I was charged for the 'seasoning' that was offered for the Crawfish. Was told the options were garlic butter or lemon perhaps and a nitrous/Cajun spice and I asked if there could be a combination, of which they obliged. Only to be charged... for what, seasoning? There's no additional prep involved I would think... so just left a bad taste. Also got the red beans and rice, which were edible just not seasoned at all. The service was decent, nonetheless, so keep up the...