Doc's Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Valparaiso

We celebrated my husband's birthday at Doc's and had an exceptional time! Originally we were going to do oysters at home however our kitchen is under renovation. We found a gem in Doc's, away from the usual tourist spots. We reserved a table for Sunday lunch and got a great table outdoors on the upper level, close to the order counter, with a view of dolphins swimming by—our kids were thrilled!

Flame-grilled oysters were a major hit, with even our 6-year-old clamoring for more. We ordered a dozen oysters prepared three ways and another dozen raw. My husband had to battle the kids for the black and bleu cheese one. The soft shell crab burger, tacos, and mahi mahi were also devoured with glee. I good chip goes a long way. The pita type ones that came with the spinach and shrimp dip were good on their own - warm and crispy fried and not thick!

The key lime pie was the best we've ever had anywhere, with a delicious, pliable crust. The chocolate mousse cake I can't comment on because it was demolished before I could even get a forkful!

Staff were so efficient, knowledgeable, and courteous, and the ordering process was smooth. The food was freshly prepared and arrived hot. I forgot a lighter for the birthday candles and the server at the cash offered to lend us her personal one taking the risk that one might not return it!

Ample extra parking located next door at the Compass Rose. There is a path with stairs that takes you down to Doc's beside the building so you don't have to walk on the sidewalk by the road.

Kids already asked when we were coming back as soon as we were trotting out of the establishment. Not sure why it took us 10 years of living on and off in the area before coming here! Will be back on the reg and only here for when oysters...

Visit: 9 Dec 2022

BLUF: Food poisoning and an order mixup. However, nice atmosphere with the exception of the smokers next to us while eating dinner.

I really hate to do this, but.... The atmosphere was great, with the exception of the smokers next to us during dinner. However, the weather was excellent, and my family enjoyed the outdoor seating. The staff was also friendly and helpful. We had an issue with our order. It worked out in our favor (we thought, I'll get to why this was bad later). We ordered a variety of half a dozen grilled oysters. When our food came they gave us a full dozen. We just thought they misheard us when we placed our order. After all, the tab was not on the cheap side. About 30 minutes into eating, a food runner came to our table and asked if we ordered half a dozen oysters. I explained to him I thought they had our order wrong. He informed us they had a mixup when delivering the food. He offered the half dozen to us because otherwise he said they would have to toss them in the garbage. We accepted and thought we got lucky. Honestly, it was a decent experience with the exception of the smoker. We could have gone inside to avoid it, so in one way that was partially on us and we accept it. The problem came about 2 hours after dinner. Something made me sick. It was a horrible late night of forcefully getting rid of what I ate; I don't think you need anymore descriptions than that. The end result will prevent us from returning. It is really sad because we have family coming to town soon, and I had been talking up the place to them shortly before the sickness hit.

If the restaurant manager sees this, please reiterate food safety procedures with your staff. This kind of thing can be very dangerous to patrons and to...

My wife and I visited Docs on 12-28-2021 around 7pm. The food was good however the service was non-existent. The cashier takes your order before you're seated. This was our 1st time there so we asked the cashier questions in regards to there most popular dishes etc, and he gave very reluctant and short answers as if we were bothering him. We ordered our food then went and found our table. Our food came and the waitress said here is your oysters. My wife asked her politely if she could remove the dirty dishes that were left on the table which we nicely stacked to make it easier for her and she never replied however she removed them. I said thank you to her twice and she never replied, not even once!!!! Our waitress never returned at all to ask anything, not even if we enjoyed our meal. I believe this is a wonderful restaurant that I happened to catch at there worst moment. They appeared to be short staffed which may have been the cause of our experience. The cook did a great job which earned them the 2 star. I believe with good service our experience would have been a 4...