Waited an hour just to be told they were no longer seating people because they cannot manage their kitchen.

What can I say? When it comes to a true dining experience, this is one for the books. Upon entering you're immediately greeted with a welcoming smile. Jazz fills the air giving off a 1930's vibe. The restaurant sits in an old elementary school that has been converted into a restaurant and a few other businesses. The menu is very well organized. Some places tend to have too many menu items so it becomes somewhat overwhelming, though not the case here. This restaurant was recommended by a friend of mine, so I finally had the opportunity to give them a try and they definitely did not disappoint. My servers name was Becky. She was incredible. A radiant smile and a great attitude as I know working the restaurant industry it can be tiring after a long day of being on your feet and dealing with varying customer demeanors at a time. Though she was very present and really seemed to enjoy her position and employer. She knew the menu inside and out and within a few moments of being seated she was already greeting me making me feel welcomed. She recommended the Sweet Potato Brûlée which was phenomenal, and being a pasta fan their Royal Red Alfredo looked delicious. It was better than expected. By this I mean for the quality of food you would have expected it to reflect a much higher price than it is sold for. 5-stars! She also noted that she would be sure that the appetizer and salad came out first before the main course. I could literally rave about the quality of food and the quality of service I experienced at this establishment. Being from Tennessee, I had never heard of the restaurant before but I'm definitely going to come back for a second time. So if you're in the area, stop in and come see Becky. You will be well taken care of and in great hands on the various selections they have to offer. Service quality, flavor of food and menu selection I would put in line with a number of restaurants along Broadway in Nashville. read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

Love going out to lunch on a Sunday after church! What's more traditionally southern than that? And no one say dinner at home, it's the 21st century ! We chose this restaurant based on our experience at the Gulf Port location. Here's a tip: If you see a sign Out front advertising for service staff ,don't go. I'll heed my own tip from now on! Four hostesses were too busy talking to seat us. When they did, our waiter was not welcoming. I ordered a mimosa, and when I ordered it a second time since it had not been delivered, she snapped that it was ready at the bar. Then, the glass was chipped at the rim. She was nicer after that. However, my husband's drink and food was served first, and when he indicated that he wanted the check, she gave it to me. She wasn't being rude, just uncaring or untrained. Bottom line, the food was great, service was not. And my husband says I'm a little Karen read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Fried shrimp - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

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The restaurant is worth the wait. Fresh seafood and great service. The oysters and the smoked tuna dip were delicious. The pasta and the seafood platter was a nice sized portion. Get the extra crab cake it's so worth it. read more

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Took my wife for a pre-Valentine's Day dinner. Everything abut this place was perfect. Food, service, and ambiance were amazing. Only problem I had was trying to decide what order because everything on the menu looked so appetizing. Will definitely be going back and I highly recommend it. read more

We ordered the Royal Red Shrimp and oh my goodness, they are so soft and delicious. All the food and drinks we had were on point and excellent service by Drake I believe his name was. Thank you! read more

Food was decent. The Cajun oysters were great, pasta was bland. Seafood dip was nasty. Service was good, and place had a nice vibe.

restaurant was 5 stars when it first opened. then heavy staff turnover and food and service has gone way down. last time there ordered shrimp and grits, it was a greasy bowl of mush , shrimp still was in the shell. terrible . ordered an old fashioned and the bar tender didnt know how to make it. no ice ball, no cherry, just whiskey and some syrup. yuk. read more

A touch and taste of New Orleans in Pelham. The upscale vibe is a welcome addition to the area. Lots of options on the menu. I was disappointed that my stuffed Portobello description included Gulf shrimp but the only shrimp I could find were baby bay shrimp. I will return but definitely order something different. Next time I hope our service matches the experiences other reviewers are sharing. We had a very long wait before our server came to the table and we canceled a bottle of wine half way through our meal because we were, according to the server, waiting on the bartender. read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

Very nice clean restaurant. Good food as always. Had the ribeye med-well with my favorite side dish, the sweet potatoes. I would highly recommend to anyone. read more

We loved our food at HS oyster house. We tried char grilled oysters, fried crab claws, redfish orleans and seafood platter. Everything was very good! So glad we found this place while in town. read more

Good food but heavy seasoning. The oysters and beer are always good. Not enough service. read more

Where to begin, the old fashioned tastes like cough syrup. The oyster were really good, that was a positive . The red fish was drowning in sauce, not great. read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Half Shell oyster house. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

My husband and I ate here for lunch on Saturday, July 20, 2024. Caitlyn was our server and provided EXCELLENT service during our meal. We ordered a dozen raw oysters, a small baked oyster sampler, and the voodoo wings to start. For our meals, my husband ordered the burger with fries and I got the blackened redfish with the sweet potato crème brûlée as my side. Everything tasted delicious as always. Thank you Caitlyn for an excellent dining experience! read more

Food, service, wait, etc. absolutely everything was awesome! We had a great time and delicious food! Def going back again soon!

Everything is soooo good and fresh!! We've been several times and always had great food and service. read more

Cold rainy Sunday afternoon and a craving for something from the ocean. Let's try the new HalfShell. Location is convenient, inside is open and very HalfShell, we really enjoyed the ability to have a conversation without yelling. The food was up to HalfShell standers. MS, LA, or B'ham you expect the food to be what you remember and craving. The service was above average. Todays choices: Boudin Balls (crispy & delicious), Oysters Orleans (Smoky Cajun & Parm order again), Fried Green Tomatoes & Crab Cakes (do I need to say anymore?) last and maybe the best Crab Cakes ( lots of lump crab hand patties 3/8" cooked oh so good). read more

So delicious, I will have this again! And our waiter was fantastic. The atmosphere was cozy. I recommend this place for any occasion. Just a great place all around read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Orleans Redfish - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

So, I really want Pelham, AL to have a nice, table cloth restaurant, so I held off on reviewing after our first visit. So we had our second try at Half Shell tonight, and now I have to say it is not an asset to Pelham, and I won't care when they close their doors. When I think about spending money, I think about how many hours I have to work to earn the money to pay for what I am doing, keeping mind most days I leave work with a headache. Tonight's meal was 5 hours of work, and defiantly not worth it. First visit, we ordered oysters as an appetizer, and blackened shrimp and the shrimp and grits. The oysters and blackened shrimp were 4 star, but the shrimp and grits were a greasy mess, and in Waffle House swimming in grease mess. Way to much oil, and not appetizing at all. One star because I didn't get food poisoning. The food was dropped off and no one came back to check on any problems until they were ready to bring the check. But I really want Pelham to have a "good" restaurant, so I reserved judgement. Just a bad night, right, everyone has one. So a few months later we tried again. We ordered Royal Reds and an appetizer, and blackened fish and shrimp pasta as mains. The reds showed up, and about 3 minutes later, well before the appitizer was done, the mains were delivered. The server checked on us while we were eating the appetizer, but didn't check back when we started the mains. The shrimp pasta was okay even through I think the shrimp were really small for shrimp, more like langostino. 4 star and 3 star on these dishes respectively . But the fish was overcooked. And I mean inedible over cooked. 1 star We took it home for the cat, which will eat anything. If the server came back during the meal, it would have been sent back. But he didn't. When he returned, we explained the problem, but no solution was offered. So that's 2 tries, 2 strikes. This place is too expensive for food to be poorly prepared. 50% success rate on entrees, is it worth the risk? I don't think it is worth the hours of work needed to pay for a meal here. I'd steer clear and head to Hoover or Hwy 280 if you want good food for the price. I guess I should check to see if the cat will eat the fish. If he won't, I'll edit the post. read more

Arrived at 630 on a Saturday evening and didn't expect to be immediately seated... no problem... went to the bar and enjoyed cocktails for 1:15, having asked if we could sit at the 5 empty hitops around the bar; were told they were reserved... Finally seated at one of the aforementioned hitops. Ordered royal red appetizers... overcooked by a lot. Ordered filet orleans and when it finally arrived, the server spilled most of the hot butter in my lap and down my leg. She offered to bring a few finger cleaning packs to clean up a mess on my pants. Our waiter shows up a while later with a soda water soaked kitchen rag. By now our drinks are totally empty and we are finally asked if we want the check with no questions about dessert. Finally the manager shows up as we are leaving to offer an appetizer coupon for a subsequent visit. Don't bother... read more

Caramel Apple Martini This is my new favorite place to dine with friends! Wonderful atmosphere and very busy with all age demographics. The Pelham Alabama is the second location that I have visited. They did not disappoint- food is fantastic and excellent service staff. Their friendly servers are amazing. I can't wait to return. 5 STARS read more

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Had an extremely bad experience at HSOH recently. I would not update this review if it had been a small issue or 1 bad entree, but it was everyone's entree in our party. One person had the seafood pasta dish (cold, a bit bland, didn't seem very fresh). Someone else had blackened Mahi (dry, overcooked, didn't include the sauce it usually comes with). Someone had red beans & rice - awful (very thick, pasty, dry, left off the sausage and hush puppies but they brought them out on a saucer after I asked.... hush puppies were not fresh or maybe overcooked). Table appetizers were ok. I was so surprised and disappointed, because I've been to this restaurant at least 4 or 5 times and never had an experience like this. I talked it up to my guests & felt so badly about the outcome. None of us enjoyed our food... 1 person took about 3 bites (pasta meal) and didn't eat anymore. Not sure I'll return read more

This location had great service and ok food. Everything needed salt and pepper but it was edible

We decided to try out half shells at 230 today. Didn't have lunch so this was our late lunch/early dinner. Service was good. My husband ordered blackened mahi with fries and a salad. The fish was grilled but definitely not blackened. I ordered the oyster sampler. It took about 10 minutes to get his salad. His food came within minutes of the salad drop off. My oysters came after he'd finished his meal!! This l is a big pet peeve!! The manager apologized but to me, offer discount or something. The oysters were decent, but not the best I've had. I was really looking forward to trying this place while in town! I was disappointed and probably wouldn't try again for the cost. read more

The server was great but the food was over priced for what it was. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't memorable either.

On our way to Gulf shores from Indiana & We got on the online waitlist at 6:10pm and it said our table would be ready at 6:30pm--got to restaurant and checked in at 6:20pm and was told they were running behind so it'd be 6:40pm We said okay and waited outside until 7pm went inside and asked (yelp said we were next in line) and they said that we were first in line but that because the kitchen was swamped they were not seating anyone else for an undetermined amount of time! We decided to wait since we'd waited a long time already & we were next--we were finally seated around 7:45pm Our waitress was new(she made a point to tell us) so she wasn't the best but also not the worst Took awhile to bring our drinks...we decided to just get appetizers since we'd been there forever already! The oysters bienville were amazing as were the jalapeno hush puppies! And a manager came by and discounted our bill so we are giving 3 stars! If they get their act together on service then they'd easily be a 5 star place! read more

The service is good, the food is excellent. Don't forget the top tier beverages. You can't go wrong and I've been to three different locations. read more

The food is great and the service is exceptional! It's really nice inside and has a really great New Orleans vibe. So happy to have something in Shelby county like this. I heard it gets pretty crowded at night so we usually go early in the evening. Once again, everything we had was wonderful! The shrimp Po boys are A++ read more

My fiancé and I had dinner recently here on a Saturday evening. Restaurant wasn't busy at all. Apparently all the vehicles you see parked there are at the billiards, not the restaurant. Service took forever, food was terrible. Redfish swimming in an oily mess, overcooked and over salted. The asparagus was so overcooked it was like mushy strings left, not edible. The combo plate was cold, fish all seemed overcooked and not fresh at all. Appetizers, the stuffed mushrooms were very fishy tasting, the crab claws were just sub par, the oysters were overcooked. Honestly the only thing any good was the drinks and those took way too long to get served. Way overpriced for the terrible quality of food. I had a gift certificate for $150 and our total was over $200. The restaurant has great ambiance, but we definitely won't be back. Like someone else said on here captain Ds is much better and cheaper. read more

This place always appears packed when we drive by so we had to see what it was all about! For appetizer we chose the shrimp and crab dip, which was great, offering a combination of melted cheese with crunchy. We ended up ordering the seafood sampler which gave us the luxury of tasting a variety from crab cakes to seafood fritters, mahi mahi, and fried shrimp. Everything was great! So we're the jalapeño hush puppies. The mashed potatoes were good with a spicy kick just not for me. We also ordered the royal red fish which was a nice size. The chicken voodoo sandwiches are not recommended with the Gorgonzola cheese. The flavor was off putting. Great ambience, good service. read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Shrimp and crab dip - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

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Service extremely slow. Food was not hot at all. Friends burger didn't have bacon or cheese on it so they were going bring another burger and it didn't come until the rest of us had already eaten our food. This is too nice of a place for lukewarm food and slow service. read more

We ate here for my birthday dinner, the wait was long but worth the wait! I highly recommend this restaurant. I also recommend while you wait order the pink pearl martini or the caramel apple martini, both drinks were very good! read more

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Came in to Happy Hour. Bo and Stacy behind the bar were great! We had crab claws (fried). Excellent food and service. The decor is cool and relaxed. We will be back! read more

Half Shell Oyster House - Fried Crab Claws - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Pelham, Alabama

My boyfriend took me here for their chargrilled oysters and honestly, those are the best chargrilled oysters I've had in my life! I didn't even care about my entree as much as those oysters! He ate a dozen and I ate a dozen. Sheesh, I wish they shipped lol. read more

I love their food and appetizers. The Louisiana Red Fish is my favorite. The service is always great.

We love this place. The staff is always friendly and helpful. I love the lady bartender. The food is great. I had Royal Redfish: Bronzed redfish served over a bed of grilled asparagus and Cajun boiled mashed potatoes, topped with Royal Red shrimp sautéed in a white wine cream sauce and Parmesan cheese. And their Half Shell Salad is great also. My favorite drink is blueberry pomegranate sangria. They are a little pricey but there are good dishes for reasonable prices or for a special trip. read more

I always enjoy Half Shell Oyster House. The ambiance is very cool and has a New Orleans feel to it. The service is always on point. And the oyster sampler is bomb!!!!! It is hands down the best seafood up this way read more

Service was great , nice ambiance, food, well not terrible , first of all started with a dozen raw Oysters , probably the smallest I've ever seen I think one was a decent size , ordered the seafood sampler , fried fish wasn't very good too fishy it's not grouper or cod for sure , shrimp typical frozen breaded shrimp something from china would be my guess , the crab cake not very crabby , more like stuffing with a hint of canned crab , for $28 bucks I could've had a party at a captain D's they've got better fish ,shrimp , and crab cake , how ever the fries were better here . Hush puppies exactly the same . Had one beer one margarita a piece of blueberry cheesecake . $85 plus $20 tip . Do yourself a favor and go eat at Captain D's then come have an over priced drink here . read more

Literally one of the best restaurants I've ever ate at. The staff and the food is amazing. I drive an hour and a half to go there to eat. Absolutely worth the drive! Highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Absolutely horrible. Hostess could not seat people, lost. People walking out and off. Garbage never coming back again. You can't run a buissness that way. read more