South Side Shrimp

Very good shrimp — nice staff — not busy. I was wary based on the other reviews, but I took a chance and glad I did.

I ordered shrimp. They were fried too hard in my opinion and took a long time too come out.

Seems like a nice spot for something quick. The potato pancakes were devilishly delicious, but extremely greasy. I have a cast iron stomach, so no worries. The fish that I ordered wasn’t bad at all.
The service was a bit «out in space.» No sooner would I rattle of one item would the cashier/​cook ring up the order with finality instead of waiting until I was was done or confirming if I was done. The food made up for the service, though.

Restaurant was filthy, and for that reason I cannot give it more than one star. There was mold (MOLD!) on the inside of the ice dispenser on their soda fountain. I can only imagine what the lines look like. There were fruit flies buzzing around the sweet tea dispenser, and it looked like they had taken up residence in the excess/​overflow basin.
The food was… mediocre. If you do eat here, stick to the shrimp and only the shrimp. The catfish was absolutely terrible and the bay scallops were as rubbery as they can get. The french fries are awful and exist only to give the fried seafood something to sit on.
If you must eat here, 1) Only get the shrimp, and get it to-​go. 2) do not, under any circumstances, get a fountain drink. Stick with the canned beverages they offer, at least you know they are safe.
Someone from the health department really needs to pay them a visit.

This place was not bad it was just lacking something… I don’t know what was missing. The mild sauce was surprisingly good. I ordered the Chicago style shrimp, it was a lot of batter and the shrimp wasn’t fresh I have live in New Orleans for years so I have high seafood standards, the fries were good and fresh overall I would probably revisit this place on a drunk night if I’m starving.

I went to south side shrimp on sunday because I had a groupon I have driven pass this place many times and never noticed it but to my surprise I wasn’t expecting the place to look like it did considering the fact that it’s in hyde park. But honestly the shrimp wasn’t that good I had the Chicago style and the hot wings weren’t done all the way. So that was my first and last time going there

Everything was so fresh! Tried the catfish nuggets and shrimp meals. I was surprised at how large the shrimp were. The fries were okay but I liked that it came with fries and coleslaw or macaroni salad. Overall it’s pretty inexpensive for quality food. When we went in, no one was there so we thought they were closed but the employees were just in the back. Customer service was excellent and the food came out really quickly. Can’t wait to come back!

The homemade cocktail sauce is theeeee best! The SHRIMP was great & the macaroni salad Yummm!

The perch fillets, fried oysters, jumbo shrimp, with chicago seasoning and mozzarella sticks were so delicious and fresh! The place is clean and the staff was friendly

Ok so i haven’t tried this place out, this review is just from the appearance.
I was so excited because i found this when I had to park my car nearby one day. So my plan was to stop by for dinner on my way back. Well I come back around dinner time and their was not a soul in the restaurant. The lights were on the door was open but nobody, no customers no employees nothing! I figured if they didn’t have any customers and its a heavy foot traffic area, at dinner time, maybe I should pass. And I did, sorry South Side Shrimp :(

I hope my review helps someone try this hidden treasure. I first came to this restaurant on a groupon and I didn’t expect anything great but, I soon found my new favorite shrimp place. The place it self was clean and the décor had the fisher theme to it. The staff were friendly and helpful, and everything we ordered was very tasty. I don’t usually commit but, since we drove over an hour to get here I thought I should.

I’m writing this review not to comment on the food, which is basically just decent fried stuff, but to comment on the primary marketing technique of South Side Shrimp.
Basically what they do is barrage the neighborhood with what must be thousands of their menus, putting them on every car for blocks, leaving them here, there, and everywhere. The result is mass amounts of litter, far more than by any other business. As someone who lives on the same block, I can tell you this is the last thing you want a business to do where you live.

I just need to reiterate the excellence of this place. Last night, we had the most pleasant delivery experiences of all of our many many times ordering delivery. First of all, the food arrived no later than a half hour after we placed the order. I will not expect this every time, because I have worked in restaurants and I know that an hour is a realistic amount of time to wait for a delivery. It was still awesome, though. The driver called us when he was still a couple minutes away, because he noticed that we were in a high rise and had stated while placing the order that we would come downstairs (we unfortunately don’t have a way to buzz people in the way the other residents of the building do, but I’m sure he would’ve come up in the elevator if we had requested). «Hey, I’m a couple minutes away if you want to start heading downstairs,» was a perfectly friendly and considerate way for a delivery driver to keep either of us from wasting each others’ time. Additionally, the driver thanked my boyfriend for the order when he came down for it, referred to him BY NAME (even though it was my name, I have a boy’s name and it’s the thought that counts), thanked him profusely for the cash tip he gave and made sure to ask him to «call again» before he left. Last but not least, the food was straight up HOT, like right out of the fryer hot. Of course it’s reasonable to expect food you pay for to be hot when you receive it, but I always give some wiggle room when regarding 1) delivery and 2) fried foods. Everyone who knows anything about fried foods knows that they get soggy almost immediately upon being placed in a takeout container. Not the case here. Piping hot shrimp coated in their delicious homemade Chicago style breading and dipped in their homemade cocktail sauce really made our night. Thanks again, South Side Shrimp — we love you guys! I said it once and I’ll say it again: SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS IN HYDE PARK. Your neighborhood will thank you!

This is my fourth visit to South Side Shimp; however, I haven’t been in many months. My first impression was decent fried shrimp (especially the garlic style Chicago). I stopped by today to see how things were going, after recently seeing them at the Celebrate Hyde Park Fest. Unfortunately, things have gone downhill. I almost cancelled my order after stopping in the bathroom and discovering complete filth. The toilet, sinks and floors don’t appear to have been cleaned for weeks. In fact, a fine layer of grimy dust had settled over the multiple stains all over the toilet and sinks. An insect trap in the corner was loaded with dozens of bugs of all sorts.
Fried shrimp is pretty hard to get food poisoning from, I told myself as I waited for my order. And all of the fried grease did smell good. Like the bathroom, the white lab jacket of the cashier looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks — grimy is the first word that comes to mind.
So yes, this will be my last visit to South Side Shrimp — 5 times more breading than shrimp. I like a nice crispy breading, but some bites left me wondering if I would ever get to the shrimp in the center.
I hope this place cleans up its act… unfortunate to see such a new establishment looking so drab.

As a college student, this is my go-​to place for food whenever I am too lazy to cook. I generally do take-​out, but the dining area (though small) is well-​maintained, and a great spot for a quick and inexpensive dinner. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes for my buffalo hot wings (which are delicious, by the way), and the staff has always been kind and professional. Prices are pretty reasonable as well, and they’re open pretty late.
All in all, a nice and welcome addition to the Hyde Park community.

I just finished my ¼lb shrimp meal. Delivery was prompt and courteous, food arrived hot. I tried three sauces: hot and mild BBQ and their homemade cocktail sauce. The cocktail sauce and mild BBQ sauce were serviceable, but I really enjoyed the hot BBQ sauce. I suspect that it is just their mild mixed with Louisiana hot sauce, but the combination yields a delightfully complex flavor profile. It was even vaguely reminiscent of the tangy, sweet heat of Korean gochujjang (red pepper paste). It grew on me as I kept eating.
The shrimp itself was fine– crunchy, golden, and plump. I got the Chicago breading but I’m not sure what makes it Chicago-​y. They weren’t exactly maliciously over-​breaded, as other reviews indicate, but you weren’t expecting delicately battered tempura either, were you?
Cole slaw was tasty. I would eat here or order again, though next time I may skip the fries. They were nice to munch on but entirely forgettable crinkle cut, and I’d rather save up my deep-​fried calories for more shrimp.

Half cooked chicken tenders? No thanks. Good thing that I habitually slice my chicken to inspect. I tried to give this place a chance, but this is it.
People, make sure that your food is fully cooked, or you will end up in the emergency room or glued to the toilet.

its pretty much a greasy spoon with deep friend everything. I ordered delievery not knowing what to expect after reading the menu which they threw about 5 on my front porch.
I ordered the shrimp, hush puppies, and catfish nuggets. the shrimp was OK unseasoned but good quality. the batter on everything. wasnt to my liking and everything seamed unseasoned now that I this k about it. anyway just another mediocre restaurant to add to the long list of bad restaurants in hyde park with low standards.

It is unclear what the other two reviewers are whining about:
Says one reviewer, «The shrimp was pretty boring… I have been more excited by junk mail for the local mattress store.» What is anyone supposed to do with this comparison?
Says another reviewer, «I won’t be patronizing this place… besides, I don’t need any fried food.» What? You don’t need fried food? Then you shouldn’t have eaten at South Side Shrimp. And you certainly should not have written a review.
i think these reviews might have been written by the owners of competing businesses. What’s funny is, over the course of the half hour while we were there, three or four couples/​families stopped to look at the menu. So the menu had to have been appealing. These people were probably dissuaded by these nonsense reviews.
Let me describe our experience. For lunch we had the Jumbo Shrimp, a side order of mushrooms, and a side order of onion rings. We probably waited for only 7 minutes. The breading on each item was not excessive. It was just fine for me. My partner, who is a real foodie, only thought that there was a bit much breading. But not a lot – certainly not «crap,» as one reviewer says. The shrimp tasted fresh – and yes, they were jumbo. It took me three or four bites to eat one; and I take big bites! The fried mushrooms were tasty – or as tasty as fried mushrooms can get. (I would suggest the fried okra instead.) The onion rings were just right too. Nothing weird there. We had a good experience and would probably go back.
Clearly, if you want delicious seafood, go to Calumet Fisheries. But if you’re in this area of Hyde Park, you should definitely dine here.

This review is for the Hyde Park location at 53^rd and Hyde Park Blvd.
We were excited to try this new addition to our neighborhood and it was a huge disappointment. We ordered the Chicago style Shrimp, hush puppies, chicken wings and fried zucchini.
The shrimp was pretty boring… I have been more excited by junk mail for the local mattress store. The quality of the shrimp seemed good but the breading was crap. It’s like covering up a nice historical building with ugly 70’s siding.
The chicken wings were so bad that its not worth wasting any more time describing the badness of it.
The hush puppies were all right and its the reason this place gets a 2 star. Fried zucchini was also acceptable.
Service was ok but you can tell they were brand new and figuring things out so I will not dock them there.
All in all, I have to say I was slightly depressed the rest of the day after eating here.
Here are the reasons you should eat here:
–you work at this establishment and dont want to be fired for eating somewhere else
–you live in Del Prado and are too lazy to walk 3 blocks to a better place
–you want to taste the worst chicken wings and live to tell the tale
–you want to check out the terrible job the interior designer did and feel guilty just going to a restaurant to check out the ugly décor so you stay and eat to be a nice Midwestner.