A W Shucks Raw Bar & Grill

Not much of a location but the food is great and the place has a great beer selection. Oyster, the poe boy sandwich was big enough for two and the crab soup has a lot of crab.

Heard rated among the best seafood restaurant near downtown Norfolk. Only 1.6 miles from Norfolk Waterside Marriott (visiting the area for a couple weeks). Went here with cousin and nephew on a Saturday after 9:30pm. Waiting time was only 15 – 20 min but we decided to sit at the bar (kids allowed to sit too). Delicious and unique dishes. Fantastic customer service! Will visit again!

Walked in with 2 other guests… Stood at the front waiting for a hostess for over 5 minutes. Multiple staff members walked by us multiple times and never said a word or even acknowledged us. Finally a host came up to us and said «is there something I can do for you guys»… And I said «uhhh… Yes we came to get a table for 3 but never mind» and we turned around and left. I GUESS ASKING FOR A TABLE FOR 3 WAS ASKING TOO MUCH??? Their employees have issues. Bunch of rude people who obviously don’t care to have customers coming thru the door.

I am a seafood aficionado so needless to say I know my seafood. .this place does not disappoint. .the raw oysters were chilled, fresh and delicious .the crab cake was hands down one of the best I have ever had… the soup was amazing, and the the Corvina was fresh and appetizing. My only complaint are the steamed mussels… there were no mussels on the shells but the sauce was unique and good. I will definitely return.

Came here w my boyfriend after work around 9 to watch the play offs. The place was empty but that was a plus for me. We sat at the bar. The ambiance is cook and different. Kind of dark but unique. The bartender was a really nice spunky but sweet young lady. I ordered the fried oysters w Mac and hush puppies. My bf got the Atlanta jambalaya. I loved my dish! They gave u three different dipping sauces, two for the oysters one for the puppies. The hush puppies we huge and soft the dipping sauce for them was some sort of sweet butter SO GOOD. I wish the oysters were fried a little crispier but they were delicious as well. They gave a cocktail sauce and a spicy white sauce (tarder maybe? I’ve never had it until today) they both complimented he oysters very well. The Mac was surprisingly really good. I love penne noodles. My boyfriends dish was ridiculously spicy. He’s Jamaican and even for him it was almost too much but he really enjoyed the dish none the less, though he stated that he liked mine better. The place is pricy. Our meal came up to $ 44 and some odd change but it was well worth it. I definitely want to go back!

Came for lunch. Heard it was good. Place was half empty. Told the server I only had half an hour for lunch; ordered soup and salad and fried green tomatoes app. He asked if I wanted it all at once and I said no, don’t have time, please bring soup and salad as soon as convenient.
Sat for half an hour without hearing from anybody, despite making increasingly sour faces and looking at my watch. Finally I called him over and said I need an eta cause my lunch break is just about over. 10 minutes later it all arrived at once. Damn. I had them bag the soup cause it was cold anyway so I’d need a microwave to make it edible and I certainly didn’t have time to eat it all at once 40 minutes after I ordered SOUP and SALAD. I gather they just didn’t put my order in which is bad, but not owning it is worse (the nice waiter did apologize for the extremely long wait but really they should have taken that lukewarm crappy soup off the bill if they wanted to create a potential customer instead of lose one). I won’t be back.
Salad — good but way too late so – C
Soup — cold and late — F
Fried Green tomatoes — great but late so – B
Overall grade — D+

This isn’t my favorite brunch spot, but for lunch or dinner I’m there. Especially, on Mondays all you can eat crab legs (until they run out) and hush puppies. They start at 5 PM and I usually eat a ton of crab. Come early if you can, it fills up quickly.

Forgot about this place being I live in Virginia Beach however I took my wife and daughter for a visit. The appetizers were so good that we had to get the crab cake dinner. Crab cakes to my wife is her complete hype! We had high expectation but always skeptical. When they came out, right away we were excited as the portions were fantastic! Then my first taste had me spinning my eyes. She then tasted and threw the towel in on our old spots. Exceeded our expectations and then raised it 10 fold. The best crab cakes I have tasted. I am sure there are plenty places but to this moment, HANDS DOWN the best. Norfolk is just completely different and I won’t be staying away anymore. We are coming back multiple times to try all the favorites.

The raw oysters were fresh and tasty. The beer selection available on tap was on point. The service was great! Hush puppies were so good. Very happy overall with this dining experience.

— Short Synopsis —
A nice restaurant with a large variety of decent food choices with an emphasis on seafood. Service was a bit slow, but I enjoyed my Oyster Po Boy.
— Detailed Summary —
Definitely a bar and pub like vibe to the place. I liked the brick wall look on some of their walls.
The menu has lots of items to choose from, so there is bound to be something you like.
The service was okay, but slow. They sent my order to the wrong table, so the food took a while to come out. They were busy but that shouldn’t be an excuse for taking my main course almost an hour to arrive after my order. Especially since my oyster po boy and hush puppies are just fried items. My appetizer (Oysters Romano) came out in a timely fashion after about 10 minutes from my order.
The Oysters Romano was tasty, but the filling overpowered the oyster. All I could taste was the filling. It reminded of an artichoke/​spinach type dip. I wish the oysters were more prominent. I think I will stick with raw oysters over this dish. I’ll just order a cheaper artichoke or spinach dip if I want something like this dish’s taste.
The oyster po boy was good! I liked the soft, warm, doughy interior to the bread while still maintaining a nice crunch on the outside. Another aspect I liked was the sauce! It had a slight spicy kick to it which complemented the tasty slaw. Oysters are always tasty fried and they weren’t overly greasy. The other ingredients like the lettuce, tomato, and slaw added texture and flavor contrast to provide the nice finishing touches to the po boy.
The hush puppies were okay. They might have been fried a bit too long as the interior was starting to get dry, but I did enjoy the crispy crunch. The honey butter looked a bit strange being able to see the clear strands, but tasted like sweet butter and went decently well on the hush puppies.

I’ll start out by saying I’ll definitely be back.
We started off with a half dozen oysters — fresh and tasty. My husband’s entrée was fried catfish & chips which he thoroughly enjoyed. I had the seared ahi and a cup of the soup of the day. Both were excellent.
I especially loved the soup — a generous portion of creamy mushroom & crab goodness.
Our server was pleasant & helpful. Overall, a great experience!

My department hit this place up for lunch and made reservations. They told us the reservation was fine, but no one could be seated until the whole party was there. This was ok since we thought it might be busy, until we all got there and saw there was a ton of seating available. The building I really hard to locate, with a small sign, unless you’ve been there before.
I really liked my salad, they did a good job on the tuna and the olives/​string beans was a great combination. The rest of my party said theirs was ‘ok’ and ‘fine’ with only one saying that theirs was pretty good. Service was mostly fine, took a while for them to get to taking our order. Restaurant environment isn’t too bad if you like lots of wood and flair. I noticed quite a few police eating here.

Although AW Chucks had become my favorite Norfolk restaurant on previous trips from San Diego, tonight they changed my mind. We arrived with 3 adults and two children. The hostess ask if we had a reservation, which we didn’t. Although the restaurant was at best 30% occupied we were told that the only place they would accommodate us was in the plastic enclosed patio. Mind you, it’s 30* now and getting colder. I understand that reservations had been made by others for the two large tables, however, it would have taken only a few moments to put two smaller tables together. I’m surprised that they were unwilling to accommodate us when the restaurant was so empty. The lazy hostess would rather see us walk out rather than putting out a little effort.
Any ideas on a replacement?

Lots of food options, good for brunch and good for breakfast.
They are accommodating to special dietary requests.
Service is a little slow.
I ordered a plain grilled chicken which was surprisingly delicious and moist.
The grits are especially good!
WiFi exists but is very slow. Password is crablegs.
Oysters were good.

Compared to a lot of other seafood options in town, this place isn’t bad. The problem is that it’s not nearly as good as it could be. I’ve been here for several meals and as much as I love seafood, this is a place that is easy for me to skip.
The service is hit or miss. On top of that, the wait list isn’t always dealt with fairly — I’ve seen groups skip the line on more than one occasion.
I definitely do not recommend brunch here. The pricing is strange — shrimp and grits cost as much as steak and grits, for instance, when the shrimp and grits is less than half the size of the steak itself — and heavy on the grits. The grits I had were very bland and tasted closer to a plain instant packet than grits cooked properly over a stove. They were difficult to get through and our server was nearly invisible so I could not ask for butter or anything else to help make them more palatable. I left feeling ripped off in both price and service.
Dinner is also rather hit or miss. If you order the oysters, or other steamed/​fried seafood, you’ll probably be okay. Their fries are terrible, though — similar to the weird fries Burger King started serving about 5 years back. I’ve tried various specials and they’ve all tasted a bit «off» — one in particular would have been delicious but all the components tasted like they had been prepared separately. My crab and tomato topped flounder tasted like bland flounder that was topped with crab and a garlicky tomato sauce. No flavor from the sauce was present in either the crab or the flounder. Other dishes I’ve tried have suffered similar problems — overcooked shrimp, no melding of flavors, etc., but the crab-​topped flounder was the worst.
I’d give it another go if friends nagged me to, but otherwise I’d rather save my time and money for more of a «sure bet» for quality seafood and service.

Food: ⁵⁄₅ — The food and drinks here are probably the best within the Norfolk and Ghent area. Everything is fresh and simple. Monday nights at Crab Legs nights and Wednesday nights are Prime Rib nights. I definitely recommend the oyster shooters. They are some of the best in town.
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅. It can get a little bit dark in here, but it also makes it more intimate. The bar stools are positioned a bit funny, but there are plenty of room at the tables for family outings.
⁵⁄₅: I am not going to lie to you — it’s a bit on the expensive side, but don’t let that stop you. They serve some of the best food in town and the staff is courteous, professional and competent — unlike Cogan’s North, which I am still bitter about.
As always, make sure to tip your servers and bartenders.

Selected based on Unilocal reviews. While this did not hit it out of the park for me, it was a nice Sunday lunch overall, with the strength being the outstanding service from the waitress assigned our table,
The food was ok. I had the shrimp and grits with two eggs over easy. The eggs were cooked to the correct consistency however, you could see they were swimming in butter. The shrimps topped a small cup of grits. The shrimps were spicy and not over cooked.
Presentation was off the mark. The small portions were plopped onto an large plate, emphasizing how undersized the portions were.
My dining partner selected the breakfast sirloin and eggs with a side of grits. For the price being equal to mine, I believe he came out with the better deal. He stated the steak was correctly prepared, tender, and juice. From what I saw it was a better selection than mine.
Still worth another go in the future.
#757bucketlist

This restaurant is a gem and right of the heart of Ghent. I can tell that this building had been here for ages but I’m amazed how the restored the old bricks added a twist of contemporary interior. I love the rustic woody design; thought its creatively well done. I also like the different setting and my favourite one is the patio its cool and cozy.
Its my first time to dine in here and I was thrilled with what’s in the menu. I was excited because I’ve been cravings seafood for weeks. I was in the area getting my hair done and I feel like my appetite for seafood. Yes, I found this place through Unilocal friends and the reviews are pretty much positive. I didn’t realize that this place was also in my bookmark which give more encouragement to try them.
For today’s visit, I started with calamari and followed with A. W seafood platter for main course. I’m glad that I came here for lunch because it was an absolute blast. I love the seafood component thought everything was fresh and perfectly cooked. The calamari was succulent; its well seasoned, crisp, and mouthwatering. The pesto aoli alone was dynamite. As for main course platter, the shrimp, scallops, oysters and flounder was extremely tasty and cooked to perfection. The best way to ordered them is a broiled which I believe maintains that authentic taste of the seafood. The sides on the other hand was a little disappointing, the garlic beans were over cooked and hush puppies was under cooked. I’m just pleased that the main component of the dish was exactly the way I expected — fresh and delish.
This review is only for the food and restaurant. I wasn’t in love with customer service. It was average, I don’t know if it was early but the staff was just not enthusiastic. I must say it was forgettable. However, I would love come back and try something new.

Hello Shucky, my old friend! I’ve come to dine with you again!
Indeed, this restaurant is an old friend of mine. I started coming here when they first opened. As a result, I eventually became one of their most regular customers for a period of several years.
That is, until a series of life detours led me away from the local dining scene for nearly five years. It was only two years ago when I finally got back in the game. Since then, I can’t believe it took me this long to return to this restaurant.
I have eaten here twice during the past two weeks. I was in for a very pleasant surprise upon my first return visit, when I discovered that one of their bartenders who served me so well last decade still works here. It was great to see her again. Sharon still makes a mean martini.
During my first return visit, I ordered the following fresh catch special, as described on their chalkboard:
PAN ROASTED RED FISH WITH POTATO COINS & BACON WRAPPED ASPARAGUS
The fish was fresh, succulent, and delicious. It came with much of its skin intact, which imparted an additional depth of flavor that was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated. The bacon wrapped asparagus was very flavorful. My lone reservation about this dish is that I found the potato coins to be a bit on the oily side. Otherwise, everthing else was excellent.
So far I am looking at a very solid four star rating.
Last night I returned for my second visit. This time I decided to order the following dish directly from their main menu:
ATLANTIC JAMBALAYA: «Shrimp and Cajun Sausage in a savory Creole sauce, surrounded with rice pilaf topped with a blackened fish filet.»
This was, without a doubt, the best Jambalaya I have ever tasted and enjoyed anywhere, bar none.
The shrimp were large, plump, and delicious. The Cajun sausage was tender and flavorful. The Creole sauce was knockout delicious and combined very nicely with the rice pilaf. It was seasoned superbly with a nice spicy and peppery kick. I did not need to add any of the extra seasonings from the carton in front of me.
Finally, my Jambalaya was topped off with a hugh blackened fish filet, one which nearly covered the entire diameter of my plate. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better filet of blackened catfish in my life. It was fresh, delicious, and literally melted in my mouth. The blackened coating was very tasty and well executed.
My server and bartender last night was John, who is their chief oyster shucker. He is a master multitasker who is able to shuck oysters, take customer orders, and prepare cocktails all at the same time. Watching him at work was a marvel in itself. The martinis he made for me last night were excellent.
I am unable to vouch for their oysters, due to the simple fact that I am allergic to them. Instead, the high praises I have heard about their oysters from many other diners should speak for themselves.
This is a very solid seafood restaurant, one which has stood the test of time. They pride themselves on their consistently fresh and honest seafood. Judging from their large volume of customers last night, their business continues to be very successful.
Thanks for welcoming me back, old friend.

I am giving this restaurant five stars mostly because of their oyster selection. Their oysters are so fresh. It is clear they use the freshest oysters. They also provide 2 different styles of cocktail sauces. One of the cocktail sauce is sweet and tart traditional cocktail sauce. The other cocktail sauce is a vinegar based sauce.
I really recommend all their oysters. But, if you can’t decide on what type of oyster to order, then get the sampler dozen oyster plate. They will give you a random plate of oysters. I love the New York oysters because it’s a lot more meaty than the Virginia oysters.
As far as their food goes, it is a good place to eat seafood. So, try to order the seafood dishes. As far as side dishes go, order their hush puppies. They are so unique because of the honey butter they serve it with.