Basin Seafood & Spirits

My boyfriend is from German and has never experienced the city of New Orleans. My good friend gave us an amazing tour and ended our evening at Basin and we are glad to have found this place. We ordered two dozen platters of the charbroiled oysters because we couldn’t get enough! The mushroom grits were pretty amazing also… We’ll definitely be back!

This is our 4^th night in New Orleans and our second night at Basin. Everything about this restaurant is worth the 1.5 mile walk to it. The charbroiled oysters are perfection, the boudin balls are the best of the trip so far. The oyster Caesar has the most delicious fried anchovies on top, with perfectly fried oysters as well. We have one more night in town and we might come back.

Everything we had, from the grilled whole fish to the Royal Red Shrimp to the Chargrilled Oysters to the Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade was complete perfection. The Royal Reds tasted like fresh lobster. Amazing. The drinks were fabulous. Try the Cucumber Firecracker – made with fresh basil, cucumbers, jalapeños, vodka, pineapple juice and soda. Incredible service and food!

Hubby and I were craving oysters so I logged on to Unilocal in search of a HH that served oysters and sure enough, Basin shows up and thankfully on Mondays they do 50 cent raw oysters. perfect! The weather was absolutely beautiful outside so we had planned on sitting outdoors. As soon as entering we knew we had made a good choice because the place was packed! It was bustling inside but yall know I always say that nothing speaks more highly of a restaurant than a packed house! The hostess didn’t really greet us but instead asked upfront if we had a reservation. We didn’t – but there was one open table outside and a few parties finishing up inside so she was able to quickly seat us outdoors.
Once outside, it took about 10 – 12 minutes for our server to come greet us. When she did finally come, we went ahead and placed our drink orders (I had the Watermelon Margarita and you can really taste the watermelon!) along with two dozen raw oysters. The drinks came followed by one dozen and a few minutes later, the second dozen came. Our server had mentioned that the dozens wouldn’t come out at the same time and that was totally fine. Yall, if I were to rate the oysters alone, I would give them a 5! They are BIG and absolutely no sand! They are served with plenty of crackers, horseradish, cocktail sauce, and a minuet (?) sauce which is red wine (?), shallots, and a tad it of sugar.
At some point during the meal, our server stopped by to ask if my husband wanted another beer. He said yes but unfortunately, we never got it. As we were finishing up the oysters, we decided to try the Cajun Fries but our server had other plans for us! She ended up bringing us the check and quickly realized she had forgotten our beer – at this point, I didn’t want to bother ordering the fries. She apologized and said there had been many «epic fails» today.
Overall, oysters are good but I wouldn’t come here expecting much else. Also, don’t come here if you are on a time crunch!

This is the 3^rd time I am visiting NOLA since January 2016 and have, literally, eaten my way silly each time. Each time was a delectable experience, but this was an unfortunate exception.
Today, based on the good reviews on Unilocal, my mom and I decided to quench our seafood craving at this establishment.
Food: 1.5 stars
We shared the Fried Seafood Platter and the Charbroiled Oysters and both dishes left more than something to be desired.
The oysters were caked with parmesan cheese that overpowered the oysters. We ended up scraping the thick layer of cheese off of each oyster.
The Fried Seafood Platter was simply, not good. The batter was not tasty and there was too much of it, so we peeled it off of the catfish and shrimp. The majority of this «seafood» platter was a heap of french fries, which were mediocre at best. We ate what we did simply because we were hungry. Our server told us that this platter would surely be enough for two people and at $ 28 dollars, we were hoping it would be. But, this was not the case.
After the super cheesy oysters and french fry platter with a side of fried seafood, we were still hungry. As a side note, neither my mom nor I are very big eaters.
Service: 1 star
When we expressed our disappointment to our waitress, she seemed disinterested and did not offer even a coffee or desert on the house as a way of acknowledgement. So, we left. But, it didn’t sit well with us and we actually went back an hour later to speak with the manager. The manager was just as indifferent as our waitress and his response to our complaints were: «that is the style in this restaurant. I am sorry.»
Wow. I am not used to this kind of customer service in either Nashville, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, or Norfolk, VA. We will not be coming here again, and I do not recommend it to anyone. I will make sure to tell all my friends that live here as well as those visiting not to waste there money or calories on this place.

We we came here right after happy hour and it was packed. Luckily there were some empty bar seats. Needless to say, that meant that it was super backed up in the kitchen.
I ordered the octopus ceviche. It was extra tasty. I haven’t had ceviche in a few years, so it was a nice surprise to me olé taste buds. A bit on the spicy side.
She ordered the grilled yellow fin tunas as delicious. The portion was nice, and was prepared Mediterranean style.
It took about fifteen to twenty minutes for our order to come in. Our bartender/​waitress was extra nice to us. She didn’t bother us too much, but let us know that our food was coming. Luckily we were entertained by the world diving championship on the tele’ #ChinaWonFirst

Wonderful find!
This charming restaurant has a brilliant and varied menu for lovers of seafood. The crawfish beignets were savory and the perfect texture, and the octopus ceviche was refreshing and perfect for summer. The salads are light but incredibly flavorful, and the fried catfish didn’t feel like a cheap carnival eat, but was decadent and delightful.
The cocktail menu is extensive, and very difficult to narrow down.
Try to make it for their $ 4 happy hour which features amazing specialties.
Can’t wait to being friends from out of town to wow them with this menu– specifically the chargrilled oysters.

Staff was so patient with our party of thirty and our craziness. The chef contacted me personally and made a menu for us and they even allowed us to bring in our own cake.
Really a wonderful experience and I highly recommend you try this place!

Went here for Sunday brunch with a friend; I had never heard of Basin before, but l was very happy that we went!
Firstly — if you go for brunch, get the bottomless mimosas. It’s $ 14 and they are quite generous with the champagne. Great way to start off the meal.
For the food itself, we split an appetizer of the octopus ceviche, which was excellent. The octopus was tender and paired extremely well with the other ingredients (orange, lime, and jicama slaw in particular stood out).
For my entrée, I got the tuna steak sandwich. This. Was. Delicious. The tuna was a perfect medium rare and had an amazingly seared crust. The ginger aioli sauce on the sandwich added a nice hint of sweetness to complement the meaty tuna, but nothing overwhelming.
The service was a little on the slow side (it took about 20 minutes to get my sandwich after ordering it), but they were attentive and friendly, and were flexible in accommodating us when we asked mid-​way through our meal to be seated outside when a table opened up.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅ — good atmosphere and quality food. I’d like to come back again and try their dinner menu and some more of their seafood dishes, but at least for brunch I had a pleasant experience at Basin!

Came here last night with my sister. Basin Seafood and Spirits is on Magazine Street, but it is conveniently located to a lot of shops and other restaurants. The place was almost full, but we made reservations.
We started by sharing a bowl on seafood gumbo. YUM! My sister has been living in New Orleans for a while and she said it was one the best gumbos she’s had. There was a good amount of seafood in the gumbo, which was nice. However, I though it was a little on the salty side.
I ordered the catfish dish with grits and collard greens. The catfish was fried perfectly and it was a good size. The grits were cheesy, but not that creamy, which I liked. The collard greens were a perfect balance for the dish. It made me feel a little better about myself. I didn’t really enjoy the bacon pieces in the collard greens because it was extremely fatty.
My sister ordered the pork hash with potatoes. It was a good dish, but it felt more like a brunch dish rather than dinner.
The service was pretty good. We are sad that we missed the happy hour, but maybe next time!

I had a meeting to go to and decided to go to Basin’s Happy Hour since I was early. I have been to Basin Seafood before and I have enjoyed the experience. I have to say my waiter was polite but service was lacking. The crop caprese taste absolutely disgusting. My friend and I had the drink and it was a waste of money. I did enjoy the tomato. The wine served during happy hour is absolutely fantastic. I also enjoyed the fish tacos and would highly recommend those to anyone.

Wow, this place rocks and more people need to know about it! Happy hour is 4 – 7, and the appetizers on the happy hour menu are only $ 4!!!
We started off with some appetizers for $ 4 each. The crawfish and crab beignets were delicious and the sauce was a perfect touch. Cajun fries were seasoned well. Octopus ceviche was good but not memorable. The fish tacos were incredible and tastes so fresh.
After, we got some regular priced small plates. The crawfish mac and cheese is a MUST. The mushroom and grits was pretty good too. The charbroiled oysters are a great choice too.
ALLLLL of that food was only $ 50, and needless to say, we all had to unbutton our jeans afterwards. You really get your bang for your buck here.
The vibe of this place is really cool and casual, and this a great different option from the usual places in the area like Rum House and Salu.

This is a seafood restaurant that occupies the same building as was used by a pizzeria (which was a personal favorite that I miss) previously (Rocky’s, was it? It’s been a few years).
Food: The name of the establishment gives away what is primarily sold here – seafood. I’ve been a few times, and thought the quality was on the upper end of average (yes, I’m a little picky about seafood, growing up in the area and spoiled by excellent home cooking of fresh catches by friends and family). 4 stars
Service: The employees are friendly enough, but the wait times from seating to plate delivery have always been a bit long, considering the small size of the establishment and never noticing it being full (even as few as 3 tables seems to put the staff in the weeds). I recall when the business first opened and being turned away because a private party was being held there. I get it, and it’s too late to do anything about now, but they should not have presented themselves as open for business to the general public when they really weren’t. 2 stars
Facilities: Quite an upgrade to the interior from the previous restaurant here, with lots of nostalgic New Orleans artifacts inside. The bathrooms were clean. There are a few tables outside as well, though not covered. I don’t suggest sitting outside on a very sunny afternoon, as the sun will bear down on you. I like the idea of outside seating, but these seatings are abut of the Magazine sidewalk, which is narrow here and quite busy. 3 stars
Bonus: This is where the restaurant shines – raw oysters on the halfshell for a low price during happy hour (I don’t recall the details – call to confirm), as well as specialty drinks and appetizers, if I remember correctly.
Overall: I find the establishment to be a bit ambitious for a local like myself, with the reservations I noted above. I suspect the goal of the establishment is more to hook tourists in than locals, though. I would go back again for happy hour. The seafood dishes are fresh and properly cooked. It would be worth your while to eat here if you’re touristing Magazine Street and are looking for a bite that is a bit closer to local fare than many of the other establishments in the area. 3 stars

I’ve noticed a lot of restaurants in new orleans have really high ratings, even when they shouldn’t. Maybe people are just too nice in the south to say anything mean?
On that note, I can say the food was definitely amazing here! I would consider myself a foodie, have eaten at restaurants all across the country, and this place did not disappoint!
For drinks, we started with a glass of house white and the daily cocktail. I don’t remember the name of the cocktail, but it consisted of muddled cherry tomatoes, basil, watermelon juice and vodka. Sounds like a strange combination, but it actually worked out really nice and was very refreshing. The house wine was pretty good too. Each for only $ 5 for happy hour.
Food wise, we ordered two dozen of the $ 0.50 happy hour oysters, which are there local P & J’s. Nicely shucked, good size, and well worth the money! Living in Seattle, the hh oysters here are usually tiny and at least $ 1 each. We can usually go through at least 2 – 3 dozen per person, but not in NOLA. The local oysters are huge and if you’ll want to save space for their other delicious food!
We also had the octopus ceviche ($ 4) which was okay. Serving size was equivalent to a cup of soup and had sliced octopus tentacles marinated with lime, onions, fresh oranges and some other herbs and spices. Served with a side of 4 tortilla chips. I could go with or without this dish, nothing spectacular.
One of my favorite favorite dishes i had the 5 days we were in the city was the crab (& shrimp or crawfish?) beignets ($ 4). They weren’t really beignets as much as fritters or deep fried balls of crabby goodness! Real crab meat with minimal filler; lightly battered and deep fried. 4 bite sized pieces per order served on a sauce that i don’t remember because the dish was so good! Probably could have gone through a few orders of the beignets alone, but had gotten full off the oysters already.
I’ll definitely check out basin again if we make it back to the city. With 50 cent oysters, $ 4 appetizers and $ 5 drinks, it’s totally worth the trip! Looking over their regular dinner menu, dishes were decently priced and a few sounded really good! Service was good too, we were promptly seated upon arriving. The outdoor seating was pretty much full, and endure had a few tables and at the bar already. Our server was attentive to our needs and checked on us often.

This is the second time I’ve been to Basin Seafood and Spirits, and the second time I’ve come away happy. I can’t stress enough the joy I have over their 50c raw oysters on Mondays. And then $ 4 Louisiana craft beer. They also have their happy hour menu. The blue crab and crawfish beignets were insanity on a plate. They were dense and full of crab and crawfish (more crab than crawfish, but I’m not complaining). I also had the boudin balls this go round. They were solid. Not the best but pretty solid. On a previous trip, I had their fish tacos also on their happy hour menu. I wish I could have eaten more to get those again.
The atmosphere is hip and chill. Not a big restaurant but cozy. Stellar place for happy hour if on Magazine.

Decent seafood restaurant. We got the smoked snapper dip to start. It was too smokey for my taste. And my entrée of fried oyster Cesar salad wasn’t my favorite. But my boyfriend liked his dish and the atmosphere was pretty cool in there. That’s why I’m giving it 4 stars.

New Year’s Eve 2015 was just another night at Basin, and I love that.
We had a reservation, and were seated immediately. FYI there is a specialty cocktail list on a chalkboard above the open kitchen. Our waiter didn’t mention it, but we found it anyway.
I got the duck ragu and he got the yellowfin tuna. The duck was great and I wolfed it down, but the tuna was DIVINE. Buttery, perfectly cooked and served over a Mediterranean kind of salad. Yum, Yum, Yum.
We used a
coupon so with one cocktail and two entrees it was only about $ 40.

This is a really fun menu. I really appreciated all the many options with small plates, salads and the mains are mostly under $ 20. We showed up early and were offered the happy hour menu that includes 5 bites for $ 4 each. We ordered the cocktail of the day which was a blueberry vodka drink. Delicious.
I had the charbroiled oysters in parmesan and the fried catfish with grits, greens and a crawfish sauce. The oysters had too much parmesan on them. It’s all I could taste. The first couple went down well but then it became too much really. I ended up sharing them with my wife because I lost interest. She was just sitting there because her bisque came out cold and she sent it back.
The catfish dish was excellent. Perfectly fried. The grits were excellent and I really appreciated the restraint. I saw it come up on the line and the chef picked up the fish looking for the greens. That’s how few ended up on my plate. I wished there had been more. They aren’t expensive. I was wishing for more than 6 crawfish but appreciated the economy of the dish but they definitely could have afforded a few more greens. The dish is excellent and I recommend trying it.
We can walk here and will be back. Happy to have this as a neighborhood option and looking forward to our return.

Solid seafood spot, super cute interior with wicker chairs. Ordered the crab and shrimp beignets sooooooo delicious definitely recommend! Shrimp Mac and cheese also note worthy! Great prices they have happy hour from 3 – 7 on most nights. The server was super friendly I would check this place out !

My overall experience was pleasant at Basins. The service was very friendly and upbeat and accommodating and the food was delicious and full of flavor. The portions of the food wasn’t fulfilling for the price I paid but still Tasty.