Shells Seafood Restaurant

My husband and I came here for lunch yesterday and both had salads. He started off with the clam chowder which is says was amazing! He had the Cesar salmon salad and I had the tropical chicken salad but with grilled chicken. They were both super yummy.
But what I have to rave about the most was the customer service. We sat outside with our little puppy dog and they were so kind to us. It got a bit chilly with the wind, my husband asked if they could turn on the outside heaters and they came outside, joked around with me, did it so pleasantly and even went above and put down the curtains to stop the wind from coming in.
We will definitely come back here and recommend it to others!

We had just landed in FL this evening and were searching for a restaurant to catch dinner.
We wound up at Shells and I’m glad we did. Nothing fancy but the food was good, the atmosphere was pleasant, our waitress was really nice and the manager checked in with us.
I ordered the Fried Shrimp Platter and it was huge. The shrimp was tasty and really hit the spot. My wife ordered the Grilled Shrimp Skewers and they were also good.
I had a bite of the Blackened Grouper Sandwich also and it was delicious. I’m not big on «fishy» tasting seafood so when I bit into the blackened grouper I was hesitant, but the flavors were really on point and not too fishy at all.
Don’t forget to claim your FREE Margarita, it was yummy and FREE!

Had the tri colored pasta with shrimp, scallops, clams„ mussels in a garlic cream sauce. Food was cooked perfectly, seafood was fresh and service was on point. Slight warning free house Margarita was not for strawberry one I ordered but manager comped it anyways. Awesome customer service. Thanks I’ll be back soon.

Two words… Salmon Felix… I wanted to lick the plate. We also got the coconut shrimp, salted caramel cheesecake, and key lime pie. All were amazing. We were with our 4 year old and 1 year old and were very comfortable. We would come back here again for sure.

The clam chowder is recommended. My entrée was the Big Easy. It was ok but the tomato cream sauce was a tad salty for my liking. The key lime pie was very strong to bitter. Probably won’t be back. Maybe grab some clam chowder to go only.

I had the Salmon Felix and it was served very hot and a hearty portion. Service was good and friendly. Environment was a bit loud and echoey but nice enough. Prices were reasonable and happy hour beer prices very good. All in all a good little place for a dinner.

Good seafood at very reasonable prices. If you like spending your hard earned cash on fancy upscale atmosphere restaurants, go somewhere else. If you want the most bang from your bucks in a spotlessly clean family friendly seafood restaurant, Shell’s is for you. We both had the seafood platter (without any extras) and left stuffed with leftovers. The quality was very good. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a restaurant with fresher deep fryer grease. Odd point? Not to me! Best fries anywhere. Don’t forget a cocktail. The bar prices are also more than fair. Service? Imagine if you can, a very tasty, gut busting seafood dinner with a cocktail and service that the above mentioned fancy upscale restaurants can only hope to match all for only about $ 20. If you value your hard earned cash, Shell’s deserves your business.

Stopped by for lunch, sat outside with my dog (yes dogs are allowed on a patio yay!) food is tasty, I had a calamari appetizer and a seafood pasta. Jill waited on me and did a great job, was very friendly, attentive and personable, offered some water for my pup, brought a sweet chili Thai sauce to try with my appetizer-​those little things that matter. Manager Tom stopped by for a little conversation and was very nice too. I guess I found my new lunch spot. Thank you guys for a great experience!

Having the BEST clam chowder in ST Pete Beach!!! Friendly bartender Brittany, come and enjoy she’s amazing and will take good care of you!!!

Stopped in for a cocktail or 3. Sat outside on the patio near the patio heaters. Nice ambiance, friendly staff. The menu looks good, and the prices are reasonable.

They have the best fried shrimp I every had. They give you plenty. We will definitely be back!

Absolutely awful — for lunch at 12:30
Cheerful, prompt waitress.
Food took 45 min to get seared scallops (4 mind you) and shrimp on a skewer (premaid at a factory). This is not what I expected after seeing such flashy commercials on TV.
My lunch partner only got ½ of his order correct. I don’t know how they could have had such problems as their were only 6 people inside the entire tacky establishment.
The owner should be embarrassed.
Tourist & locals beware; go else where. Much nicer establishments serving amazing seafood (as it should be — your at the beach) are available close by. Do your research and walk away while you still have time.

I have been craving crab legs forever. Finally, we are at a place that serves them. I ordered a pound of snow crab legs (King crab was just too expensive!) They came with a side of potatoes and veggies.
After a short wait our meals arrived. I pulled and cracked that leg to get to the meat. I could see the crab was not fresh because the shell was not full of meat (Thanks Cooking Channel for teaching me this) But I took what was there, dunked it in the melted butter and quickly put it in my mouth ! Wha what??? The crab was so salty I could not eat it, and I like salt. Our waiter came by and asked if all was ok and I told him I could not eat this because it was too salty. He took my plate and asked if I would like something else, but the moment was lost. I didn’t want anything else. Before I knew it the Manager was at our table apologizing. She said the crab is salty because it is cooked at sea in salt water, She too offered me another meal of which I refused again. She did talk me into a small salad which was very good. She did not charge me for either the salad or the crab.
Staff were excellent. And as my husband and step daughter loved their meals I would not write this place off. However, next time I’m craving crab legs, I’m calling Jameis Winston !!!

#304
Wife, daughter and I lunched here based soley on high Unilocal reviews. Its a story of good and bad.
It was during the week and the place was deserted except for another couple. Service was good, the waiter was a bit spacey but he was fine. I ordered the Grouper sandwich as I always do, wife the snow crab and daughter a kind of salmon oscar. The meals came, my sandwich had a very large piece of grouper grilled perfectly. It was probably the best grouper sandwich I’ve had around here. The only one that was better was at a little ocean side place in Key Largo. Daughter was very pleased with her salmon but the wife’s crab was very salty. We told the waiter about it and he called the manager. She was very gracious and said that this has happened before due to the crabbers storing the beasts in brine. (I wondered why she hadn’t fixed the problem if it had happened before). She offerred a replacement meal free but wife just opted for a green salad that she was very happy with. There was no problem due to the problem.
I would recommend Shells and I would return but if you like crab be aware that you might be getting more salt than you had planned on. If you do send it back.

Brought a group of 20 to Shells this evening for dinner. Great service provided by Red and Heather! They did excellent job of getting our orders and keeping everyone’s drinks flowing.
Appetizers were good with conch fritters a 5 star highlight. Food entrees from fish tacos to snow crab legs all were great.
Highly recommend and would return.

As an update to an earlier review, we go back every time we are in Florida. We live in NJ and visit Tampa Bay twice a year. Each time a visit to Shells. Each and every meal was delicious. Service always good. A nice casual relaxing place to have a meal. I love the fried scallop platter. Plenty of lightly coated bay scallops and very good potatoes. Can’t wait to go back next week while I’m back in Florida.

Husband had the King Crab legs and I had a combo of salmon, shrimp, and crab cake…
AMAZING!
Best salmon I have ever had
Calamari was great too!!!
Check it out!
Waitress was super nice too.

Affordable and good food.
My one qualm about this place is the lighting. It was dark inside, which threw off the ambiance a bit. I would expect a place like this to be bright, bold, and colorful. But since that was my one negative, I can’t complain too much.
I came here with my husband, my husband’s grandma, and her friend. We were driving around St. Pete beach and based on Unilocal reviews decided to stop here.
Our waiter was fantastic. He could play the cheery waiter in a movie. He was attentive, amicable, and just all around friendly. I wish I could call him out by name.
The food is very affordable for seafood. I went with The Big Easy, which is blackened catfish smothered in a tomato cream sauce. It makes me think their fish isn’t the freshest, since they smother it with sauce, but at least they know their weakness and rectify it. The sauce was absolutely delicious.
My husband got the Shrimp Pasta and loved it. They know what they do well and stick to that formula. I respect that. What they do well is basically seafood covered in sauce.
If I want a quick, affordable bite of seafood, I could definitely see myself coming back. Don’t come expecting five star quality, but expect good eats.

I have eaten at shells for many years. This was my first time at this particular location. Normally I visit the one just off of Kennedy and Dalemabry. Shells is def a favorite spot of my boys. We have eaten like everything on the menu and have never been dissatisfied. I absolutely love their Calamari. One of my favorite dishes is the shrimp Mezzo mezzo. It is shrimp, mushrooms, Penne pasta with a blend of tomato and garlic cream sauce. So yummmmyyyy. I absolutely love it.

Let me start by explaining, my boyfriend and I travel for work 6 – 8 times/​month, and rely on Unilocal regularly to find good spots in every new location…90% of the time we are obsessed with what we find .and I don’t take the time to review often enough …
Tonight was no different. But it actually exceeded our expectations as far as food quality, service, and prices.
We had the shrimp and scallop pasta (had to after reading multiple reviews, and then we got here and it was the first menu item the waitress recommended) and the king crab legs… Both of them were on point !
Although the star rating was high already, I had read some reviews on here that made me skeptical, but after experiencing it myself — want other Unilocalers that rely on this (especially for travel) to know —
Amazing food
Amazing service– most sincere management staff
Awesome MARGARITAS !
Yes it might be missing the beach/​water atmosphere you may expect, but better than most of the over priced /​over hyped places we have been
100% worth it.