Captain Benny’s Half Shell Oyster Bar

Just left. I got a combination whole catfish and shrimp (I thought it came with Cole slaw but it doesn’t) at my servers suggestion. He didn’t tell me his name but Rigoberto was on the ticket. He was very nice but I noticed that all the Latino patrons he was serving had these huge beautiful shrimp and I had little puny ones. I will try to post a picture. He also didn’t tell me o could have rice instead of fries. The food was hot, but it had not one bit of salt on anything rendering it pretty tasteless. I so wanted this to be good as I love seafood. I am determined to find a good place in this state if it kills me. I’ll take all suggestions. Loved the space. Nice and sort of divey, just enough to make it interesting. I could see this as a regular place if my shrimp were the same size as everyone else’s.

I gave this place one star because they had Mexican Coke. The oysters on the half shell were tasteless as were the boiled shrimp. I even put half the horseradish container in the red sauce and it had no kick or taste whatsoever! Really? That amount would normally have opened my sinuses but nothing! I literally could only choke down 2 oysters and shrimp. They didn’t even ask if anything was wrong. I guess they don’t care. Maybe I should have given a second star since we didn’t get sick. We won’t ever eat here again!

Looks like not much but the oysters are great and the staff are excellent. If you go, ask for Daniel Vega.

I’m so mixed about this place, where do I start? Good or bad? Let’s do good.
The oysters. Hands down have to be the best oysters I’ve had anywhere in the Houston area. If you’re an oyster fanatic, definitely come here for raw oysters.
For that matter any of the food is really good, especially the mixed fried seafood plates. Tho they had a menu change and some things weren’t as good after, like the boiled shrimp in the shell. Very good the first couple times I had them but not as good the last time, that’s one of the menu items that changed.
The bad. Hrm.
One time someone ladled out a bowl of gumbo for a customer then a few minutes later came back and poured it back into the pot of gumbo. To then ladle out a cup of gumbo. Really? I’m sorry you messed up your order but I don’t think you should have poured it back into the pot after you served it.
Another mess up, mine. I ordered some baked oysters, new on the menu. They made the wrong thing. Instead of redoing it fresh, the correct spices got put on the wrong spices and the whole mess went back into the oven. So I ended up with over salty, over baked oysters. Meh.
And the whole fiasco about the craft beer. It’s on their marquee out front, craft beer Mondays. They have craft beer posters on the wall. They have craft beer on the menu. I try to order a craft beer. «Oh we don’t have any.» I point to all the things that say they do. «Oh we don’t, no one would buy it so we stopped carrying it.» I kept persevering and asking and finally was rewarded with an offering of 4 beers, a St Arnold, a Karbach, a Southern Star and a Real Ale despite them having like 12 craft beers listed on their menu. (I got the Santo).
And the oysters. They’re excellent but some people get very sloppy shucking them. Not just grit and bits of shell in the oyster but I’ve also seen them get slapped onto the ice. Oyster slid off the shell? No problem, just pick it up with your fingers and slip it back on. Very cringe-​worthy to watch. One time we got some that had a Corona bottle cap nestled between two oysters. We got an apology but no comp, I think at least we should have gotten an extra oyster or two.
Will I keep going back? Yeah, for the oysters and for the fried seafood platters and perhaps even to see what they’re going to mess up next. (it’s amusing, in a train-​wreck sort of way)
*** Since I posted this review, they changed the marquee out front (which had read the same thing for months). It’s not about craft beer Mondays anymore. Harf.

Worst service EVER! Drinks forgotten (2 sweet teas!) and came after food! Forgot 2 things we ordered (which were appetizers) and came after our meal came… a few other things forgotten after we asked for them a couple times. When I went to let the manager know we had the worst service ever she doesn’t even apologize and says «just so you know, they are VERY busy so that’s the reason»! No apology. Only an excuse… and our waitress only had 4 tables! Sorry to say, don’t believe we will EVER go back! A shame because we live their food! A simple apology from the manager would’ve gone a LONG way!!!

Wasn’t really impress with the place had a bigger expectations with the reviews. The service was horrible was feeling rushed and it wasn’t that busy. Order from the kids menu for my child and it came with a drink they didn’t even bring me a drink or asked what kind did I want. I waited a while and I had to go up to her and remind her. The food was ok nothing wow and I ordered a michelada mug was pretty small couldn’t even pour my whole beer in it. The oysters is pretty cheap compared to most places in the houston area but they don’t do a very good job at cleaning it. I say this would probably be my first and last time at this establishment.

Not fancy dining, if that is what you want, go to Goode or Pappadeux. This is Gulf Seafood, plain and simple. The Gumbo is legit, lots of shrimp and seafood. The fried shrimp is some of the best around, jumbo is jumbo.
I love the oysters, and love the peel and eat gulf shrimp with a Modelo or XX’s and a cold mug.
The broiled tilapia was excellent and well.
It’s a boat shaped place, nothing super fancy. The wait staff is always the same, and they treat me great, know what I want when I’m in town on business, glad I found the place.

Love this place! Great patio, great food and great service. Absolutely love the Michelada mix here.
The gumbo is on point, along with all the fried seafood, oysters aren’t bad here. He the occasional weird tasting one.
But all around great little spot.

Prices are high, and food quality is low.
Gumbo was bland, extremely bland. I had to add so much salt and spice in mine to be able to eat it.
Oysters were bigger than average, but way too pricey.
Boiled shrimp was undercooked.
Crawfish étouffée was better than the gumbo, but still not all that good.
Stuffed jalapeños were pretty alright.
All in all, I would not dine here again. It’s definitely not with the price for the lack of flavour. And I’m pretty sure me & my boyfriend both got really upset stomachs from eating here. Save your money (and your stomach and taste buds) & find a Captain Tom’s.
You will thank me later…

Food is average. Service was bad! The waitstaffs are so lazy and keep ignoring us when we tried to get her attention. The price is not cheap at all. Wont come back

Mannnnnn, this place had the best soup ever. The half shells were on point. The beer was cold.

The ambiance was seemingly welcoming and it is a small bar area inside however I’d does have a patio area. We went primarily for the oysters and was disappointed with the quality as the taste was not fresh. The price for the dozen is $ 14 not including tip. I am definitely on the lookout for a high quality and affordable fresh oyster location.

I mostly get a bowl of soup and a basket of calamari but today I wasn’t feeling calamari so got the shrimp basket which comes with jumbo shrimp, hush puppies, French fries and garlic bread. I enjoyed my meal especially since I had great service. Ricky is the man for the service

Food is pretty good, always fairly fresh and hot. Seating sucks! Little seating indoors and mostly bar stools, so if your bringing kids, might be better to get your food to go. But definitely good if your craving fried fish or oysters

I didn’t really like this location as much as some of the others. They are always out of the New York (long island) oysters, only 1 person at the bar area trying to serve everyone seated, wow, he was overwhelmed that day, and the food just didn’t taste as good/​fresh as other locations. They made my fried redfish extra crispy and over cooked it for some reason too!

I’m surprised I haven’t heard of this place after falling in love with oysters! I came here on a weekday evening with my friend to FINALLY try. I have been to Captain Tom’s before, so I expected something similar, in terms of restaurant style & food, so I apologize if I compare to Captain Tom’s! We decided to sit outside since it was a nice day outside, and it was still pretty bright. I sat down and a waitress came by to take our order. The inside seating is an inner bar and an outer bar. I’m assuming that they will take your order if you signal them if you sit inside. Their inside was CLEAN! I’m very impressed by how clean everything is! Their menu included raw oysters, baked oysters, & a variety of seafood platters. My main goal for coming here was for oysters, oysters, oysters. Their raw oysters are listed as market price. I ordered a cup of gumbo & a dozen oysters on the half-​shell. The gumbo came out HOT, and it was pretty good. The oysters are a decent size, and cocktail sauce & horseradish accompanied them. Maybe I’m slightly jealous because my friend got some oysters the size of her hand. Overall, I had a good, tasty meal.
I left feeling pretty happy, until I had to pay. A dozen oysters on the half shell + cup of gumbo came out to be ~$ 18 before tip. I was a fool for not asking for the price of the oysters before!
I really enjoyed this place, but I left contemplating if I would rather drive the 40 min to Katy/​Cypress for $ 6.95 dozen oysters or just save my gas and time and just eat here.

If you want a miller light and some fried alligator, this is your place. The boudin was ok, the catfish was not, the fried alligator was good, the etufee was not.
We sat outside because of the stench inside. Maybe the waitress was having a bad day but there was not a single item that wasn’t thrown on the table. When it was time to pay we stood in line for 15 minutes at the register. The girl working the register was nice enough but had to keep giving up her spot to waiters getting change and entering orders.
If you simply must eat in the area, go to one of the mexican establishments within walking distance.
I will not be going back.

I love the venue of this place. Indoors is all bar seating, one row overlooking the chefs shucking the oysters, and the other row facing the windows outside. The oysters are delicious. I could eat them all day.
This last time, we split the raw oysters, baked oysters, calamari and seafood gumbo. All very very good choices. I had the stuffed tilapia fillet which was delicious, I especially loved the coleslaw.
Definitely try the michelado with your food. Adds a good spice/​kick to everything~

Captain Benny’s is cool. Sure it’s a bit worn down inside with that old yet fitting feel, sure it’s small and full of wobbly legged seats inside with windows that let the sunshine in to blind and boil you but… Captain Benny’s knows how to fry seafood and that is what’s important here.
When you come to Captain Benny’s, come for the oysters. Oysters are the star here and well they should be since this is a half shell oyster bar. The fried oysters are what stands out to me. So crispy and full of flavor that only a fat oyster can have defines the oysters here.
Not an oyster fan? No problem. Captain Benny’s has shrimp, catfish, soft shelved crab (when in season) and other seafood items to choose from. If you’re not a fan of fried foods the menu does offer grilled as a choice.
We ordered the oysters, catfish and shrimp. Sides were hush puppies, fries, garlic bread and cole slaw. The oysters of course were excellent. The catfish was very good and a favorite of mine. The plump and crisply fried shrimp didn’t disappoint. The fries and hush puppies were fried perfectly while the garlic bread had that wonderful buttery-​garlicky taste. I don’t like cole slaw myself but was assured it was creamy and fresh tasting.
The service was prompt, friendly and attentive. The place is clean but does have an aged look about it that isn’t unpleasant at all. It actually does fit in with the theme of an old shrimping boat. The restaurant itself is in the shape of an old boat.
The only thing I wasn’t fond of here was the wide windows which let an immense amount of afternoon sun in. It’s smallish inside and if you end up sitting in the window area on a sunny day the sun can be a bit much as far as brightness and heat. I hope the good people at Captain Benny’s will invest in some window shades or blinds. Until then, we will just put on some sunglasses and enjoy the good food.

With oyster season in full swing, oyster loves have gotta come to Captain Benny’s! oysters on the half shell at $ 5.95 per dozen is one of the best deals in town! this special price is NOT only for the happy hours; it remains unchanged during ALL HOURS 7 days a week! Yaye! The oysters in good size are fresh, and of course, tasty!
Other seafood items are delicious as well, and prices are fair! Broiled platter comes with a big piece of well seasoned, broiled fish fillet, shrimp skewer and scallop skewer over seasoned rice with coleslaw and garlic toast on the side, and the whole thing costs only $ 16.99! The seafood tastes good and fresh, and I would recommend this platter to those who do not want fried foods. As a fried-​food lover, I’ve got myself a Mate’s Plate with fried catfish and soft shell crab, along side French fries, coleslaw, hush puppies and garlic toast! It is a lot of food for just $ 12.99, nice isn’t it?!
Service is slow due to short staff; this place is busy and packed! The «boat» is small with limited seating inside, but patio seating is available. Our server, a.k.a. the oyster shucker, is a cool guy! :) I like this place and will come back.