Oyster River Tavern

The restaurant had a little problem in January 2016 but they have come out victorious. They are as good as ever. Try the hummels hotdog with the hot pepper and garlic relish and sweet relish. You will love it. The chef salad is the best deal in town and is delicious. Come down and see the gorgeous Natalia

Wow, what I let down! We used to go often and loved it, but tonight we went and they where out of everything, lobster, shrimp, claims, crab cakes, and some beers. I think they might be closing, call before you go.

I used to go here in the 90’s and was a big fan of the food. My son reminded me of the name of the Tavern, so I went onto Unilocal to read the reviews. I do not think I will take a trip there after reading them.

Eehhhh. Finally tried it. Food was mediocre, service was good, atmosphere was full bar not restaurant/​bar. There were flies everywhere! Really everywhere. Had to swat the whole time I was eating. Seemed like a cool place for drinks… maybe apps, bar food… I wouldn’t recommend dinner. Savin Rock Roasting Co and Biagettis are right there. Might as well eat there if your in the area.

I have enjoyed Oyster River in the past but today was a low point. First we had to move our table because of an abundance of flies. Then, once seated at an acceptable table, the service was terrible, some of the food needed to be sent back and the server had incredible attitude that was unbecoming of anyone who waits tables. She was loud, slow, uncooperative and an «eye roller» when asked to take back rancid fish. We have been transformed from a regular to a former regular. There are too many other good options to put up with that.

My husband and I went there on this past Sunday afternoon around 2:30pm. There were lots of tables available so we were told to sit anywhere. Once we sat down at a table, we had to wait almost 15 minutes before a waitress came to give us the menus. Another 15 minutes before we got to order. We ordered a couple of appetizers, a fried mozz and some wings. Wings were not bad but the fried mozz was horrible. It was very heavy and the sauce was scimpy and tasteless.
For our entrees, we ordered an angus burger platter and a double dog plate. Can you believe it took almost 45 minutes to receive them! I bet they were sitting under a heat lamp. Our waitress never came back to let us know why it was taking so long to get our food. She was not attentive at all. We gave her a 20% tip, but on 2^nd thought she deserved NOTHING! We will never go back there again. It was our second time eating there and only went there because it was an hour wait at Jimmie’s. We should have waited at Jimmie’s.
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Went on a Saturday evening around 7:30PM — just as the crowd was easing up a little. A few tables were available, so we were seated on the inside with no problems. Outside, all the seats were taken, but that’s OK with me, it was a little warm & humid out there.
Our server was quite attentive & friendly and we got our orders taken promptly.
They were out of fresh oysters — boo! This has no bearing on the rating, stuff happens. Will go back for the buck an oyster for happy hour for sure.
The onion soup was pretty good. The very flavourful beef broth was excellent. It took a little time to be prepared, we were warned, but it really is only about 10 min. Where I had issues with it were not too many onions IMHO and using mozzarella instead of Gruyère is unfortunate. Besides, trying to chew a hunk of mozz is difficult, I had to take a file out, remove my dentures & sharpen them a bit.
After that, there was much to be desired.
The fish & chips came with fries & onion rings. The onion rings were decent with a sprinkle of salt on them. The fries were standard crinkle cut frozen. The fish was cubed??? Normally you have a battered fillet, but the cod fish was fairly thick & shaped in 2″ cubes. The fish was tender enough. The batter was very thin & was not as golden brown as most fish&chips you are likely to see.
The problem with thick fish is you have to cook them in cooler oil, otherwise the breading will blacken or the fish will be undercooked! Naturally, it becomes a bit greasy because the breading will absorb the oil cause it can’t cook off the water quick enough & seal the fish properly.
I’ll come back to the breading issue later.
Also ordered was the broiled fish special with swordfish, cold (it seems), shrimp & scallops with a side salad & broccoli. The side salad was pretty tasteless, the couple of grape tomatoes did a good imitation of same, in peak tomato season! The iceberg lettuce was crunch enough & the couple of circles of red onion supplied the flavour. The house Italian dressing was weak, no herbs.
I’ve never had rubber broccoli before. I love broccoli, I’ll eat it raw, blanched, overcooked. I’ve never had it rubberized before, and sadly, left it on the plate. I had trouble cutting it with a serrated knife.
The broiled fish platter was an instant disappointment. No scallops — OK, maybe they were out, but nobody told me & I didn’t bother to ask. There was about 8 – 9 smallish (30/​lb) shrimp which were broiled? No grill marks & if you broil those suckers, they’d be rubber in about 5 seconds. They were good though. Perhaps the shrimp was sauteed instead of grilled. I’d rather have 2 larger properly grilled ones.
The cod had a lump (mountain) of buttered bread crumbs on top which held the butter & was soggy. The fish underneath is was almost overcooked. The breading was literally shoveled off the side of hot platter where it remained with the broccoli.
The swordfish was a good imitation of a flip-​flop without the rubber thongs. A thin (portion controlled piece by the way it was formed) which was a nice colour grey with the flavour of swordfish that hung around for an extra day. I know how swordfish should taste, mild, not strong and this was strong.
Inattention to the fish in a place that promotes seafood is not a good thing.
One last thing, since the kitchen was open, and my table afforded a good view of the goings on there, I noticed that nobody was breading the seafood. Could this mean that the seafood was pre-​breaded & frozen? That makes sense with the «fish & chips» dish.
I’m not interested anymore in fish here. Maybe the 10oz (geez, just bring out the whole steer, what happened to quarter pounders) burgers are better. But, I will try the oysters for a buck. There are some good beers on tap, so a few pints & a couple of dozen Blue Points and a nice view do have an attraction. Oh yes, maybe you should sit outside, the inside is noisy! The outside maybe less so, until the open-​pipe Harley drivers go round & round in the traffic round-​about next to the restaurant.
In this part of the shoreline, there are many, many seafood joints. So keep your nose up & follow the prevailing smells.

went there today for the first time ever, we got buffalo tenders as an app was very good .i got the seafood platter and hubby got fried shrimp and we got 2 non alcoholic drinks our bill came to almost $ 60 we were not impressed at all our waitress seemed like she didn’t want to be there will not go there again

This is one of my favorite local seafood spots. The out door seating is limited but I have almost always gotten a spot. The lobster roll is to die for! Seriously… I crave it! I love to get their «buck a shuck» oysters and clams, and they make the best Bloody Mary’s in Connecticut! I have introduced MANY people to this restaurant/​Bar and they have all returned several times! The staff is very friendly and I have never had a bad experience

I have been to Oyster River quite a few times and have always been pleased. The blackened Mahi-​Mahi is consistently delicious. The onion soup is very good. My husband loves their clam strips.
Delicious simple seafood with a friendly local vibe
Terrible experience today. Rancid soft shell crabs and rude service.
So much for consistently delicious…

Waitress and food ruined the experience. It’s my third time there and it was terrible each time. But this time was the worst. Worst lobster roll I’ve ever had. I really mean that. I’m not exaggerating. Like it was fake lobster with a stick of butter. The oysters on a half were awful. The shells were broke. And had to spit out the shells on each oyster I ate. The waitress brought three wrong dishes on clam strips. First fried oysters, then fired shrimp. Then on the bill charged us for fried shrimp. Took an hour to get our food and it wasn’t even busy. Ordered two margaritas and they were all lime juice. It also smelt like garbage and sewer while sitting outside. 3^rd strike and will never eat there again. I just hope I don’t get food poisoning.

I have dined at Oyster River Tavern several times and I have been pleased with the food except for the last time I was there. I was quite disappointed in our appetizers and our entrées. We ordered fried calamari and fried zucchini for our appetizers they were nothing impressive especially the fried calamari being that they specialize in seafood I was not impressed. The calamari tasted bland and the sauce that came with it was even worse. The fried zucchini were just as bad absolutely no taste whatsoever and the marinara of course that accompanied it had no flavor of its own. For my entrée I ordered the blackened mahi-​mahi wrap and it was nasty. There were two small pieces of fish in the whole wrap some lettuce and I think I saw a piece of avocado in there somewhere and the rest was just the wrap itself… needless to say I left more than half of it because there was really nothing in there to eat. The coleslaw which is usually pretty tasty was also terrible! I can’t tell you how disappointed I was eating at Oyster River Tavern especially since I came from Hartford just to dine there. Perhaps they were just having an off night. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and try once more hopefully they will get their reputation back with me if not I’ll have to find a new favorite!

Been here before and it was good, This time I should have gone to stows! The fried shrimp was a pre frosen bagged no flavor cheap excuse., And the scallops were even worse they were the size of pencil erasers.
With a place by the water you think they would put more effort into the seafood, lve had better at big y take out! The floor in the dinning room was a mess as well and the ceiling in the dinning room which was water stained, this could be a nice place if they got there sh@t together and stopped trying to cut corners with bagged frozen no taste seafood! Try for your self and tell me im wrong but first go to stows or lazy lobster.

I don’t know what happened to my review of Oyster River from years ago, so I guess here we go again! Their fried calamari with hot peppers is absolutely delicious and my go-​to app here.
It’s no frills, but that’s the kind of thing I’m looking for when I eat seafood on the water. I want rustic, I want casual, it’s part of the New England seafood experience.
It’s a great spot to eat some above average seafood at great prices. I’m always pleasantly surprised with the portion/​quality to price ratio. If you have a complaint about either of the two, you’re impossible to please. You can not like the taste of something, but you can’t argue the quality is more than fair for the price.
Also worth noting, they have the best bloody Mary’s around. They use Bang Bang bloody mary mix, which is the only premade bloody mary mix I’ll drink. It’s divine! Not to mention it comes loaded with shrimp and olives, what more could you ask for?
Basically, are there better places to eat seafood on the shoreline? Yes. Does this place have a great view, with good food, cold drinks, and extremely fair prices? Yes. Do they have an outdoor patio across the street from the ocean? Yes. This is everything I want in a summer night out. I’d say 3.5 is sufficient.

The food area has always been decent every time I’ve come, but they do have incredible bloody Mary’s. Really anything coming from the bar here I’ve found to be a step or two above average.
When I’m on the shoreline this isn’t my first, second or third choice but when meeting with friends or family because they recommend it, I oblige.

Get a seat at the friendly bar, have a summer cocktail while watching the water. Order some great food so reasonable you will think the pricing is wrong. The fresh tuna was the best I’ve ever had. Great food, great people! Highly recommend! Oh and if you go with your family there’s a full dining room !

Oyster River is about as no frills as it gets. The inside lacks any semblance of ambiance, and the outside seating makes you feel like you are in an alley. That said, if you can get over the visual issues, the food is pretty decent. Not the best seafood the area has to offer, but it’s not bad either. The blackened fish dishes are rather good, and to be honest, i normally just go for their martini happy hour. Give me a well made drink by the water and I am happy…
It’s worth a stop if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t make it a special trip.

Worse service ever. Was told they were out of shrimp 25 minutes after our order was placed. Was the only reason we went there (best shrimp ever we were told). Saw waitess use her hands to get lettuce for salads not just one but all of them. Food took forever to come out. Waitress never came back to the table we had to ask for extras sodas, napkins etc.

Just went there after lunch time. They have the dollar for a shuck. We ordered 20 oysters and 10 clams, the waitress who functioned like a zombie, put our order in, the cook, with the hooter tshirts, talked loud enough for us to hear, «really? 20 oysters? This is bull!» We just ignored him, and both agreed, the guy should of went to college instead working in a kitchen.
As my husband picked up his drink for the first time, he stopped and showed me a pieces of food floating in his drink! It was a piece of turkey from the last person who drank the cup! YUCK! We informed the waitress and she did not, I repeat, DID NOT, apologized, or said ANYTHING! But took his drink and have him another. I refused to drink my Bloody Mary and he refused to drink his drink.
Calms were good size, but the oysters were small and we didn’t care, just want to get out from the disgusting place. CLOSE THIS BUSINESS DOWN! Apparently the workers there doesn’t care about that place!!!

My daughter Dee and I had a late lunch at Oyster River Tavern yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised with both the portion sizes, which are very large, ‘AND’ the quality of both our meals were excellent.
I had broiled seafood and all was done perfect. My daughter had buffalo chicken, which she loves, and enjoyed it very much. We both took leftovers home and had another meal with the leftovers which was equally as good. We plan on making Oyster River Tavern a regular favorite!