Oyster Restaurant

My sisters and I, along with their husbands and boyfriend, had a reservation before a show. We were roughly 10 minutes late for it. Our waiter was extremely rude and pointed out to us that we were, in fact, late. He mentioned it more than once. The place was empty, so I am not sure why this bothered him. The décor is atrocious. It’s extremely dated and has no theme – between the strange greenery, neon lights, and candelabra, we just weren’t sure what the designer had in mind when they were decorating. The food was not amazing. We ordered an assortment of steaks, seafood, salads, and chicken. None of us thought it was worth coming back for. The cocktails were good– hence 1 star. A few of the girls ordered the Marilyn Monroe, and my sister’s boyfriend also ordered one. The waiter made a very rude comment about his drink choice being «girly», and embarrassed him in front of the whole table. For someone who works for tips, he should have been much more friendly and less critical of our punctuality and drink choices. I would never come back here— basic mediocre food, tacky décor, and terrible service.

This was billed as the top restaurant in Wilkes-​Barre as the ‘chef’ (that was intentional by the way) once cooked for Oprah and Maya Angelou. Wowie, big deal, Oprah looks like she is a real discriminate eater.
The setting was nice and it had pretty good ambiance.
The amuse bouche was some overly salted (there will be a theme here) bruschetta-​type substance, that as an Italian, I was offended to be served. Hell, as a human, I was offended to be served this.
We spilt an order of the fried calamari which was limp and, you guessed it, salty. The Fire and Ice which was meh. The oysters Rockefeller which John D. himself would have proclaimed had too much salt and the crab cakes with some sort of aioli-​ish sauce.
The only reason that this is not a one star review is that the staff was helpful and gave me a free martini to help cleanse my palette from the salt infusion.

I really wanted to love his place: A.) because it’s in my hometown, B.) my hometown is disgustingly saturated with godawful chain restaurants and C.) who doesn’t want to see a local resto do well?
(Looks like I may be doing most of this review in low-​tech listicles, just FYI.)
I really wish I had read Krystle B.‘s review before going, because then I would have never gotten the tuna tempura sushi roll app. But now that I spent $ 8 and ate something so bad, I can now solidify to the Unilocal community that you should not get this. Why? A.) it was clearly pre-​cooked and chilled. The tempura on the outside was cold and soggy. The rice was cold and soggy and mushy. B.) the amount of rice on this thing was abominable. I actually had to dig out most of the rice with my chopsticks to even be able to eat it. C.) the amount of tuna? Was there even any tuna in this thing? It was a little speck in the middle of an ocean of rice. And I couldn’t even tell if it was just raw tuna or spicy tuna. It was unrecognizable. And D.) the wasabi and soy «glaze» was just squirted all over the plate in puddles and little squiggly lines. Wasn’t very appealing.
I also got the spinach salad ($ 7). It wasn’t bad, I guess, in comparison to the sushi roll. A.) I’m just glad I got the «bacon dressing» on the side because it was just a giant bowl of oil with bacon pieces in it. Not exactly something I want to just pour all over a bed of spinach. B.) There was some dried cherries and prosciutto tossed around in there, but that’s about it. C.) Pretty much something I could have easily made myself in about 2 minutes.
The reason I’m giving this place 3 stars, despite the aforementioned items I described that we’re not very good (I actually recommend that you do not get them), the entrees that the rest of my family got were pretty good. A.) My brother got the 16oz NY strip steak and it was pretty damn good, along with red potato mash and zucchini ($ 29). B.) My dad’s fillet was okay, but I would go with the strip. C.) My sis in law got the chicken parm — which was tasty — but beware: it could easily feed 2 – 3 people. It was literally the size of half a goddamn chicken.
Oh, and skip the meatballs with ricotta. The meat was pretty dry and bland and you really have to mop up the tomato sauce to make it decent. The chocolate dessert was decadent and decent. It wasn’t «omfg» good, but it did the job for a sweets craving after dinner. Just wish I enjoyed the extra calories more.
And for the décor? Just take a look at the photo I posted. I’m really not sure what this place is supposed to be. It looks like it should be old-​school mafia, but then it has these gold railings and mirrors that make it seem like a Russian tea room. Then there’s fluorescent lighting reminiscent of a strip club overhead an early 1900s era candelabra. Clearly a schizo.
I should have known better after having been to countless weddings, proms banquets and baby showers at Genetti’s (the hotel in which this resto is located), where the food was so so bad. But alas, it’s NOT one of the 87 million chain restaurants in the area and our waiter was pretty bad ass. He was A.) super friendly, B.) very personable and C.) a super hard, diligent worker. He was the only maître’d/waiter/water guy working the night we were there and he was always very attentive. So, kudos to him. But the place could use a décor makeover and some help with their «signature items.»
**what’s very telling about this place: the sushi roll, meatballs and chocolate dessert are all part of their «award-​winning» and «signature dish» lists. Not a great measure, in my book.

This place is terrible, but the wait staff tries to make up for it by being ridiculously nice.
Its amazing how my bf and i got through this meal, if it weren’t for a $ 40 for $ 20 coupon deal we found on Unilocal we would have never come here — and if it wasn’t for our nice waitress, we probably would have gotten up and left.
They give you little slices of «pizza» as your bread option, it was okay.
We ordered a dozen oysters, they were good, but for a place called oyster restaurant i would expect my socks to be knocked off, but — we got what we got.
The ahi tuna roll. THE WORST PIECE OF FOOD I HAVE EVER GOTTEN FROM A RESTAURANT, EVER. I don’t know if it was a mistake, or if this is what they serve to everyone… the tuna was crushed up in the center of the roll and was no bigger than a dime in size. The rice that composed the roll was slimy, hard, and oddly seasoned. There was some type of wasabi, soy sauce drizzle scribbled all over our plates… it was weird, and gross.
We also had the surf and turf. The steak was wayyy overcooked and tough. The lobster was fine.
They ‘accidentally’ gave us two things of fries and a mash potato, but we suspect that was to cover up for the atrocious food offering we were given.
This place is located in a Best Western… that should have been the first red flag.
Don’t come here.

We went on a slow night, service was stellar. Our waiter was dressed very nice and very attentive. I had the Wasabi Ahi Tuba it was very good and cooked perfect. My husband had the Veal Fran. which I tasted and it was very good. We both had a very good cocktail too. The atmosphere was comfortable and décor is quite fancy/​romantic. We enjoyed ourselves and our dinner. Next time I think we will try to make it for the buffet.

We stayed at the Best Western on Pocono race weekend 2012. The restaurant is located inside the hotel. Dont let that fool you. This is a high quality restaurant. The Surf and Turf was excellent and the portions are big. We got the fire and ice desert which is unique and good. Give it a try. We did not have dress clothes because we were in town for the race, so they let us eat at the bar and watch the Olympics. The cook has cooked for Oprah in the past and it shows. Service was also top notch. I recommend this place in every facet.

The ambience is nice, quiet, and romantic. The wait staff is helpful and adequately attentive. The spicy tuna tempura sushi is absolutely delicious (and very filling)! The entrees leave a little to be desired, considering the price of them, but overall this is a great place for a date night.

The meal was terrible. The lobster bisque tasted like a bowl of salt with cream. According to my waiter the chef uses salt water to make his bisque. Every mouthful was an over abundance of salt and not edible. The only good thing about the soup was the amount of lobster meat in it. The chef’s shrimp appetizer came to our table burnt. The carpaccio appetizer was good. The black and blue strip was extremely tough and wasn’t flavorful. The tiramisu was quite delicious. The service was good. It wasn’t our waiter’s fault that the food is inedible. I would suggest to stay far away from this place.

The lunch buffet at Oyster is a fantastic deal. The buffet rotates daily and the food can range from roast beef in port wine sauce to mustard pork. The buffet is only 7.95 including tea or coffee, plus soup, salad, and bread. The servers are very nice and are quick to get you a refill and to remove your dirty plate.
Dinner is nice and romantic. The décor is elegant. I usually go to the lunch buffet, but as far as dinner goes, I’ve had the pomegranate haddock and that was divine. The fish was cooked well and the sauce that it was served in was sweet and delicate.

The best thing about this restaurant is the wine… and that’s because they don’t make it. Ahi appetizer smelled fishy, the bass was undercooked and the filet was tougher than shoe leather. Honestly, the only reason we didn’t complain was because our server was trying so hard to do a good job. It wasn’t his fault the food was inedible. Never again.

I recently went here for New Years with my best friend, and we had a fantastic experince. We started by having a drink at the bar while waiting for our table since we were early. The bartender was very friendly, and knew his drinks very well. When we got sat out server was very knowledgable and made some excellent suggestions in regaurds to the menu. For an appetizer we got the Chefs Shrimp. They were excellent, and cooked perfectly. The dijon dipping sauce that came with them was delicious. We both ordered the Lobster Bisque which had huge peices of lobster in it, and was just right. It was not too heavy, but surely not light by any means. My friend got the Surf and Turf and I got the Blueberry Crab Rissoto. Both were excellent. The dishes were well seasoned, of excellent quality, and had a nice presentation. The only thing I would take away was adding chopped parsely flakes to the dishes. It just seems very 80’s and unnecessary, and sort of a cop out to add color. Otherwise everything was excellent. The atmosphere is very very elegant and inviting. This would be a great place to take a date. However, as the previous reveiwer wrote the orange lighting is a bit distracting.

My most recent experience at Oyster was a dramatic improvement over the last visit. My overall impression of the food was that the dishes were well seasoned, made with really great meat and seafood, and had very good flavors. The only detractions were that there was too much dressing or sauce and portions were a bit over-​sized. A little restraint would have made some dishes much better and allowed the other ingredients to shine.
The lobster bisque was fantastic. It had a combination of claw and tail meat. In fact, there was so much lobster, the dish could have been renamed lobster with bisque. The lobster was perfectly cooked and tasted great. The bisque had an even, velvety texture. This was a great dish. The only change I would have made was to add a bit of crunch with some croutons on top. The garlic feta bread was delicious, but it was just too much. The slices were too large and thick to eat cleanly without having the cheese fall off. This would have been perfect if it was served on a slice of baguette or crostini. Less is more. The best dish of the night was the scallop brulee. I loved everything about this dish from the flavors to the presentation. The scallops came on a tasting spoon on top of a slice of lemon. The scallops were firm and tasted perfect. The creaminess of the dish was a nice contrast to the firmness of the scallops and the crisp crust on the top. The lemon slice on the bottom of the spoon provided just a whiff of acidity that really tied the dish together. I found this presentation a great way to provide acidity without overwhelming the dish. Also, I ate this dish in a single bite. I love eating food in a simple, easy to consume, well flavored bite like this. The Caesar salad had a nice presentation with a Parmesan wheel and the lettuce was very fresh and crunchy. I also liked how the dried cherry provided a sour note to contrast the acidity of the dressing. However, the major problem I had with this dish was that there was too much dressing that made every bite very acidic. Less is more. We had the sesame crusted tuna and wasabi filet. The tuna was perfect. It was lightly seared and the sesame was a nice crunchy contrast to the rich, fresh tuna. The wasabi filet was tender, juicy and perfectly rare. The wasabi was delicate and didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the beef. On both the tuna and filet dish, the spherical cut carrots and squash were cooked perfectly and added to the presentation. The mash potatoes on both dishes were good but just a tiny bit on the gummy side. The major criticism I had with the wasabi filet was that it was inundated with the soy bordalais which made it difficult to get a bite without the salty and sweet sauce overwhelming the food.
The service was very impressive. Our server, Darryl, explained the menu without being overly verbose. He was also very attentive without being annoying. I find that to be a very hard line to walk and he did it with flying colors. The timing of the dishes was very even and well paced to not make us hurry up and eat while getting us to our next course without a long delay. This is the kind of service I love getting and I wish people would realize the value of good service!
The only thing I really, really, really hope changes is the lighting. I know the color scheme for the restaurant is orange and white, but the orange lighting really detracts from the food. One of the most influential facets of dining is the visualization of the food. The orange lighting masks the colors of the food and makes it monochromatic. Imagine comparing a color photo to one in sepia. That is what the orange lighting does to the food. I can almost guarantee that white lighting would improve the quality of the dining experience.
I would have liked to have given Oyster 3.5 stars, but considering the improvements since the last visit, I give it 4. Considering the extremes in my two reviews, I think I need one more trip.