Shell Oyster Bar

Reviews

• Kim Pastor

  star star star star star 21 July 2026

  Little hole in the wall joint. Food is fast and delish! I will be returning. Excellent service, as well! Yum, yum. Check it out!!

• Brad Johnson

  star star star star star 19 July 2026

  This is one of Tallahassee's hidden treasures. Not only do some locals not even know it exists, but it is tucked away from the road and sandwiched between a couple businesses. The seafood is always fresh. Satisfying portions and respectable pricing. Remember to bring cash. They do not accept credit cards. It kinds of adds to throwback feel of the entire place. It has caused me to detour a couple times before going over the years.

• Daniel Pineau

  star star star star star 15 July 2026

  Shell Oyster Bar is a Tallahassee institution. On my office wall, I have three photos encased in a frame. The photos are of 1. Shell Oyster Bar, 2. the old Tallahassee Waterworks and 3. The Tallahassee Train Station. I had the fortune of meeting Leroy Milligan (and Billy, his teenage son at the time) back in 1987 when I first came for undergrad. At the time, the five (maybe six, but I'm pretty sure it was five) bar-stools in the old service station building at the corner of FAMU way & South Monroe were where you'd get freshly shucked Cedar Key and Apalachicola Bay oysters. There was no need for a menu. You had three choices of beverages (Co'Cola, Swee'Tea, and Water) and one choice of food (Oysters) unless you count the crackers on hand. Even though Shell Oyster Bar relocated years ago to its present location - I can't help but think of it as "The New Place" and when I go - I ALWAYS prefer to pony up to the bar rather than sit at the tables. It doesn't bring back the glory days entirely, but at least it's a start. Shell Oyster Bar isn't a place - it's a feeling. It's where you go to commune with the goodness that comes inside an oyster shell. It's been decades since I've sat down at the bar to a couple-dozen oysters shucked by Leroy himself. His son Bill is usually at the bar these days but often, there are others. Regardless, when I come for a couple dozen - I can close my eyes and feel taken back to that old shed of an oyster bar - screened door slapping the door-frame as each patron came in from the long line outside. I don't know enough about the relationship between Leroy and the Oystermen in the gulf. My sense is that he's done business exclusively with only a handful of harvesters as he's built a reputation over the decades of having only the most sublime of oysters on the half-shell. For those interested, here are a few "factoids" about Apalachicola Oysters that I've learned over the years: 1. Apalachicola (at least up until a few years ago) was the last place in the U.S. where wild oysters were (by law) harvested by oystermen on small boats using tongs. 2. Big Bayou (on the saltier western part of Apalachicola Bay) is said to be the source of the most flavorful Apalach' Oysters. 3. I'm pretty sure that all other Gulf Oysters are pretty much sold as generics - i.e., non-appelation - EXCEPT Apalachicola Bay oysters. My love for oysters precedes my relationship with Shell Oyster Bar - but it's been intensified THANKS to Shell Oyster Bar over the years. (addendum:) I grew up in Spain and Germany (the son of a french mother and an American (USAF) father. I know all about the world-famous Belon oyster that defined Paris's 19th-20th century oyster bar culture. I also lived in Seattle for three years during the mid/late nineties - so I'm pretty familiar with the PNW varieties - notably the Quilcene, the Kumamoto, the Olympia and the Kushii. (I know I'm mixing up sources with types - sue me!). Anyway - all of this is to say that while I appreciate the delicate and nuanced oysters from other parts of the world (at least, France and Puget Sound) - I'll take an Apalachicola oyster over any of them - any day!

• Tamaka Chatman

  star star star star star 3 July 2026

  It was my mine and my husband's first time and it was great! Fresh oysters and you can sit at the bar and they'll shuck them right in front of you. Great price. We'll be back.

• Steven Robinson

  star star star star star_border 30 June 2026

  Good food! The grouper sandwich was excellent! Prices are reasonable. CASH ONLY!