Fishmonger’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar

Talk about dirty! You walk in the door and it hits you in the face!

Came here late at night. Service was pretty friendly but it also wasn’t very busy.
Got oysters and crab legs:
Oysters were lackluster in flavor. Wouldn’t get again.
Crabs were really good! Steamed well and large. Plenty of meat and you even get part of the body. We even got a second order~

I’ve been twice in that last month. Had steamed oysters and blue crabs both times and it was great! Sure the crabs could have been bigger but it is late in the year so I understand.
Great service both visits and I will go back… soon!
Great food and service in Durham!

Came here as part of a food tour. All of the food had a lot of TLC. The interior is super stripped down, park benches with picnic table style table cloths etc. The pulled pork was a good but a tad dry and lacking in the abundant smokey flavor characteristic if the best southern BBQ. The fried catfish was a little better than average, but what really made it shine was the curry mustard sauce it came with. The clear standout food winner was the salmon. Fish is so easy to overcook but the salmon here is juicy and moist and full of delicious flavor. I also tried the fries and they were a little potatoy for my taste.
Come here for good fish, fresh seafood, decent fried seafood, but probably best to get BBQ and fries elsewhere.

thank you fishmongers! all out of clams but when my 7 year old clam enthusiast was so, so sad they gave her the last 4. for free! made her day.

After reading all the post Unilocalpers have left I was very concerned coming to eat here. I wasn’t impressed with the place at all. The tables were filthy as well as the floors, chairs and I felt dirty as well. The food was was way to salty and the service very slow.
Folks, it’s time to clean your act up. Replace those nasty checker table clothes, get rid of those funky stained chairs and replace with benches. AND PLEASE mop the floor every once in a while.

Let me begin by saying I wish upscale people didn’t try to go to Grungy type restaurants like this one. You can quit reading if you prefer well-​maintained restaurants. Personally wherever I travel I enjoy seeking out restaurants that give me a sense of the community. The Decore is interesting but not elegant, which definitely fits my personality. I had the fish and chips and a beer by triangle brewery that was excellent. There was free Wi-​Fi, always a plus. And my waiter was more than happy to tell me about the local things to do, even offering a word of caution. The food was tasty, their fries are cut and freshly fried when you order, and the coleslaw was interesting and not my favorite. I gave it four stars because you really have to knock my socks off with the food.

How do I start. Very laid back (grungy)
Very nice blonde young lady, she was sweet. My 4 year old daughter told her she was handsome .
Tried ordering… Clam chowder out, a dozen clams out, asked if they had the Brunswick stew, no we don’t make those items in the summer. Okay nothing on the menu said seasonal? Than she added no sweet potatoes???
But they did have a lot of Fried seafood items on the menu. I cannot eat fried items due to intestinal issues. My wife was like we are not playing baseball because if we where it was a strikeout. So we left without eating a thing.
They get two stars because the employees where nice and understood why we wanted to leave.

My food was great. Shrimp cocktail, steamer platter, corn on the cob and key lime pie with a couple beers. The place could use a good «once over», but really it was an enjoyable experience.

Seafood here can be great, but I admit it is really inconsistent. I’ve had phenomenal meals here and I’ve had awful ones too. The service is generally always lacking. It can be reasonably priced if you are splitting between a few friends and are smart about navigating the menu. Still – I’m glad it sticks around because of the down-​to-​earth vibe and its no bullshit design of the menu. It’s a nice change from some other restaurants nearby, but I do wish it was more consistent and the service not so terrible.

I’m not even sure how a place like this stays open in a city like Durham.
Having bought a Living Social deal to try this place out, my wife and I dropped in last night for dinner. The ceiling is falling apart, the place smells, and the tables are draped with plastic. None of that bothers me.
We both ordered grilled fish — seems pretty straightforward, right? Somehow grilled fish takes 40 minutes to be cooked. And once it was delivered, it looked and tasted more like it was a frozen fillet with synthetic grill marks that had been microwaved. I highly doubt the fish ever touched any kind of grill. And the bland snow peas also seemed like they came out of a Green Giant bag.
The one decent thing on either of our plates was the sweet potato I ordered — which was probably the cause of the 40 minute wait. I understand waiting a while for a potato, but every other restaurant seems to have figured out to how deliver them in a timely fashion. Also, the menu said «smoked sweet potato» and there’s no way this thing was ever smoked. Put on a fake grill, maybe… but smoked? Not a chance.
Finally, there’s the price. Each of our plates cost almost $ 20, which I hesitate to pay even for good food, let alone crap. And a beer costs $ 5.50 a pint for a selection that’s substandard even for a fish joint. With a total bill — before tip — coming in over $ 50 for two people, I can think of a dozen places off the top of my head in Durham with vastly superior food for the same price or much less.
I have no idea how this place stays open, or why people apparently frequent it.

great spot for our first night in Durham! We enjoyed flavors from land and sea, from delicious brisket and smoked chicken to perfectly steamed snow crab, shrimp and clams! And my brother is insisting I mention the bok choy — he loved how tender and tasty it was! Definitely a place I would recommend!

HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE STILL OPEN?! 85.5% sanitation score, UBER SLOW SERVICE, crowded, and dirty. Negative 10 stars. Waited an hour for food I didn’t even get to eat. Waste of time and waste of a building space.

Food would be 5 stars & atmosphere/​service would be more like 3. The food is awesome, large portions. The service was very slow and had a couple wait changes without any introductions which was kind of awkward. It’s a little expensive for the fish house type atmosphere, but the food is good!

Seafood was average. Oysters were not on ice. The oysters were cold enough, but questionable without the ice. Cocktail sauce in a squeeze bottle, so not ice cold for your oysters either. King crab legs were ok, a little watery so not top notch.
Overall this place was ok, but not something I would need to repeat if my travels bring me back to this area again.
If your from out of town, keep looking, there are better options out there.

Casual and crappy.
First of all, this place stinks– literally.
I could stop there because what’s worse than trying to enjoy a meal in a cloud of stench? Well lemme tell ya…
Service was slow. The dudes taking orders were both frazzled and confused in the face of a half filled restaurant. Had to order my beer twice, no apology offered.
The second server cruised past and randomly placed a plastic cup of lemon wedges and spices on table about 5 minutes after we had finished eating. I looked like I was getting scurvy???
Coleslaw was so mayonnaisey that it appeared to be lard with a few flecks of cabbage suspended in it. No bueno!
The greens were too garlicky and greasy.
The soft shell crab plate at $ 27.95 was a major rip-​off! Way over-​priced; the crabs were not cleaned properly with the «deadman» (gills) left in situ to impart a hint of bile to the cold crustaceans.
I can’t believe this place stays open, especially since Durham has so many cool places to eat. Perhaps as one Unilocaler suggested; most patrons are drunk so little things as the odour of rotting garbage and crap food doesn’t offend.
Did I mention that the place stank?

Came into town on business and craving oysters. After a quick web search, I was happy to find an oyster bar in town. I arrived just after 7 pm on a Monday evening to find they were closed due to «kitchen issues». Very disappointed.

My husband was craving oysters and we were headed to Durham. He was very excited when I suggested Fishmonger’s! Though I used to work right across the street, I never made it to this seafood haven. I love to casual atmosphere — it reminds of a fish camp*. My husband got the oysters he craved I got the steamed shrimp platter. Everything was fresh and delicious. I highly recommend Fishmonger’s and can’t wait to eat here again!
*I’ve never actually been to a fish camp. This is just my imagination talking!

I’m really surprised by some these negative reviews.
I’ve been twice so far. Once as a part of a food tour of Durham, the second as a guest. Both times were great experiences. I’m actually not much of a seafood person generally, but since it was so fresh, you didn’t really get much of a the fishy taste.
My favorite dish there is the catfish with curry sauce. It is delicious! The catfish was done just right and it was genius to serve it with the curry sauce. My partner and I both loved it (that’s why we went back the second time.)
I will agree with some of the comments regarding pricing and service. It was a little bit more than expected. They could probably afford to bring down the pricing. But, I guess since all the food is so fresh, you gotta pay a premium.
The service is very… «hands off.» I guess they just don’t want to bother you while you enjoy the food… yeah… that must be it.
It’s also kind of weird how the tables are really just a few picnic tables placed next to each other. Not the most comfortable for the bum and could be a little awkward with people so close. That being said, it’s great if you’ve got a big group!
They also have karaōke and open mic nights some days! I haven’t gotten a chance to go, but it’s probably worth checking out!
Overall, I place I wouldn’t mind taking my parents (so they can food the bill.)

Let me start by saying, I loved the atmosphere… super casual and a little funky. It reminds me of a place at the beach that doesn’t put on airs and just serves good seafood. The «serves good seafood» part is where I get stuck here… I mean it wasn’t baaaad per-​se, but it wasn’t «ohmygodthoseoysterswereamaaaazing» either.
We started with the oysters. ½ dozen. They were huge. They weren’t the best in the world, but I can’t complain about them either. If we were just going on size alone, I would say they strongly delivered.
We also tried the fried green tomatoes. Not bad, although a little heavy on the breading.
My friend and I each had the softshell crab sandwich as an entrée. She had fries and I had lima beans/​corn as my side. Once again, heavy on the fried breading (do I see a theme here?) and somewhat bland in flavor. Not terrible, but not something I’d rave to friends about, either. Lima beans= yum. Coleslaw that you get by default = pretty good.
I also had some sort of grapefruit martini for $ 6. It was pretty good. Tart and quenching.
Service was fair. Not a super attentive waitstaff, even though it wasn’t busy at all. My water was empty (and I was thirsty!) and we were ignored for a good 20 minutes, before I finally got up to find the server and ask for our check.
So it was worth a try. I always walk by here and wonder why it’s not really that busy. Well, now I know.