The Oyster House

What a shithole! No greeting to the attempted birthday boy and his wife despite the table being set for 15. After 30 minutes we weren’t offered drinks or appetizers. It was a Monday night, not even busy at all. After an incompetent 19 year-​old took our orders for drinks, he dropped off two Diet Pepsi in six drink orders. Our very easy alcohol drinks weren’t delivered for another 20 minutes. When my partner’s easy Negroni was met with «we don’t have that» he went to investigate the bar and saw not only was the liquor lacking any mixers, but a bored looking redhead texting and 100% uninterested in making a cocktail. How does a waterfront restaurant/​bar not have Vermouth or Campari for simple, classic cocktails, much less no charming bartender? That alone is embarrassing.
Next we were met by the server dropping a soda on a family member, taking 15 minutes to replace it and take their orders after she had to completely change her outfit and adding insult to injury, food arriving much later than everyone else at the table. He also kept placing liquor and hot foods in front of the infant, thus placing her in direct danger. How clueless is your staff? If it were up to me, everyone would be fired in lieu of people with real experience in service and at the bare minimum bussing empty plates and glasses at table which literally not even one person stopped to do. Fuck this place. I have stooped to Unilocal,which I never do. Gross, overpriced food with incompetent servers and a sad excuse for business in Olympia. We will justifiably never, ever be back.

The service was slow to the point it was almost non existent. Everything we ordered was burnt or overcooked to the point it was really dry and tough to eat. On top of that they brought the wrong sides for half of our orders. You would think they were really busy but we were there early and there was only a couple other tables. If they offered me a free meal to come back I would pass. Go anywhere else in Olympia and I promise you’ll have a better experience.

Was a bit skeptical due to poor reviews. I was pleasantly surprised our food was excellent an the service was good. I see they are staffed on the light side but give them a chance as they are not overly busy and staff sitting around cost them money…

I took my husband and son along with my family that were visiting from north Idaho to the oyster house today for lunch. First off I’d like to thank our poor server… that poor sweet young man! He did the best he could but it couldn’t have saved our experience. First thing… which wasn’t too terrible was my son’s chocolate milk. It came basically as plain milk… this 5 year old is a chocolate milk connoisseur. I asked if they could add more chocolate. No problem, taken care of right away! Great. We ordered the sampler platter, halibut tacos, clam chowder, shrimp artichoke dip, shrimp cocktail, and an order of oysters on the half shell. The 15 $ shrimp cocktail was of the worst quality freezer burnt like shrimp we’d ever tried. We sent it back and the server told us we weren’t the first to complain that day about the shrimp cocktail… that day. The shrimp artichoke dip was great… fried platter was ok, except the crab cake! Most awful gooey squishy hardly warmed patty of mush ugh.
When the rest of the food came, my sons grilled cheese and fries were fine… my mom’s hollendaise salmon plate was so over cooked the salmon was rubbery and dry, sauce wasn’t good at all and the portions for a 28 $ plate were embarrassing. My brother never received his salad along with his rubbery sirloin steak… we were told after the fact that it would be taken off the bill for that mistake.
By the time were were half full of awful food and bad experiences we’d had enough. It really was upsetting. We were really looking forward to this restaurant and it was a complete bust. In the end we had another talk with the poor server and he was very understanding and came back with our bill which was still over $ 120. We were there to eat good food, we didn’t care about the price as long as it was good! They took off the shrimp cocktail and half the price of the salmon dish… we took home some French fries and left a ridiculous amount of wasted food we couldn’t bare to do for leftovers. It really was sad. I will never recommend eating at this establishment ever again. And I’m wishing I’d have read the reviews on Unilocal before deciding to take my family from out of town.

If I could give 0 I would. We have been going to Oyster House for years and always order the same thing. 4 shooters and the cognac oysters. Love them! Today we went in and ordered the same but they were terrible with metal taste. Our waitress was great but the owner came to our table and confronted us stating this is the way they have always been made arguing that we were in her house. We will never return

This was a terrible Manager. The waitress was in the process of sitting us at an outside table. We had our 5 pound maltese dog with us, we thought sitting outside was generally ok. The Manager runs after us yelling, is that a service dog? We said no, that is why were sitting at an outside table. He embarrassed us in front of all the other guests that were dining. You cant bring that dog here, you’ll have to leave. Needless to say the Manager was extremely rude and handled it badly. Maybe he should tell this no dog policy to the hostesses and waitresses. I see from the other revies the Manager is a complete idiot, and should be fired.

Omg if I could only give a zero! Just left this terrible establishment. This was definitely the worst dining experience of my life! I felt like I must have been on a hidden camera show. This is going to be long! So much BAAAADD!
1^st Ordered drinks 25 min later they are still sitting on the bar. The server and «manager» apologized. Doesnt offer to pour a new cold beer. We ordered a blonde and it was an IPA. Ok I can get passed that.
2^nd I ordered a $ 68 meal that was supposed to come with a salad and a bowl of soup. I asked to add the oyster stew. My father-​in law’s oyster stew came out 1^st with big chunks of bacon on top. I don’t eat bacon. So I asked if the clam chowder also has bacon? Our server checked with someone who said nope no bacon. (I don’t eat meat!) cool i’ll have the clam chowder instead. It comes out 1^st bite bacon chunks! Our server comes back. O’ the owner just told me there is actually bacon in the clam chowder. Wtf!
3^rd We asked if the salad and soup would be out before our meals in the first place.
The manager says «yes, they should» my salad comes few minutes after my meal. So the salad is never touched.
4^th During this time a family of 4 sits down behind us. After waiting 10 – 15 minutes to order. They get up and leave. (I wish we would have done the same)
5^th We watched and heard while My father-​in-​laws oysters Rockefeller were stolen by another server. That male server just said «sorry“to our server when she said hey those our mine.
At this point we are all pretty pissed and ask for the owner Leticia.
6^th The manager then proceeds to tell us the Owner Leticia isn’t customer service oriented is not only not going to come out and talk to us she is also not going to take anything off the bill. Including the oyster stew that I never received! He says «We know we have some things to work on.» When we say we don’t think we should pay for this. The manager says if you don’t it will come out of your servers pocket. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON WE PAID!
Wtf!!!
7^th Then our server comes out and tells us she just got fired! We weren’t upset with the server. Half of all this wasn’t even her fault! (I hope she finds a better place to work.) We were angry with the terrible management/​ownership! Needless to say we would not recommend this establishment to my worst enemy. Listen to the terrible reviews! This place is the worst!

I’m not one to expect much when it comes to establishments in podunk capital cities and our experience at the OH reaffirms just that. First and foremost if you have to park across the street at a vacant lot pls note YOU HAVE TO PAY. I of course did not know this and found a ticket under the blades waving at me saying, «Ha ha sucker! «There were clearly no visible signs only one that you can barely see off in the distance. When I walked up to it there were no pay boxes that I’m used to seeing only a sign instructing you to call or visit a website to pay with a credit card. Are you effing kidding me!?? Who pays for parking these days over the phone? Again CAPITAL CITIES! Now for the OH experience…
Our server was cordial and efficient with maybe a 3 out of 10 on the personality scale. The food on the other hand? Def NOT worthy of the price. My wifes crab louie salad was a total joke and my deep fried oysters did not live up to the signature staple of the OH. Won’t be coming here again and will def be my last time in Washington’s capital.

So my previous review was pretty good, however last night May 7^th at 6:15 p.m., we went and sat in the Bar Area so the dining room could keep sitting Prom Couples. We found a table… and waited and waited and waited and waited. Not one server came by. We asked some folks sitting next to us if they had a server. they had been served wine 45 minutes previous and had ordered. But since then nothing. Another couple went to the bar to get their drinks and eventually left without eating.
The only person who acknowledged us was the bus boy who also brought our menu’s At 20 minutes in I went to the front desk to ask if there was any servers, yep. Another 10 minutes I went to the Bar and asked could we please get a waiter, server someone with a pulse. Be there in a few minutes I was told. Another 10 minutes we got up and left. Two other couples left as well.
********We went down to Ramblin Jacks where we were seated, given menus, water and in less than 20 minutes had our food despite the fact they they were very, very busy as well*******
I have no idea what happened or why, If anyone had taken the time to at least approach us and say «Hey sorry for the wait, we’ll be with you shortly» Sure I could have taken that. I did not a few tables we passed on the way in who were seated also had no water, no food and looked upset.
This WAS one of our favorite places to eat. WAS…
HURRY SOMEONE CALL RESTAURANT IMPOSSIBLE AMBUSH BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Spent a beautiful mid-​afternoon lunch on the patio in the back. With a pure blue sky and temperature comfortably in the 70s, what could go wrong? To be fair, the deep fried halibut was fine, just what you would expect from a conventional seafood restaurant. And once my order was in, it came back quickly. But the service was so remarkably poor, I can’t recommend the place. Unless, like me, you’re just there for the sunshine and warm breeze on the patio, in which case, it’s really pretty fine!
I probably waited 15 minutes at my table before any wait staff recognised my existence. And they were not particularly crowded at 2 pm on Friday afternoon. My server was comically bad at her job. I watched her dump a glass of ice water at the feet of the guests at a nearby table, heard apologize endlessly for mixing up a drink order, and waited interminably for her to visit my table. Offering ketchup to go with my fries clearly would have exceeded her limited bandwidth. I don’t usually dis local places and people, but this was just too ridiculous not to share!

The good news.
My thoughts when I sat down was this is a nice place. When I first looked at the menu I wasn’t sure how the food was going to be. It was actually good food and good portions for the money. We sat on the deck and the view was nice.
Now for the bad news.
We sat there about 15 mins before the waiter came to our table. Then about 15 more mins to get soft drinks. About 30 mins to get our appetizers (deep fried onion rings) if not longer.
Main dish took another 45 mins after the appetizers. It was very difficult to get drinks refilled while all the waiting. It was moderately busy.
The food was pretty good but I’m not sure I would return due to the long wait and poor service.

Had lunch there with 5 others… horrible service, not sure the kids that was helping us was even an actual member of wait staff. Calamari was undercooked, Salmon was dry and overcooked. We got our chowder after we were done eating, AND… the desserts all tasted of freezer burn. We were told all the desserts are made in house… yikes, didn’t taste like it.
We won’t go back… we had been told service and food had gone downhill, but we thought we would give it a try. Bad idea.
Unfortunate a supposed Olympian icon was a bust.

I went here for dinner tonight with four other people, and we were all disappointed by our experience!
Personally, my kalamari was undercooked and I also ordered a side of fries and they gave me a POUND of fries which was $ 8! My total for an appetizer for my meal and what I thought was just a side of fries was almost $ 25. I was definitely shocked when I got my check!
Also — one of my friends got some soup and it had a pretty decent sized piece of aluminum foil in it!
Everyone was pretty disappointed by the quality of their meals — it was pretty greasy and just not great for seafood when the restaurant theme is seafood… I definitely would not go here again.
The waitstaff was really nice, though. Not their fault at all. Purely the quality of the food and I wish someone had clarified with me when I said I wanted a SIDE of fries not a POUND…

Service was horrible tonight. It took our waiter (who we think was the manager) 15 mins to greet us. He finally came to our table just to say be right back and just came back with waters then left again. Took him 5 mins to come back and take our orders. My husband ordered fish tacos. He said they were very bland and greasy. The grease was dripping off the tacos. So I tried a bite, it was gross! My Seafood Louie was not that great, not for $ 25! My husband told the manager he didn’t like the tacos and he said «oh sorry, do you want a dessert on the house?»… Really?! No, we wanted it taken off the bill but he gave us 10% off!
At least our daughters chicken and fries were good.
We will never be coming back here again!

I gave it 5 stars because I didn’t expect it to be as great as it was. It’s really only a 4 star but I’m trying to compensate for all the prior bad reviews. I’ve been in Olympia for work for 5 weeks. I have eaten out every night for 5 weeks and I haven’t felt compelled to add a Unilocal review on any other restaurant in town. I have actually avoided Oyster House because it has a negative Unilocal score.
I finally gave Oyster House a try. I had fish tacos and a salad w/​a Deschutes Fresh Squeeze. The fish tacos were as good as any place in town. I really enjoyed them.
Service was awesome! Server was friendly and attentive. I definitely recommend people give this a try.

First, let me say that we’ve dined here on a number of occasions and not been disappointed. Our usual experience here would merit a four, or at least a three, star rating.
Second, let me say that the service staff tonight was, without exception, prompt, polite, helpful and efficient. This is usual for the Oyster House.
However, dinner tonight was not satisfactory, entirely because of problems in the kitchen. My wife ordered a crab cocktail and a bowl of clam chowder. I ordered an open faced crab sandwich, a cup of clam chowder and an oyster shooter. Despite at least three checks the bartender made on the progress of our meal (we sat at the bar) it was well over half an hour before our food arrived, long after later arrivals had been served.
When the food arrived, the crab cocktail was composed of still frozen crab. The chowders were both lukewarm. The crab sandwich was not hot and the cheese on it had congealed. The oyster shooter was fine.
We sent the crab cocktail back and requested it be taken off the bill since we were not interested in waiting another half an hour to eat. We consumed the chowders because they were barely acceptable due to the tepid temperature. I ate the sandwich, but it was sub-​par due to not being freshly cooked.
The kitchen manager came out, acknowledged the problems and offered to redo the meal, which was good, but the point is, we expect food to arrive in reasonable time to the table, we expect it to be freshly cooked and hot, and we do not expect frozen crab meat on a crab cocktail.
We’ll eat here again, but with a bit more skepticism next time and prepared to be more critical if necessary.

Arrived at 11:15am on a Monday, only 15 minutes after they opened. We were the first customers there. The waiter sat us in a booth right next to the kitchen where a few of the staff were discussing a child support case in detail and very loudly.
I ordered onion rings as a substitute (instead of fries) and our waiter told us he’d have to charge me $ 2 extra. Ok fine — it’s worth it to me if they are good onion rings. He brought our food out to us and my onion rings were luke warm and floppy. Not crispy or hot at all. My daughter’s fried oysters, same thing. Warm and floppy. GROSS. Really? We were the first and only ones there at that specific time!
Not worth $ 40, that’s for sure and definitely not going back.

Disappointed — web page says they are open Sundays.
Called for a reser on my wife’s birthday and found they were closed. They said the storm was keeping people away. Storm? That was yesterday. It was just a normal rainy day.
Was this more a case just not enough business to keep the doors open? If so, that’s not a good sign. (even if it is Sunday in sleepy ol’ Olympia).

Boy was i glad to have come here only 15minutes after opening because their tiny parking lot fills up veeeery quickly! We opted to sit outside and dine al fresco since it was a nice sunny day. Our server was friendly and fast and got us started with water and drinks almost immediately.
We chose a variety of appetizers so that we could try a whole range of their menu. Their clam chowder was pretty good, though I wish there was more seafood and less potatoes in my cup. Loved their crispy crunchy pound of fries. Crab cakes were quite good (i only had a couple of bites tho). Finally we also ordered a dozen assorted oysters — this is where I was hoping to be blown away. Although they were tasty, I’m sad to say my mind wasn’t blown. We had to reference as to which oyster was what kind, couldn’t see how much each were priced, and weren’t really given any indication as to which ones would be saltier, sweeter, etc. In my opinion, a place named «The Oyster House» which boasts a motto such as «the oyster you eat today slept last night at the Oyster Bay» would have more information on their menu about their fresh oyster selection.
Overall a solid restaurant with good service. What would have impressed me more (and what I was really looking for) would have been more concentration on and better presentation of their fresh oysters.

This was ok.
Not the same ambience as the original. Decorated similar to a chain restaurant eventhough the location is quaint.
Food okay. Just not wow.
We ordered a bowl of chowder and a seafood Louie. The chowder was good, warm, smokey flavored. The salad lettuce was finely chopped with fresh tomatoes, and two oz. each of prawns, crab and scallops. Would have preferred to not have the scallops or prawns, just offer a crab Louie. All seafood seemed previously frozen.
Unfortunately not the same place as years gone by.