My wife and I were on a trip to Key West to celebrate our anniversary. She was in the mood for oysters on the half shell and we're glad we found this place. It has a great view of the ocean and a great place to watch the sunset. The staff is friendly and the service is good. The food is quite good and there's a good selection of beer and cocktails to choose from. Next time we're in Key West, I'm sure be back here again. read more

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We had some of the best conch fritters and the conch ceviche was also excellent. We also enjoyed the view of the dock and all the fish swimming around. read more

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Let's see I guess there biggest hit was they need better fans and the service was lacking. Waited 10 min before someone came to our table.... I guess lack of communication? Anyway I got to jalapeño poppers and popcorn shrimp with I really enjoyed both. However their ceviche was good but the chips taste like they were cooked in old oil . For bar food I may go back if it is a different season. read more

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This place was simply terrible. Came for dinner right after happy hour. The oysters were fine I guess but strangely big and hard to stomach. Must be a locality thing. Main meal all terrible. Awful shrimp Po-boy-stale bread tails on the shrimp still and cheese?! Wilted shredded lettuce. Kids meals were terrible...flat soft drinks and a terrible rum punch that tasted pre mixed out of a bag. The table across from us dined and dashed due to the service and quality of food if that is saying anything... read more

Service is 2 out of 5. We came here 3 times because the location is great and happy hour is decent. Only one of our waitresses was friendly. Half hour is decent. We tried raw oysters (meh), shrimp (great), fries, calamari (meh), and fish dip. Raw Oysters are massive (in a bad way) read more

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Our server Aida was extremely friendly and super accommodating. We brought in our own fish and the kitchen cooked it amazingly! The Stuffed Jalapeños (cream cheese) were great as well. The inside is very laid back, no A/C just fans. So it can get warm. A lot of Wooden bench seating type tables. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Our catch the they cooked for us. - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

Had high hopes for this place but fell flat. Our waiter rarely checked on us, took forever to come back with drinks and left us stranded long after we were done eating. The food was solid and zero complaints on it, everything g tasted good that came out, but even happy hour prices 8 shrimp were $9, and that's 1/2 off! Then the server made a pretty big issue of splitting up our check 4 ways, actually telling us that he's doing us a favor and that they don't do this roughly 4-5 times. Food was good but service left us fully disappointed in the place unfortunately. read more

Everything!! Food is great and fresh!! Service is good. Ambiance on the water is wonderful!!!

If you like a good raw bar with a great water view, this is a place to come hang out for the afternoon. Very low key, not an upscale dining but a more relaxed waterfront beer drinking and seafood eating. Tables are bench style and rustic but you can't beat the view. If you sit next to the water and ate peeled and eat shrimps, you can toss the shell in the water for the many large fishes that swam in the water under the board walk. Service from our waiter was decent with no complaints. read more

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We have made the Half Shell Raw Bar a primary stop every time we visit Key West. This year was a sad disappointment. On Saturday, 8/30/25, we made it to Half Shell wanting to relax and have our favorite shrimp and drinks. We sat at the bar and had one drink, after waiting for at least 10 minutes to be noticed to order them. We finished our drink and were never asked by either server if we wanted another drink or a food menu. Finally, we asked another patron for her menu because we were not offered one. We never received the hint of eye contact from the male and female bartenders as they made their way past us. My wife and I tried to order another drink and did request a menu without the servers acknowledgment or response to us. The male server talked with other patrons around us. The female server told us she would be with us soon, but didn't return. She carried glasses up and down the bar and cleaned when patrons left. We tried to order a few times but could not get a response from either server/bartender. Needless to say, we missed out on shrimp and they missed out on two dinner sales and tips. My wife and I are disappointed enough to write this review. After 30 years of looking forward to the Half Shell, we might have to begin a search for a new favorite seafood location on the island. Feeling let down by a favorite place and hoping others don't have this experience. read more

wonderful happy hour specials, great service & wonderful location. we stopped in 2/20/24 for happy hour snacks - and ended up getting entrees as well because the seafood was so delicious. the space is huge ! we sat outside by the water and it was getting a bit chilly due to the wind on the water. i ordered the clams, which were on special for happy hour. 16 clams, in a delicious butter sauce. the hot lips had good flavor, i wish they'd thrown some bacon in em. great HH deal ($6) read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - hot lips - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

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My favorite meal on the island over our four day stay! Blackened catch of the day was cooked to perfection! Wide variety to choose from. Great location by the marina. read more

We visited & loved it! We ordered conch ceviche, a dozen oysters, a poke salad & fresh grouper sandwich - it was amazing! Service was fantastic & the view was stunning. Island time! read more

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Oysters were fantastic. Great view. Nice service. Love the plates on the walls. My drink was so so but lot of alcohol

We had 14 pounds of fish that we caught!!!! We cooked 10pounds and gave 4 pounds to the staff/others! Angela and the chef get way above the possible reviews. Never got to meet the cook/chef BUT he/she did an amazing job!! We had fried, blackened and grilled! Everything cooked to perfection!! Had several sides as well! Angela BY FAR THE BEST SERVER I THINK I'VE HAD! Pleasant and attentive! Angela was just so nice!!! Thanks for such a great experience!! read more

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Four stars for the environment & our server! Unfortunately I didn't catch her name, but she was attentive & friendly! Food was alright, definitely wouldn't choose to eat there again. Ceviche was bland, & the fish was over cooked & dry. Definitely a fun place to go to dinner but unfortunately a little disappointed with the food. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Conch Ceviche - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

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Service was incredibly disappointing. We came during happy hour and waited almost 30 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. When our server, Victoria, finally came over, she was dismissive and rude. After we ordered oysters, they arrived late--and to make it worse, they were warm and tasted terrible. When we paid and received the receipt, she even complained about her tip, which was the final straw. I HIGHLY do not recommend this place based on our experience. Victoria made our visit terrible but goodluck! The host was amazing & super sweet. read more

The Fried Snapper Sandwich was amazing! Perfectly cooked with perfect fries on the side and awesome tartar sauce and coleslaw. The staff helped each other hour so we didn't have to wait long on a busy night. The marina theme while being actually on a marina with layback atmosphere made it a nice dinner with friends. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Fresh Catch Sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

After spearfishing we wanted to go to a catch and cook restaurant. Unfortunately, we missed the time window on the restaurant we really wanted to go to because our buddy could not get off his phone. We found Half Shell could accommodate us. I was not happy about this because I knew it was in the touristy dock restaurant area and never looked impressive from walk-bys during previous visits to the Keys. The ambiance has a relaxed, divey restaurant feel. Personally I like these restaurants. If you are snobby about your restaurants, this is not your place. It took a minute to get any service because they were severely understaffed. When we did get our server, she was super friendly, but refused to right anything down. This always goes one of two ways, your order is completely jacked up or you have an amazing server who really impresses you. I was a little worried about that since we all had different sides, different adult beverages, and a lot of appetizers. Well she did not disappoint, definitely tipped the heck out of her because although the slow start she kept our drinks filled an food to us in a timely manner. The food was great. They nailed it and the sides were abundant. This was an unexpected, great experience. Definitely should not have judged the book by its cover. Despite the bad slow start, they made up for it in the service and the food. Definitely would bring our catch and cook back here and it was not terribly expensive. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Catch and cook - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

Oysters were amazing , clams were great ! The steak was amazing Tastey drinks. Wonderful view. read more

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We were craving some oysters and we decided to check this place out. The oysters were market price at almost 5$ each, other places we tried on Duval Street were cheaper. So opted to just try out their conch soup. It was terrible, it tasted like tomato soup with mini floating potatoes and what looked like ground beef. I would not recommend this place. read more

I'm a sucker for raw seafood and the happy hour specials they have here are calling my name! It's everyday from 4:30-6:30 pm including drink specials and other dishes such as steamed shrimp, clams, fried calamari, and conch fritters. They are known for their Oysters on the Half Shell and that's what has me loving this place. It gets pretty packed in the evening so definitely try to get here right at happy hour. Around 5:30 pm or so there will probably be a line as it was the two times I was there. The Oysters on the Half Shell come with the classic cocktail sauce, horseradish, crackers, and key lime. You can ask for hot sauce as well. Super delish and fresh and by far my favorite thing here. I also tried out the Clams on the Half Shell. They were petite, but still yummy. Definitely prefer oysters though, but it was great to try. The Beer Steamed Shrimp was pretty good as well. A wee bit overcooked imo, but had a nice beer taste and good flavor overall. Overall, I like this place and will make it my staple to satisfy my raw cravings for oyster! read more

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For being right at the ocean I would have expected better quality of seafood . I guess I was spoiled when living on the coast in Spain read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

My absolute favorite spot for happy hour in Key West! The oysters are good and fresh, and the drinks arrive quickly. Every time we go, we seem to see rude patrons getting booted from the bar, but we've never found any fault with the service or food. Bar staff is awesome and we love the divey vibe here. If I could own a bar, it would be this one. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

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Great food! Great service! The atmosphere was heroic! I had a great experience and left satisfied. read more

We were not impressed with this spot unfortunately. It's really a shame because it has such a prime spot and the atmosphere is great but the food was sub par We came here because found it while walking around and exploring, plus we happened to have bogo free drinks! My boyfriend ordered the surf and turf and I got a burger (I eat seafood but I just was in the mood for a burger lol) we also got the conch ceviche. The surf and turf was good...normal....typical....whatever. Same for my burger. It was good. Just average. The conch ceviche however was not good. I've had multiple kinds of ceviche and this managed to be plane and bland while being over flavored at the same time. How?? It was too spicy with the jalapeños and that's basically all we tasted. We each also ordered a house margarita and I got mine with light ice and they used a rocks glass but gave my boyfriend a pint glass. Mine was sooooo sour. I've never had such a sour margarita in my life. I didn't even taste any tequila. We were disappointed with that. Our server was sweet and attentive but overall we didn't like it. It was a solid 4/10. Not worth the price we paid. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Our nice view - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

A good place for a low key lunch. Great fish sandwich and oysters. Good bartender. Great value read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Fresh Gulf Oysters - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

Tons of seating, great views, amazing dill potato salad, oysters were so good - I mean what is there not to love?! We had lunch here and really enjoyed it. Great service too. Highly recommend! read more

Fantastic experience, my favorite during my time @ key west! Got a tip from our fishing charter to take our catches to this place and they would cook for us-5 pounds of snapper, grunt, and grouper. The kitchen nailed it!! Went with a split between fried and blackened, and to be honest I couldn't pick a preference between the two. These came with delicious red potatoes! Located right next to the pier, enjoy the views with your meal! read more

Absolutely incredible experience. View of the marina is great and the food is better! Oyster Po' Boy is the best I have ever had. Half shell's were obviously delicious! Definitely recommend the lobster egg rolls! Service was spot on especially during lunch! Grab a T-Shirt on the way out too! Eat it Raw! read more

AMAZING raw seafood tower! Exceeded expectations, highly recommend. Worth the money for sure - we got lots of shrimp, half a dozen each of the oysters and clams, 2 lobster tails and 3 stone crab claws plus ceviche with tortilla chips. So fresh and delicious, plus at a great value. The atomsphere is casual, ask to sit outside - the views of the harbor are great. Definitely will come back here. read more

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We wanted to try this spot as we saw it was rated pretty highly for seafood and as a raw bar. We had already eaten prior, so we wanted to stop just to try a couple of items. We were seated at the bar that was decorated with a bunch of car plates from different states (pretty cool). We ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell and the oysters rockefeller. The oysters were huge! I'm not particularly a fan of bigger, meatier oysters, but they tasted fresh. Similar to the oyster rockefeller, the buttery mixture was pretty good. I would give this place a shot if you're in the area. read more

Amazing spot! Wonderful happy hour prices! Fresh seafood!!! A lot of locals and great shopping right next door! Oceanfront dining is great for sunset too! Just put in patio fans! Try the key lime mustard- holy smokes. The butter garlic bread is meant to eat with the amazing garlic butter anything !!! Or even with your po'boy! Enjoy! read more

Loved the food here! Wasn't too big a fan of the long picnic table seating but I enjoyed the food and atmosphere. The servers were so sweet as well. read more

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If you have fish to cook, this is the place to go! They do such a great job for such a reasonable price. A million times better than Conch Republic. I've always enjoyed it here!! read more

We used to love the Half Shell. It was our go to for Happy Hour. Service was still good, but happy hour not so much. read more

Half Shell Raw Bar - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Key West, Florida

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Update my review still really really good staff is top notch we felt like nothing Fried so we went with steamed clams and steamed mussels great choice very tasty had to get an extra order of garlic bread to soak up all the great broth we ordered a side of yellow rice very nice . This place has a great dive bar on the water feel . Fish are jumping all over as you throw bread in the water really fun atmosphere try this place it great read more

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Service was excellent. Sat on the water and watched the boats go out. We were there for the whole happy hour. Oysters , couple buckets of clams, several beers and an Oyster Shooter. We had steamed shrimp but they serve it in hot beer... get them out quick. We steam shrimp a lot, having them sitting in liquid gets them soggy. We fished them out as quick as we could, ones at bottom already getting soggy. They're good eating if you can get them out of the beer bath read more

Looking for a place to eat we went to 2 places and they were closed so this place was super close by we walked in they ask to wear mask and take temperature kind of hot here so wear something chill like beach wear I order the Caesar salad and the Rockefellers oysters super good and some conch Fritters super good and some fish the best was the fish dip I'll would've stayed with the dip the sitting sucks I dislike benches that don't have a back hurts my back but overall place was good The menu was super short read more

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Half Shell Raw Bar was the first place we stopped into during our time in Key West to get some food and drinks and we were not disappointed! We came in at around 4:45PM on a Sunday and were able to get a table quickly during happy hour which is 4:30PM to 6:30PM daily. There was a temperature check to get in and our party passed so we where then seated at our table. Our waitress quickly came to our table and brought over a large happy poster for us to look at. Every seemed great. Many different options for food and drinks. For drinks it was 50% off all well drinks, beers & House Wines. I believe everyone at our tables drink were $3 or under. My tequila with margarita mix was just $2.88 you can't beat it. We then ordered food for the table 2 orders of Raw Oysters on The Half Shell ($10.99 each) Calamari Rings, Conch Fritters, and Fish Dip at $5.50 each. My favorite were the oysters and Conch Fritters. The oysters were huge and our waitress made sure to bring us all the fixings for them too. The conch Fritters were delicious and I probably could have eaten them all night. If you are looking for a great place for happy hour and great service Half Shell is the place to be. They even use a system that makes splitting the bill super easy and it's all done by scanning the receipt with your phone! We will be back for another round! read more

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