A historic restaurant of sorts, with the location in Brandon being one of the last two sites open. The food is good, after all, it has to be. When you choose original receipes with quality ingredients v. cookie cutter frozen franchise fare, your taste buds will thank you. read more

It's been a long time since we've been to a Shell's location. A lot has changed. Some good and I'm not so good. Starting with the good, service was outstanding! Very attentive, and our server was very knowledgeable regarding the menu. Location itself is just OK. Outside looks a bit shady. When you walk in you realize they've done a good job keeping it clean and updated. As for the food, the focus seems to be more on keeping it affordable than really quality food. The food was tasty - the crabcakes were OK, not great but OK. I will give kudos for the bourbon old-fashioned - it was generous and excellent. It's also a big emphasis on fried food. If you like fried foods, this is your place. If you're looking for something a little healthier and perhaps a little higher quality, you'll have to really scour the menu. That said, given the convenience of its location we will be back. read more

Asia was fantastic!!! She was super friendly and very attentive- and she explained everything very well. Food was great, servings were large. Clam chowder is probably one of the best I've had...it does have bacon in it. Clean and reasonable prices. Delicious- if you have the chance to go, I would absolutely do so! read more

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Food was really good but it was just a tiny bit cold but warm enough to eat the taste the texture was there definitely recommend

My expectations are way higher than the food they serve. Went here years ago and it was pretty good but my last couple of visits was not so good. I ordered oysters and they were so griddy with sand I couldn't eat them. Won't be going back. Staff was pleasant and attentive read more

I remember going to Shells when I was younger with my parents. I recently heard there's was a Shells opening here in Brandon. I was so happy because the only one I knew that was still open was in St. Pete. I finally got the chance to eat here tonight and let me tell you that it was amazing. The restaurant was super clean, the friendliest staff and the food was just perfect. I would absolutely recommend Shells to anyone looking for great fresh seafood!! read more

Service was great. Unfortunately the food was blah! The shrimp and crab dish might be good if all you are expecting cheese as the shrimp and crab are overpowered by the processed cheese. The Shrimp and Scallop Pasta was dry and unappetizing. The Captain's Platter was over fried and the breading was soggy. This is not the Shells I remember from years ago. read more

My husband and I went to Shells Restaurant on Brandon Blvd in Brandon a week or so ago and had a nice meal. While leaving we saw a sign about 1 lb. of snow crab legs on Tuesdays for $24.99. This Tuesday we decided to try them. We ordered a bowl of clam chowder to share that was delicious. We both order the snow crab legs. When they were brought to the table I noticed that mine were cold. I touched my husband's snow crab legs and they were lukewarm warm. We asked our waitress about them and she went and asked her manager what could be done. She returned to us to tell us they could not do anything sine they had been brought to the table. At that point we asked for boxes for our food figuring we could take them home and warm them. I saw others enjoying the snow crab legs so maybe it was just ours? Who knows... It made me think that restaurants often take steaks back that are not cooked enough so what makes snow crab legs different? It was a disappointing meal. :-( read more

The best place in Brandon for crab legs. Is my favorite place for crab legs, good price, the best. That is my only dish i eat there. My hubby always eat difference plates. Shells is a family restaurant. Our waitter very nice ans ckeck on us a few time. read more

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Shells in Brandon is a consistent stop for us, especially around the holidays. Great fun, casual atmosphere with consistently great service and good seafood. They especially excel at their fried creations and appetizers. They also do New Orleans spice rather well. The service here is always impeccable. Our waitress on Christmas Eve for our large party was simply amazing. I recommend you give this place a try if you're in the Brandon area. It is one of the long standing staples that won't disappoint. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Seafood pasta - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

No complaints! The shrimp pasta and baby lobster pasta were absolutely delicious!!! The calamari was fresh but too salty for my liking and the peel and eat shrimp were good but served cold which I'm not use to. Happy hour is all day and the house margarita was just enough, order w/o the salt rim! read more

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Joined family for Christmas Eve Dinner here and the staff was incredible! Our server especially made it a night to remember. Really enjoyed the Fried Calamari and Seafood dip alongside a very cheesy and creamy Shrimp Tortellini. Only things bringing the experience down was the drinks. Many in my party, myself included ordered Red Sangria which tasted watered down and extremely sugary. One member of our party had to send a glass of wine back because it was so watered down it didn't even taste like Pinot. Overall, I'd be happy to go back, but maybe just stick to Soda and Beer for drinks. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Shrimp and Cheese Tortellini - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Every time I come, here is usually good. I haven't been in a while, but I hope it still as good as it's always been.

Our go-to family restaurant for holiday seafood dinner. It's a casual and comfortable place with friendly staff and good service. We love sharing a few appetizers and there are plenty of options to choose from for entrees. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Seafood Pasta - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

So while do a bit of comforter laundry mat cleaning, there is a few hide-and-way store in the back. One was smelling wonderful!..popped in the waitress was very nice. So i said imma coming back for dinner with some people. Overall, they are right, they sever the BEST, im mean top tier New England clam chowda...when its worth ever 4.5 stars..It would ve 5 stars if it came out hot and not luke warm...plus i would have love to have some sprinkled on top (Old Bay)...but great place Dunkin Noodle: No drink list but.they have an open bar, so go crazy! read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Shells Clam Chowder...4.5 - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

Wonderful waitresses and excellent food. I've never had a bad food there and reasonable drinks.

I always love Shells and the service is always great. The shrimp pasta is amazing. The mussels are a great amount and great flavor and I had the special shrimp tortellini that was very good. read more

One evening, I was craving pasta. So I ordered Shells seafood. I had the shrimp pasta which was bursting with flavor, but it was a bit too creamy for someone who rarely eat dairy. I hope to be able to try something else from there that I can fully enjoy. read more

This is such a great spot. I would definitely bring a group here for seafood. We came here for some "real food" after a party. Aka I just wanted oysters. They were decent. The buff shrimp was top tier. Honestly BWW is missing out cause these are a gem. I'd honestly give them 4.5 stars but .5 isn't an option I guess. Not pictured are the peel and eat shrimp. I've had a few types but these were interesting. They were headless and deveined, which I appreciated but they were served cold (on purpose) and had some type of oil on them. Honestly it was just weird and didn't taste great. But it might just be me having a different preference for peel and eat shrimp. Service was great and consistent. Also, just get the darn key lime pie, you deserve it. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Raw Oysters - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

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Yes, this one is 5-stars for the consistency of our favorite pasta dishes that we know are always fresh and generous. Happy hour drinks with a full bar at reasonable prices is appreciated. Plenty of parking in front and behind restaurant. Servers are friendly, informative, and attentive. This is totally a casual seafood restaurant that the whole family can enjoy. Relax, eat, and know you will have plenty of leftovers to take home. I love their Shells shrimp pasta in a white wine garlic sauce that melts in my mouth. Entree is served with a slice of perfectly toasted garlic bread that you can use to soak the sauce. Yum. Hubby loves the baby lobster pasta in a pink sauce. He never can finish it and loves having the leftovers on the next day. Miss them for those closed their Sarasota location and we will drive the hour to this location when we need our pasta dish fix. So worth it, unpretentious and predictable. read more

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First, we didn't know it was a chain and we meant to go to the one closer to our Airbnb in Tampa but ended up in Brandon! Either way, we had a good experience. Greeted as soon as we walked in Our server Raul was thorough! We didn't have to wait too long for our meals. We ordered half dozen oysters & steamed shrimp (not pictured) and some cocktails to start. The oysters were HUGE! I've always had medium or small sized so this was different. We had to cut them in half because trying to slurp them was out of the question - they were ok but I wouldn't order them again at that size. My mom had the fried snapper dinner - she said it could've used more seasoning - though it was fried, it was bland and she was expecting the whole fish not just a filet. My cousin enjoyed her crab cakes and said the shrimp was spicy. I had the snow crab legs which were delicious! I prefer mine seasoned in old bay (they weren't) but I ordered a side of it and was good to go! Overall the food was better than expected and it satisfied the craving we had. read more

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Years ago I visited a Shell's Seafood Restaurant in Ocala, Florida and was obsessed with the delicious soups, seafood, and pasta. I visited every time I was in town. Sadly, they closed and I was left with only memories of their wonderful food. I am visiting Tampa and saw that there are three Shell's Seafood Restaurants nearby with the same logo and same menu from my memories. I chose the Brandon location for a takeout order after checking reviews and health inspections, never expecting things to taste the same. My Goodness, I've never been so happy to be wrong in my life! We started with lobster bisque and it was creamy, full of lobster, and probably the best cup of soup I've ever had in my entire life. I followed that up with a Caesar salad, which was a huge portion of crisp, fresh romaine lettuce paired with the tastiest dressing. Finally, I had a side of linguini with cream sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was plentiful and almost brought tears to my eyes, it was so delicious. I felt like I was transported 25 years back in time and eating the amazing food at the Shell's I remembered. Things are never as good as remembered, but this meal was even better than I remembered! My husband had fried fish, parsley potatoes, and steamed vegetables. He didn't talk much while eating, so I knew he loved it. I placed my order over the phone and the person who took my order was so patient, answering any questions I had. I picked up inside and the place was packed on a Sunday at 2 pm. Still, it looked clean and inviting. Service was quick and friendly. Thank you, Shell's, for memories old and new! read more

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My husband and I were in town for the RV convention. They have several locations of the Shells Seafood, not knowing we just happened to pick the one we came to a year ago and have sat at the bar both times for quick seating opposed to waiting. We live in Colorado, so when we come south, we definitely are going to eat seafood as much as possible since we do not have fresh seafood in Colorado. The food is always delicious and quick service. We will definitely be back next year. Go and enjoy. read more

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Just as the sign says...Great Casual Seafood. We visited on a Tuesday evening and we're seated right away by the friendly hostess. Thanks to our great waiter, Jude and all of his suggestions, we had a great dinner! The food came out quickly after we ordered. The bisque was rich and delicious. Although a little salty for me, hubby loved it. We both ordered the fresh catch Red Fish, lightly breaded and fried perfectly. Coleslaw with mandarin oranges was really good, not sweet as you might think. We also got the pasta with mezze sauce(spicy red sauce mixed with cream sauce) as our 2nd side. SO good. It was totally worth the extra $1. Thanks, Jude! You were right about it all! read more

I went to Shells once before and recently came back a second time with my dad. We both got their jambalaya and it was so good and so well seasoned! The portion size was large which allowed us to have left overs for the next day. My dad also got their clam chowder which he enjoyed as his appetizer. The waitress, Jocelyn, was also great - very friendly and attentive! read more

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Food was amazing. Clam chowder and lobster bisque were excellent. Alaskan crab legs were great. Also the salmon Felix was to die for. Inside was a nice atmosphere and very clean. Will be back soon read more

Brandon Shells is the better option. Went to Tampa Shells and it was not a good experience and thought I would be done with Shells. Took a date to Shells Brandon, so glad I did. Food was great, staff was very attentive and professional and nice. Maybe Tampa Shells should do some cross training. read more

Tucked away in an older secluded strip mall sits Shells. It's nice and open inside with bar seating, tables and television. The service is great and even another server will pass by your table and clear dishes or refill drinks. So first off the clam chowder was very good. The calamari was over breaded and over fried, so not a good choice. The seafood cioppino was again fair, first off it was served warm instead of hot. While the menu boasts huge amounts of fish it was mostly white fish, two shrimp, four small clams and some tiny bay scallops. The crap/shrimp combo on the other had was very good. Lots of fresh shrimp and a nice sized crab portion. read more

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This review is more so based on service than food. The food wasn't bad but we did have pretty great service. I first went to Shells many years ago when there was one in Orlando, so I was happy to see there were locations here when I moved. This was the first time I had been to this location though. It was pretty busy but we still had no wait when we walked in at around 6pm. My dad had the lobster bisque which was fantastic! My mom had a crab cake. Not like we're used to but it wasn't terrible. I didn't have an appetizer but had the shrimp and scallop pasta for my meal. My mom had the fried trio and dad had a dozen of raw oysters. Overall everything was good! I recommend. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Shrimp and Scallop Pasta - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

We drove an hour and 45 minutes for this clam chowder. It is absolutely the best we have EVER tasted!! Ari, our server, was terrific!! We sat in the back section of the restaurant. It was very busy, but not noisy at all. read more

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This place smells like the worst part of a red tide. I walked in and walked right out unfortunately. I'm not sure how they say they stay busy. Maybe if they did something about the ambiance, they would prosper like they used to. read more

The food was delicious; had Shrimp Pasta the 1st night and then 3-way Shrimp the last night of our trip. The service was excellent!

The most amazing nestled seafood place in heart of Brandon. With friendly and welcoming service, this casual dining fun family atmosphere caters to its guests. The menu is full of delicious and decadent seafoods meals, so if you enjoy seafood, you are sure to find something you'll enjoy. read more

It has been many years since we were here. Food good, chowder lgreat, a bit pricey for portion. Service also good. No complaints, alternative places are better. May return if in the area. read more

Crab cakes delicious Got the steamed peel & eat shrimp too - big, fresh. Service was attentive and friendly. Nice crowd, comfy booths. Recommend read more

Would not come back, regret listening to other good reviews. The soups were all too salty and tasted out of a can. The calamari was pretty good at least, but the noodles were so buttery and greasy. The fried shrimp and scallops were too salty as well. The fried mushrooms were plain and not interesting. Most of our family ran to the bathroom because of all the grease and butter hurting our stomachs. The server was nice but kept coming back and trying to give us boxes right after getting dessert and just too interruptive to our family dinner. Booths are torn up, bathrooms are old. Key lime pie was more cream than lime, and crust was crumbly and plain tasting. Chocolate cake was extremely dry and did not taste good at all. It's also in a weird location that is not so nice. read more

Frequent visitor to this location. Arrived around 5pm on Friday. No line, no waiting. The dining was filled quickly, but didn't feel loud. Took a bit for our serve Raul to reach us. He quickly made up for it with his service. He was very attentive and accommodated all of our requests. Everything we dined on was good. Regarding the parley potatoes, they'd be just as good if they weren't drenched in butter. IJS Not pictured is clam chowder. Packed with clams. Very tasty. read more

Shells Seafood - Brandon - Fried catfish - Seafood Near Me - Brandon, Florida

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It's been a long time since we ate at Shell's and we were glad to find the quality and service are very good. I generally stick with the fried shrimp and it was good. Someone also had the scallops, again, very good. My mother-in-law had the redfish, which was a first for everyone at the table and we really enjoyed it. They do brew their iced tea, but the sweet tea different (apparently it already has the sugar in it) and it seemed weak, so if you're picky about your iced tea, just order unsweetened and ask for some simple syrup. read more

Shells used to be my go-to place every time I visited Tampa. I ordered Alaska King crab legs when I visited every year over the last 10. Alaska King is no longer on the menu (only Snow and Dungeness). Calamari was not good and look nothing like to menu (it appeared dark and not golden brown and tasted as if burnt edible oil was used. The first time I failed to finish Calamari). The house margarita, my drink of choice, was not well made (only finished half and did not order any more alcohol). The seafood pasta was excellent and saved the day. Service was good. read more

Service was wonderful. Ari was very impressive and cheerful. She made us feel welcomed and appreciated. She was prompt on refilling our beverages and made sure we had everything we needed for our meal. I recommend a bowl of the delicious clam chowder. Shells has MORE clams than any other recipe. The kids love the shrimp pasta. Our youngest loves the "shark attack" it's a sprite with a shark toy which contains grenadine "cherry" syrup. She loved pouring the "shark blood" into the sprite. It's the small things that make lasting memories. My favorite dish is Salmon Felix. It has a lobster sauce with lump crab meat on top of the Salmon. I always get a side of their delicious Parsley potatoes. Shells has been around for 40 years and I love supporting small businesses such as Shells Seafood. read more