We had a great experience. There was a long wait when we arrived but we joined the waitlist early…read moreso we got in within 5 minutes of arriving. The food was fantastic!

Great service, fresh food, Chips and salsa were amazing. Some of the best salsa in waco.read more

Yesterday I had the opportunity to experience brunch at Opal's Oyster Bar and everything was…read morebeautifully done. The setup and atmosphere looked like something straight out of a magazine. The crab cake Benedict was amazing, the wedge salad was fresh and delicious, and the shrimp from the seawall was full of flavor. And of course, the lobster mac and cheese was absolutely yummy. Great food, beautiful presentation, and an overall wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, Opal's is one of the most poorly run restaurants I've experienced in a long time. We…read moremade reservations months in advance, and they still managed to completely botch it by giving away and relocating our table to accommodate someone else. Apparently reservations here are meaningless. What really took it to another level was watching the staff actually ask the people sitting at the table they stole from us to move. It was unbelievably awkward, unprofessional, and honestly pathetic to watch unfold in real time. Total chaos. I stayed polite the entire time -- holding doors for guests and staff, trying to be understanding -- and then a waiter carrying dirty dishes tried sneaking through behind me when I let the door go and absolutely ate it. Glass shattered everywhere, drinks spilled all over the place, and instead of acting professionally or apologizing, the staff just stood there looking confused. No ownership. No urgency. No class. The whole place feels like it's being run by people completely in over their heads. Disorganized management, clueless staff, zero communication, and customer service that borders on nonexistent. For a place trying to present itself as upscale, the operation felt amateur hour from start to finish. Honestly, if this is how they handle guests who planned ahead for months, I'd hate to see how they handle a busy night. Save yourself the frustration, the wasted time, and the secondhand embarrassment. Good luck staying open, Opal's. With management and service like this, you're going to need a miracle. PS...Bring your bug spray if you don't want extra protein with dinner.

Food was delicious! Patio ambiance was great. And don't even get me started on Chi Chi! He took…read morecare of us all night, was so friendly, and had us cracking up! We will definitely be returning.

Da-yuumm! On the way to Oklahoma, on I-35 we stopped at this unassuming southern eatery and were…read morenot expecting our minds to be blown away by the fabulous quality of Cajun food. We liked the food so much that we stopped here on the way back from OK We got the fried shrimp basket and shrimp poboy the first time and got the Boom boom Shrimp starter, Atchafalaya Etoufee and, Gumbo and rounded it off with Beignets the second time on Mother's day. Food is absolutely delish. Not visiting this place should be a felony

A restaurant with good food is amazing. A restaurant with…read moregood food AND great service keeps customers coming back. We decided to try Red Herring for our anniversary dinner. Experience from beginning to end was wonderful. Our waiter, Pierce from TN, absolutely put the cherry on top of this experience. Pierce 10/10 for recommending phenomenal dishes and the best hospitality.

I think Red Herring is a very pretty restaurant with a very nice ambience. That is where the…read morepositive comments end. We had a 6:45 reservation and we arrived an hour early to have a drink in the bar and the hostess told us that she would let us know if a table in the bar became available before our reservation time. I checked with her once because we noticed a few tables had been empty the entire hour we were there and she said that she still did not have anything available because they were reserved for reservations. No one ever showed up and she ended up seating us at one of the tables that had been empty the entire time and she seated us 10 minutes after our reservation time! The food was OK but the portion size for the price was not good. They were out of iced tea and potatoes by 7 o'clock. I ended up sending my gnocchi back because it was absolutely terrible. My husband ordered a martini and was charged 50 cents for an extra olive and, ironically, he only received one olive on the toothpick. The service was terrible and the bartender was very unfriendly, and we would never go back!

Great place to eat nice bar great drinks and the service was amazing. Great conversationread more

The waiter was sweet as can be and very apologetic, but waited 1 hour and 45 minutes for our…read moreseafood to come out and it was barely even warm.. just tasted like the butter it was covered in.. no flavor at all.. won't be back

It's not too pretty on the outside but like everyone says, "It's what's on the inside that counts!"…read moreGo ahead on in; you won't be sorry! I got the fish and shrimp platter. It comes with catfish but they let you choose your fish if you want something different! It comes with 2 sides so I got fries and fried okra. The fried okra was the star of that show for me! Also, I switched out the catfish for Blue Whiting. Everything was well seasoned and delish. My husband ordered the Blue Whiting platter which was 2 whiting filets and a side. He considered getting the etouffee so while we ate she brought out a small taste of it for us to sample for next time. (And there will be a next time!) The girl at the counter (owner??) is SO STINKIN NICE! My gosh, talk about great with customers! (Cutie with fun glasses.) It's about an hours drive from where we live but we're through Waco pretty regularly so we're looking forward to our next stop at Friday's. We'll try to get by on a Friday so we can try some of their GUMBO!

The food was generous, hot and tasty. I ate too much too fast cuz it was that good. I had 2 piece…read morecatfish, red beans and rice and a crab cake. My wife had the same catfish but with green beans and fried okra. The service was cheerful, upbeat and pretty quick. Ambience was authentic cajun/ local charm. This place is mostly about the food. It is not shiny and new- it is warm and cozy with serious food. If you like catfish give them a try.

Wowwww!!!! I'm originally from Southeast Texas, born and breed with Cajun blood running through my…read moreveins. Ever since leaving and moving to Austin area, I've longed for my gumbo, crawfish and even down home red beans and rice. Well, until now!! We just randomly decided on seafood while in Waco, and lemme tell yall. This place will not disappoint!! I had a bowl of probably the top 10 best I've ever had!! (Sorry mom), and also the red beans and ohhhh my lawd!!!! The atmosphere when you walked in let you know this was gonna be a good meal. The decor, and even almost entire wall with prices and the daily specials written on it. The waitress tried to tell us about it, and I'm pretty sure the wife was paying attention, but I already had my stomach setting up to receive gumbo. Multiple waitstaff stopped by to check on us throughout the meal, and all were very friendly! Serving sizes to make you loosen a belt notch to be able to breathe!! Wife had the fish and chips and couldn't eat the fries! That all said, I also found out that gumbo and beans and rice were made from scratch DAILY, and not that prepared stuff you get at some places!! Stop and be ready to Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

Went here for lunch. Was seated quickly and the food seemed like it came out quickly too…read more The crawfish was good and especially if you dipped it in the butter that came with it. The red fish was okay. I felt the entree was plated nicely and overall wasn't bad. I felt the restaurant was clean which is definitely a good sign for a restaurant .

Unique gem in Waco! Delicious, fresh seafood! Always a treat. Especially enjoy the ceviches and…read morecaldos.

The caldito de Camaron y Pulpo was good. The tortillas hechas a mano were so good as well. The…read moreservice was good and fast. Ambiance was nice with the live music. There's some dudes in there with their guitar asking if you'd like for them to play a song with their guitar. It was perfect . Music and good food

I get food here almost every week! I love this place. Service is great always fast. Inside is a…read morenice vibe good place to have a drink.

Someone recommended this place to me and I was in the neighborhood so dropped by for dinner last…read morenight. Had a dozen oysters, which were very large, nicely, chilled, and served with a nice accompaniment of red sauce, horseradish, lemon, and crackers. I then had the whole fried fish, which was a nice size portion and very tasty and came with two different kinds of beans, one of which had some tiny shrimp. Almost forgot, there were three or perhaps four grilled shrimp on top of the fish, which were delicious. French fries were good too. I was very impressed with the food at this place. My server, Adamari (on left in photo) was very welcoming, attentive, and made great recommendations! She made a very good meal even better! The young lady that brought the food to me, not pictured in the photo, was also very good at her job. I thought the prices were very reasonable. This may be the best seafood restaurant in Waco. This place had a nice atmosphere as well. Three cheers to the oyster shucker and chef.

My experience here was okay. I didn't like that they had me and my party of 2, stand in front of…read moreour table while we had to wait for someone to come clean the table; that felt very unwelcoming and uncomfortable. Besides the not so warm welcome. I love the variety of Asian & Seafood that they have. I had sweet sour chicken, Mongolian pork, prawn, fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, crab, lo mein and rice. Some of the food was great and some of the food was not so great. What made some of the food unsatisfying is that it wasn't fresh. A lot of meats, specifically the chicken were stale/stiff and dry. For a first impression, I feel like it could be better.

Went back for more! It's a good place with great service. I wish their chicken on the buffet was…read morewarmer but it always seems to be room temp. If they would fix that, it would be a 5 star place. Ambiance is clean and welcoming.