We went to the Half Shell while on a short vacation on Saint Simons Island. My wife and both had the fresh catch of day which was flounder. For just a few dollars ($40). more I had my flounder blackened and served with 3 large sea scallops over Jasmine rice. My wife had her flounder ($37) cooked according to the menu in a lemon sauce. Both dish's were amazingly delicious. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. Heads up they do not take reservations and open at 5:00pm. When we there at 5:l5pm all the tables were taken. People had shown 15-30 minutes before 5:00pm to get a table. We had about 35 minute wait. read more

Y'all stop ..stop.. looking for other places to eat on St Simons Island. This place is legit! Started with the ceviche..was just right. It was a small bowl full of juicy shrimp. Then I had the crab encrusted flounder ..to die for. If you're anything like me green beans are like on the bottom of favorite vegetables but y'all.. do not sleep on these caramelized bacon wrapped green beans Soo delish. For a happy ending we had the butter cake and y'all just y'all. Never mind! Don't take my word for it and just do it. read more

Called ahead to see if they had crab legs and yes!! Was told it would be a 30 minute wait but we were seated within 5 min outside. The crab legs and oysters were great. Best drawn butter on the island. The atmosphere and outdoor seating was nice. The overall experience was great. We will return. read more

Oyster were the best and freshest on the island, thanks to my man Hayden. Flounder was aight at best. Butter cake is to die for. I'd come back just for this butter cake. read more

Absolutely fabulous casual dinner last night at The Half Shell. Started off with broiled oysters that were delicious and the fresh catch was a flounder that was nothing short of incredible. The bacon wrapped green beans were every bit as good as other reviews have claimed. Great service but they were quickly on a 1.5 hour wait by 5:30pm so go early. Not a lot I am certain of but I KNOW that I want to go back, and SOON!! read more

The atmosphere is always great. I love the oyster shooters and raw oysters. Always have had great service.

Came here last weekend, catch of the day was flounder, I got it blackened. The food was very good! It is a bit pricey but a nice place to stop for fresh seafood. read more

The Half Shell - Catch of the day, steamed broccoli, and sautéed veggies - Seafood Near Me - Saint Simons Island, Georgia

Wow!!! Wow!! Wow! This place is so good we had to go two nights in a row. This place is the real deal. The host and hostesses are incredibly friendly. The servers are phenomenal. Everyone at the restaurants hustles, not in a way to rush people, but to make sure tables are clean, food is out, etc... Our first night we started with the crab bisque. Delicious! We wished we had bread to clean the bowls. We then moved on to a dozen cumberland oysters. We've even oysters from many places, these were by far the best oysters we ever had. They came with saltines, horseradish, and cocktail sauce. Our server also brought us their house hot sauce. We then had the special for our entree. We split the flounder that was crusted with crab. Unbelievably good. Our sides were grits and bacon wrapped green beans. I don't even like green beans, but I gobbled them up. We loved our dinner experience so much we came back the next day. This time we tried the peel and eat shrimp. Amazing! We ordered the flounder again and the crab cake BLT. Again, everything was wonderful. The Half Shell does not take reservations and gets pretty busy; so plan on wearing comfortable shoes to walk around the village while you wait. read more

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My bride and I sat at the bar. Our intentions were to indulge in raw oysters, on this particular night, and how late we arrived, there was only a Virginia oyster left, and it was quite small. However, after reviewing the menu in detail, we quickly landed on other appetizers that sounded great. We had the shrimp ceviche and the cold, boiled shrimp (blackened). OMG-they were delicious!!! To start, the portion of ceviche was GREAT! And the size of the boiled shrimp was much larger than we expected. (I had no method to weigh the portion, but I'm guessing there was more than one half pound!). Because we sat at the bar, the attentiveness of the bartender (Melissa) was a HUGE factor in our experience. MEL KILLED IT! Following our appetizers, we both chose the blackened fish sandwich, which, on this particular night, was grouper. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It was cooked to perfection, served steaming hot, and was delicious. The roll it was served on made the sandwich even better! My bride had sweet potato fries and I had cheese grits. I added their branded hot sauce to my grits which were marvelous. The place was crowded, but the staff had everything well in control. Even though the place was full, it was still easy to carry on a comfortable conversation without effort. This was an excellent experience which we will repeat in the next several days. OUTSTANDING ALL AROUND! Give it a go!!! read more

The Half Shell - Shrimp ceviche!!! Oh yeah! - Seafood Near Me - Saint Simons Island, Georgia

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Get there early because the line starts before 5. Had the crab cake BLT as well as some peel and eat shrimp. The shrimp were a bit plain for my liking. Everything else was spot on. Great service and good cocktails. read more

Food was PHENOMENAL. Highly recommend crab cakes. Great service also! Our waitress was super attentive and nice!

Yummmmy! Highly recommend coming here. The food and service was great. The area is also beautiful. After dinner, I took pictures on the beach. The restaurant is super dog and kid friendly. I ate outside. It was 89 degrees outside but with the shade and fans it was very comfortable. Lastly, there is ample parking. read more

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Thanks to Michael B.'s review, we decided to make The Half Shell our first stop on the island. We were all starving so we ordered the fried calamari app. Holy moly! So delicious! I had a house salad for my entree. Everything was fresh and crisp. The kids had fried chicken tenders w fries and a quesadilla with fries. Lucky for me, they couldn't finish all their fries or chicken so I got to eat the rest. The way they do their fries is so cool. I'd never seen fries like that before. The chicken was delish too. Service was great. Will def be back next time we're in the area! read more

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Always amazing food and service! A full on party IN MY MOUTH!! Do yourself a favor, go experience this greatness!! read more

The Half Shell - Flounder with crab crusting atop, fresh vegetables, cheese grits, bacon wrapped green beans and Tuna tacos - Seafood Near Me - Saint Simons Island, Georgia

Our favorite place on our vacation! We are there twice it was so good! Get there before they open so you can be in line to get in before the line gets long. There is no call ahead. Absolutely worth it! I doubt there is anything in the menu that isn't good we tried several options! read more

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Food was fantastic, staff was friendly and attentive. Had to wait for a table, but hey it was a Friday night and people are on vacation, no big deal. The female bartender is awesome! My husband and I both ordered Long Island Ice teas. If you ever had one there are many different ingredients and it appears quite difficult to get the recipe just right. This young lady hit it out of the park!! One of the best I have ever had. Thanks for ending our vacation on a great note. read more

The Half Shell exceeds my expectations every single time. The crab soup, the crab cakes, shrimp and grits, parm crusted fish.... Everything we've had has been delightful. If you're going on the weekend in the evening, be prepared to wait. They are no reservation, so a wait is expected when the food is this good and fresh. However, we've never waited more than 45 minutes. Can't wait to return. read more

Crab encrusted flounder was absolutely amazing! The service was southern hospitality at its finest!

The half shell was a neat little spot. The oysters Frederica were amazing. The dinner we got-tuna tacos and she crab soup-were just ok as were the drinks. We would definitely try here again sometime. read more

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The yummiest crab cakes, cheesy grits and chili slaw I've ever tasted. The butter cake is worth the calories. Great servers. I'm wondering why we haven't seen this restaurant recommended in any travel books? Loved this place and we will back. read more

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Food: 5/5 I don't give 5 stars easily, but this place surprised us with delicious dining. The appetizers -crab bisque and oysters Fredericka were an outstanding way to start a meal. Followed by the evening's special (not on the menu) of flounder with crab or fresh Georgia shrimp entree -both are delicious!! "Sides" are not just an add-on, they are special in and of themselves-Try the bacon-wrapped green beans and the cheesy grits-Yum! The wait on Friday and Saturday night = totally worth the wait . Nice wine list at a reasonable price for a restaurant. We will definitely come back again! Service 5/5 service was attentive and pleasant, but not intrusive Our waiter, Cameron, made excellent suggestions. Location-5/5 right in the middle of the busiest part of town on St Simons Facility Cute rustic nautical decor -without being junky Street Parking is tight on weekends It's NOISY because tables are close together. Outside tables are available for nice weather. There is full service restaurant fare at the bar -at the entrance of the restaurant Restrooms are gender neutral. We think it's one of the best dinner locations on St Simons! read more

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Half Shell was our first meal on the island and honestly, I wish we came here for every meal. The food was delicious, reasonably priced, and fresh. We stopped for lunch on a Sunday with a party of 6 right after the opened and it was already filling up. We got a variety of food options - flounder tacos, crab cake, fried fish sandwiches, and shrimp. It was all delicious. The cheese grits and bacon green beans were excellent side choices. Service was great. A great spot! read more

The Half Shell - Crab cake - Seafood Near Me - Saint Simons Island, Georgia

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The Half Shell is a perfect ten. They deserve double stars for the outstanding food, drinks, service, ambiance and all around best restaurant experience. We stopped in for an early dinner with a group and were fortunate enough to get the corner table right away. At the dinner hour, there can be a long wait, but trust me it is worth the wait. We started with a couple of happy hour margaritas, which were so perfect we kept ordering more after happy hour ended. Then we moved on to appetizers of cajun oysters, oysters frederica, blue crab cakes, and onion rings. I would highly recommend all of these starters, but my personal favorite was the cajun oysters, which were baked with cajun butter and seasonings, some asiago cheese, and bacon. Mouth watering good! We also ordered the crab bisque, and dare I say it was the best we have had in the whole state of Georgia. So creamy, packed with fresh crab meat and seasoned just right. For an entree, I ordered the catch of the day, flounder, crusted with crab meat with a side of the bacon wrapped green beans. The serving was huge, but every last bite was consumed because it was just that good. Whatever you order for an entree, do not miss out on the bacon wrapped green beans. They are sweet, beautiful, flavorful, juicy bites of yumminess, too good to count as a vegetable. Even with the heavy meal, we still had to share the butter cake. I didn't know what to expect, but what we got was so much better than I could have imagined. More of a creamy, decadent blondie with ice cream on top with such beautiful texture, flavor, and worth every last calorie to the crumbs. read more

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Great service. Very good food. We loved that they are dog friendly with outdoor seating and included a water bowl for our four-legged companion. We arrived as they opened for lunch on a Friday. Their business and the overall activity level in town starts to really pick up past noon. Good beer selection with a rotating tap. read more

My boyfriend and I were out for a bike ride, when we passed by The Half Shell. We stopped to see how long was the wait and the hostess informed us it would be about an hour to an hour and a half wait. She said we could put our names on the list and come back in an hour to be seated. So we went back to the hotel and changed then went back to the restaurant. Once we arrived, we were properly seated outside. Our server, William, approached our table and asked what we would like to drink. We opted for a lemon drop cosmo and the Coco-Rita. We really enjoyed both drinks. My boyfriend really liked his drink, so he ordered another one. Sadly, The Half Shell uses peanut oil to fry their food, which I'm allergic to, but luckily there were plenty of options for me to choose from. For starters, we had the Cajun oysters and the she crab bisque. We've been craving oysters and these hit the spot. The bisque was also flavorful and hot.....so good. We also ordered the peel-n-eat shrimp hot and the sidewinder fries. I couldn't eat the fries, but my boyfriend liked them. The peel-n-eat shrimp were really good as well. Lastly, we ordered the butter cake with vanilla bean ice cream. Omg definitely get this dessert! My mouth is watering as I type, thinking about it. It was so moist, hot and melted in our mouths. Definitely was the icing on the cake for our dining experience. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves at the Half Shell. William, our waiter, was super friendly and attentive. We also liked this restaurant was still following COVID-19 guidelines by wearing masks, which not many restaurants were, so it was good to see them doing so. If you're in the area, definitely check this place out. 100% recommend!!! read more

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I chose this restaurant based on the wonderful reviews. We ordered the crab cake appetizer, oysters fredrica and the crab bisque. The food was VERY bland and honestly didn't have much taste to it. They had tons of staff and weren't busy but the service wasn't up to par. I was expecting amazing seafood since that's mostly what their menu is. Unfortunately the food was disappointing read more

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with friends on our first visit. The waitstaff was amazing. We started with tuna tacos and their version of oysters Rockefeller. The tacos were very unique served on a flat shell with amazing red marinated slaw. The oysters were the best I have ever had. The only disappointment for me was the shrimp and grits. It is served smothered with BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce was so overwhelming that the taste of the other ingredients were totally lost. read more

Reasonably priced and good service. The employees were all very kind and happy to be there. We ordered the crab bisque, burger, crab crusted snapper, mahi, and shrimp & grits. Even the fries and and onion rings we had were very good and tasted home made. Highly recommend the food. Try the mahi! read more

The Half Shell - mahi and fries - Seafood Near Me - Saint Simons Island, Georgia

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Had lunch here on a Friday. It was about a twenty minute wait so we walked around the village. We were seated at one of the outside tables which was nice on a cloudy day. We started with the crab soup. It was delicious and filled with a lot of crab. The bowl was enough for two people to share. I had the blackened mahi-mahi with grits as a side. The fish was very good and the grits cheesy and good. My wife had the fried shrimp with the bacon wrapped green beans. She was not a big fan of the coating on the shrimp. The green beans were delicious. Overall a good lunch experience. read more

We come here each year in March! Love this place! I eat Mahi-Mahi, my husband has raw oysters! The butter cake dessert is delicious! One of our favorites! read more

Food was good. Had drinks, raw oysters and shrimp for an afternoon bite. Service was a bit rough, zero personality. It feels like a dive bar that is established. The table we sat in was dirty and said server wouldn't wipe it off - he's a reflection of himself and the ONLY reason I'm giving this 4 stars. read more

Great food, and great staff! The atmosphere has a unique island vibe that is very inviting. Try their bacon wrapped asparagus! read more

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The food is absolutely fantastic. We had the Blue Crab BLT and Blackened Fish sandwich. Bacon wrapped green beans beat out the cheesy grits as a side but both were great. The thing that stole the show was the butter cake. I rarely order dessert but would come back just for the butter cake. read more

Great food and service we all loved everything and my husband doesn't even like seafood Crab chowder was amazing, Mahi sandwich was very good Salads were great and all the sides (green bean bundles, onion rings and fries ) were very different and very good. Highly recommend much better food then the local resorts read more

Amazing! Can't say enough. Oysters were on point and even the sides were awesome. You need to try it! Oh and the butter cake will make you drool!!! read more

I had multiple people to tell us to try half shell. It just wasn't that good. Shrimp were horrible.

5 stars!! Food, service, and ambiance were all phenomenal. We got the Caesar salad, so good and a huge portion, ceviche oysters, great flavor, pork chops with bacon wrapped green beans, so tender and so sweet, chef's special, amazing, and the butter cake was of course the best of all!! Selena was our server and was so sweet and attentive!! read more

Awesome place. Love the barn-like open/woody floor plan, the back deck overlooking classic Golden Isle landscape, and the excellent food and service. Keep up the great work!! read more

Can I give this place a 6*?!? We loved The Half Shell. When people say they love the bacon wrapped green beans, yes. They're legit. Definitely get them! Our entire party also agrees that the onion rings are some of the best we've had in a LONG time. Great! My dad and I got the "catch of the day," which was a Tilefish (first time I've ever heard of that one), and we got it "crab crusted." Outstanding. Good flavor, very light, but plenty of food. My wife got crab cakes and my sis got a crab cake sandwich. Crispy on the outside with a good Cajun flavor to them. Portion size for everyone was good size. And the crazy part is that my sis is kinda anti-seafood. Oh, and the cheese grits were also really good. Service was outstanding, and our food came out fast too. After ordering we waited maybe 10 - 15 mins. Every person cleaned their plates. The butter cake was also very good, as many other reviewers have mentioned. It's like a warm chess bar topped with vanilla ice cream. Even the drinks were good and not overpriced. It's gonna be hard not to judge our remaining meals on SSI next to the outstanding one we had at The Half Shell. read more

Food was wonderful! A Nice lunch surprise, the fish was so good! My husband loved his oysters, but even more the Bloody Mary! He found their Bloody Mary mix online and bought 3 bottles! Ambiance is very casual and service was spot on! I highly recommend! read more