42nd St Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill

My wife and I are new to the area and the 42nd Street Oyster Bar is quickly becoming a go-to fav for quality seafood. Nostalgic local history in a nautical theme combined with a witty atmosphere only enhances the wonderful menu items prepared and presented smartly. Open kitchen allows a view of the preparation and there is plenty of seating room.

The BEST hushpuppies I've ever tasted! The food is fresh, delicious, savory, flavorful, lively. You gotta try the pimento cheese oysters. There isn't anything negative I could say about this place. The waiter and cooks friendly, engaging, and made great recommendations from the menu and places to visit around town. Its busy so make reservations for groups.

The food was fresh and hot. The atmosphere was nostalgic. The waiter was attentive and friendly. I ordered the Two platter with a side: oysters, shrimp, macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. One of my oysters had some sand but overall, I enjoyed the service and the meal.My coworkers ordered crab cakes which were huge, a side of collards, and macaroni and cheese. All enjoyed their meals and vowed to add this spot to our list of restaurants to visit.

Food and service here was AMAZING!!! I wish i lived here so I can be eating here all the time. I’ll be back!

Exceptional service and always amazing food! The oysters here are always clean, I never find any shell shards or anything else in the oysters here like you typically do at other seafood restaurants. Favorite (non-oyster) things on the menu are the baked crab/artichoke dip and the buffalo shrimp! Fun atmosphere and great location off of glenwood. Highly recommend!

Great food and service. Will definitely come back.

It's funny; I don't really like cooked seafood but I love raw seafood. Poke, sushi, oysters on the half shell, that's all for me. But I have to get some kind of non-seafood entree because the raw options here are limited, and I know it's my fault for ordering steak at a seafood place, but I can't eat just oysters for a meal.So, oysters are delicious, always. The steak, however, is not that great, and it's expensive. I asked for med rare and got medium at best, closer to med well. So if you love oysters and seafood, definitely go here. it's on the pricier side and be sure to make reservations well in advance, but if you like seafood you will not be disappointed. If you don't like seafood and you're going because your friends/family do, well, maybe you'll want to get something beforehand because the not-seafood options are (correctly!) limited and not that good.

I have been here dozens of times and I have always had wonderful meals and service. One of the last old school restaurants in Raleigh!!!! Don't hesitate to give them a try!!!

Excellent food and service. Got a main course an appetizer and about 18 clams. It was awesome. Shucked the clams right in front of me. Sit at the oyster bar if you can. 5 stars will return. $$$$$

Fabulous! The food was delicious and the service outstanding. We would highly recommend and will be sure to return.

I have been going here for special occasions for the past 30 years. Tonight I went for celebrating my 66th birthday. It's a great place for celebrations of any kind. The food is excellent and very fresh.

Delicious! Had Buffalo Shrimp & grits, fried green tomatoes & steamed oysters. Sat at the bar, band was playing, service was great & food was yummy! Would definitely recommend & go back

The ambiance is great, no frills. We sat at the cocktail tables for happy hour and had the oysters, clam, and shrimp. Haley, our waitress, was very accommodating and sweet. The food was really good! Would definitely go again.

Service very slow. Staff very friendly. Food very good 👌. Prices high. Good place for special occasions. Not a place for routine meals

I’m glad we came here - it was a real experience! We made reservations just because google maps gave the option and we were planning ahead. Very happy we made reservations because it was packed and the line of reservation-holders long.Food was good. I had oysters and clams but the clams were unimpressive. The Caesar salad was yum! My friend loved her order of flounder and she loved the hush puppies served with butter. Drinks were cheap and tasty.Service was great and the place was really happening!

Sit at the oyster bar and watch their talents as they shuck ... They make it look so easy (take it from personal experience, it isn't)! Great food and people enjoyed my quick pit stop, even though I may have been a little underdressed and missing my date for the night. But I Highly recommend!

We were there early, had a few drinks at the bar before being ushered to our seats. Service was excellent, and the menu had enough variety to keep things interesting. The fried oysters and fried catfish were good. By mid evening the crowd had arrived and really added to the atmosphere. It was my first dinner in NC, and I must say it was a great introduction to the food scene in the area.

Great service and felt safe and welcomed, was glad to support local!

Love sitting at the oyster bar!!! Great oysters and friendly service. Nice list of beer both draft and bottle. Highly recommended!!!

Awesome food. Love the style of the restaurant and its atmosphere. Would make the 3 hour drive back from VA to eat there again.

What a great place to take our daughter for her 21st birthday. Our server was excellent. All the staff was smiling. The food, of course, was delicious. I left fat, and happy!

Always awsome. Love the variety. Eat lite or go for the gusto. Quality food done right

Sitting at the Oyster bar was an amazing experience. No oyster shucking required. We ordered a 1/4 peck and a very delightful waiter (college student Jack) came up to the bar and shucked all of them. So delicious! I will definitely return. even though I like in High Point! Highly Recommend!

Popular with music but a bit overpriced for food and just ok food... I did like the oyster sampler... but I can make better scallops and I'm no cook.

Good seafood! Great bartenders. Really love the ambiance! Feels like stepping back in time.

always fresh seafood ~ never disappoints ~ staff very attentive!

The food was great. Highly suggest reservations. They do have music later in the evening on the bar side.

We sat at the bar and had a great experience! Bartenders were friendly and talked to us while we ate. We ate alot of food for a reasonable price and all the food was really good. Service was great when our plates became empty or drinks they were quick to take the plates and replace our beers. I definitely would go back and enjoy there delicious food again.

Very nice place with good food and beer. Will definitely be coming back when I get the chance!

Very nice place. The oysters are fresh and tasty. A little touristy but still good. Our server was amazing

Had a lovely date night here. Neat atmosphere, lots of history in this place. Such a large restaurant for downtown Raleigh. Everyone on staff was cordial and helpful. Our waiter, John, took great care of us and was even interested in our responses & opinion to usually rhetorical questions. Went the extra mile to make sure we enjoyed our meal. Crab legs (shown) were delicious, prepared perfectly & fairly priced. Highly recommend!

Oysters (raw) were amazing. Service was perfectly attentive. Cocktails were all wrong. Everything else food wise was seriously lacking. Salads were a joke they were so boring.

Great food and staff. Nice casual place to get some oysters and other seafood. Bartender and waiters were great.The place gets busy though and wait times can get very long. I had the trout special and it was delicious. Also had 1/2 dozen clams, which were also excellent. Lastly, the food came to the table in less than 10 minutes!

Place is packed. Service is good. Food was good but not great. Nice atmosphere.

Fortunately we were able to be seated upon arrival without a reservation on a Friday night. The food was delicious. The clam chowder was average, but the deep fried green tomatoes topped with pimiento cheese and shrimp was excellent. The crab cakes were nice size and densely filled with crab meat. I also had the cornmeal crusted trout which was very very tasty, as was the homemade key lime pie. Overall great experience!

This was my first visit to the restaurant and I loved it!! The food and the atmosphere was great. The live band playing great music! We had a large party so the waiter was on point with our orders. Also brought out some key lime pie cheese cake for my daughter birthday. I can not wait for my next visit!

My first time here and everything was amazing. Our service was phenomenal! Our server Michael was so friendly and knowledgeable and an overall gentleman. The food was delicious but it did take a while to come out so dessert was on the house. I would definitely recommend and would be back.

Iconic Raleigh restaurant. This is the only time I've ever tried oysters and actually enjoyed them. Everything about our meal was delicious. The only reason I gave 4 stars is our server was rushing us the entire time... We had taken 2 bites of our dinner and she's asking about dessert, and this is after we told her at the beginning that we were taking our time. I would still give it another chance and hope that this isn't typical.

The waiter was awesome but the seafood bisque was too peppery and the clam chowder was over killed with garlic, the oysters were full of grit and shells when the shucked them open..served dirty...lots of dirt still on outer shells.....the claims were kinda ok tasted like ditch water in a shell....but the steamed shrimp with old-bay was on the money.maybe a bad night not sure but deff not the best for spending 100 dollars.

Had an amazing brunch here. The chicken n biscuits with gravy topped with a medium over easy egg was delicious. The shrimp and grits was also terrific 👌. The staff was also on point, very helpful, and accommodating. A+ in my book. They have some awesome Bloody Mary options here as well.

Husband and I ate at 42nd Street Oyster Bar on a Wednesday night before going to a concert. Wait staff fabulous as well as food. I had fried shrimp. Husband had a fish stew.Large venue with retro feel. Nice bar area with high tops with happy hour shrimp or oyster special. Separate bar stool seating area near oyster prep area/kitchen, if you enjoy watching the action. We sat in the booth area.Quite a few customers at time of visit. RSVP is best bet. Would return.

Had an amazing time here. The environment was nice, all of the staff were super kind, and not to mention the food was fantastic. If your looking for a nice pleasent night out as a date or something then I definitely recommend this place. This is definitely on my list of places to come back to. I cannot thank everyone enough from the waitors/waitresses to the chefs for facilitating such a nice time. See you soon!

We had a nice experience with our first visit. Parking wasn't too bad nor was the wait for a Sunday evening. The dining area was like a formal dining set, fabric table cloths/napkins. The bar side had several high pub table style seating and lots of TV's. Live bands on Sat night..check out the events tab! The kitchen is open view, which was pretty neat! It was a mixture of day casual vs "business-casual" atmosphere. They have a bar side as well as a dining side. (Some items not available depending on what side you choose make sure to inquire on) Very busy, energetic place with a great mix of people. The prices were a little high on some things, but for the location and the quality of food and service it is to be expected and well worth it. Very fitting for an adult night out, or business dinner meet. I particularly wouldn't bring small kids, but to each their own.

My daughter & I had dinner here.....one word, AWESOME! The food was superb and our waiter really made the evening special for us! Foodie heaven!!!!

I went here to celebrate my birthday and I'm so glad that I did. My dinner was fabulous as was the service. I definitely will be visiting again soon

Loved this place. They have the best Baked Crab Artichoke dip with deep fried Pita bread. ToDieFor!!!

I'm sad that I have to leave a 3 star review. We were so excited to try this place out. The service was great, but the food was mediocre... Not sure if I just over season all of my food when cooking, but the food was kinda bland. I got choice of 3, fried shrimp, flounder, and calamari and none of it had much taste in the breading. Hubby got the shrimp and grits and the gravy sauce was overbearing. Hushpuppies and baked potato were good.

Amazing oysters!!! I recommend the oyster shooters, shrimp, and crab as well. We had a great time here and left with extremely full stomachs. There is always a wait on the weekend, but it's not difficult to get a drink at the bar while you wait.

This was my first visit to the restaurant and I loved it!! The food and the atmosphere was great. The live band playing great music! We had a large party so the waiter was on point with our orders. Also brought out some key lime pie cheese cake for my my birthday.

Great place to go out with your friends, they had a great band the night I was there