Oyster Barn

I was disappointed by how small the oysters were.  They were barely the size of a quarter.  When places have small oysters, they usually give you more than what you ordered to compensate, but they did not.

I did like their crab legs. I went on Tuesday so they had a special deal for crab legs.  I think it was $7.99/lb when it's in season.  The service was good.  My boyfriend got the philly cheese and french fries.  He said they were ok, but not the greatest.

Their parking lot is very little, so you might end up parking at the walgreens.  Based on this experience, I think you can find better bar food/seafood somewhere else.

Went last week and thought the place had gone downhill from when I was last there a year ago.  The gator bites were very small and overcooked..  They tasted like fried breading and oil.  The smoked fish dip was runny and tasted like mayonnaise.  The oysters were decent for being so far from the coast.  The shrimp po boy was just as excellent as I remembered.   The beer was fairly cheap but I thought the food prices were a little too high for the area and quality.   We went on a Thursday and they were really understaffed - just one waitress and one bartender.  Our server was friendly and apologetic but the service was very slow.  That probably has more to do with the fact that the city of Lilburn makes it just about impossible to work as a server than mismanagement at the Oyster Barn.  Either way they need a few good servers there.

Just dined here last night with a fellow Yelper and long time best friend, Phong T. and couple of friends. I found out about this place after searching for some good places to take my friend who was craving for some low-priced, but good oysters in Georgia.

RESTAURANT - You can easily spot it off of the road. Be warned, the parking lot is small and is a one way. You're better off parking at Walgreens next door like my friends did. They didn't get booted or anything for the two hours we were at the restaurant. Upon entering, I noticed that the restaurant is compact and sort of small which I believe is mainly due to the large bar that they have at the entrance. The bar is pretty nice with all the spirits lined up behind it. They also have an outside patio eating area that you can see at the entrance. They also have booths on the other end of the restaurant. There's free WIFI and there's no code/password needed to join.

SPECIALS - Tonight was Trivia nights so it was loud and busy inside the restaurant. Wednesday nights are also $5 per dozen fresh and raw Apalachicola Bay Oysters on the half shell. If you don't believe me, check into Yelp and FourSquare to see the deal displayed. For drinks, there was also a special going on for 1/2 pitchers (two full beer glasses & then some to share between two people) of draft beer for $3.50 for the first round and on the second round, it would be $4 for the 1/2 pitcher. However, if you don't want to drink that much or don't have a sharing buddy, like my other friend, you can get a single glass of draft beer for $2. What a steal!

FOOD -  I ordered ten hot wings with both the ranch and homemade bleu cheese sauces. It came with the usual non-whimpy sliced celery sticks. I also ordered the fried pickles, hushpuppies, and sweet tea. In my opinion, the wings were not that spicy. I can taste the vinegar more. However, wings are pretty standard and saucy. I didn't choose the choice of barn style of wings because I didn't want it smoked and then sauced. I like my wings traditional. The fried pickles were okay, but I wouldn't be ordering them again. I felt like the batter didn't stick well onto the pickles and kept crumbling into the zesty (similar to Zaxby's sauce) sauce that came with it. Don't dip to much into this sauce. It carries a powerful kick to it. The side of hushpuppies were okay and comes with four hushpuppies. I would suggest slicing each ball with a knife and fork because they are really large and the crunch on the outside hurts my teeth! The inside of the hushpuppies are moist and soft. There's corn inside! The sweet tea is definitely good and meets my standard of good ol' southern sweet tea.

My other friends ordered five dozen oysters and a tilapia platter with coleslaw, vegetables, and two hushpuppies. The oysters were large, fresh, and plump. It came with crackers, horseradish topping in a to-go container, cocktail sauce (that tasted like ketchup), and lemons (ask for more if you would like more). I'm not a fan of raw oysters so I opted out of trying them, but my friends enjoyed it. For a person to get full off of raw oysters, one must order two to three dozen. I got the chance the try Phong T.'s tilapia platter. I thought the tilapia is pretty good. It's kind of difficult to eat it with a fork and knife so I used my hands. The breading doesn't stay on the tilapia. The tarter dipping sauce is pretty good. My friend also ordered a slice of the key lime pie that came with a drizzle of this red sauce. It was very large slice and was enough for sharing. However, I was too stuffed to try it. I guess it was a very good key lime pie because they finished it all.

SERVICE - The service was great especially on a busy night like last night because of the $5/dozen raw oysters deal. Our server, Beverly, was funny and very hospitable. She made us feel welcomed since it was all of our first time at Oyster Barn. She deserves higher pay because she's so good! Her oldest daughter works there as well. Ask for them when you dine there next time. They will take care of you! They even watched after and made sure not to run over a toddler that was running around the restaurant! Very laid-back environment.

I saw fellow friend and Yelper, Tran N. when I was leaving. She's coming back for more Oysters ya'll!

Overall, I would visit this place again only if my friends are craving oysters; however, I am interested in trying their other menu items like the grouper platter. Until then, I am going to stick to Crawfish Shack which is way closer to me and their grouper platter & hushpuppies are to die for!! :)