Let's get one thing out of way first, stone crab is really pricey. Â Now then, while looking for somewhere we could go to find apalachicola oysters and stone crab, my wife came upon an article that mentioned the Oyster House in Everglades City, which Yelp calls Everglades for reasons unknown. Â We figured, what the heck let's give it a try, after all most of the stone crab harvested in the world comes from Everglades City. Â An hour later we cruised into the parking lot. Â Everglades City is really isolated but very intriguing historically. Â This lone lit building on an otherwise unremarkable rural residential street holds a true food find. Â The building is in a traditional Florida style and the walls are plastered with vintage pictures and stuffed heads of animals who were unfortunate enough to be hunted. Â Unlike Cracker Barrel, where this vintage look is manufactured hokum, Oyster House is not part of a chain and the stuff is real. Â The staff was friendly and helpful and service was fast enough to fend off boredom and slow enough to permit casual conversation and a well paced meal. Â But all that is just a prelude to the headline event, dinner.
We started with the aforementioned apalachicola oysters. Â They were perfectly brined and very fresh. Â What a treat! Â She-crab soup was a little under seasoned but still extremely tasty. Â The stone crab was stunningly sweet and perfectly cooked and cooled. Â Their mustard sauce is a perfect accompaniment and the melted butter, well, is melted butter. Â Each serving was 6 absolutely perfect claws, well cracked so we didn't need to use our crackers. Â The fries and sweet potato patties were of equal quality, and the vegetable, a squash medley, was fresh and cooked to just the right level of tenderness. Â The fried Gulf shrimp were audibly crispy and not even a little bit greasy. Â The hush puppies made us rethink everything we know about hush puppies. Â The Grouper Oyster House Style was impeccably seasoned and avoided the all too common tendency to over season this traditional Florida west coast fish. Â For dessert, we had the famous Key Lime pie from Randy's, which they offer here. Â Most items called key lime pie are really just regular limes with some green food coloring. Â Randy's Key Lime pie is the real deal, white, the color of real key lime juice, and made from limes grown in the Florida Keys. Â Don't take my word for it, try it yourself. Â The taste is unmistakable and nothing like the usual pretenders and wannabes.
The Oyster House Restaurant is far from everywhere, but well worth the cost and the trip.
A little pricy, but the stone crab was delicious. Â We also had the key lime tart -- omg, it was sooooo good. Â Â I heard the sauteed alligator was good, but we will have to go back for that. Â They also have a huge "stuffed" alligator in the bar area next door, it was fun to take pictures with :-)
Review Source:As tourists in the Everglades, we just spied this place off the road and since it was getting dark fast we decided to stop in to eat. Â It took some time to get seated, but I'm sure that was because there was this massive party taking place there that night.
Service was ok, I felt that we were a little ignored, perhaps again because of the giant party. Â In my group, we opted to try all the fried seafood that they had to offer and ordered the seafood basket, fried scallops, and the Captain's platter.
My mistake was ordering the Captain's platter because it was way too much food for me to handle. Â I would have been fine with the seafood basket and gotten close to the same variety of seafood. Â The only major difference was the Captain's platter cost about $10 more, bigger portions, and came with a crab cake (which was pretty good). Â Overall the seafood was fresh and very tasty. Â A little disappointed in the oysters that came with the platter. Â There were so small and dinky. Â My favorite in the platter was probably the fish. Â Everything was perfectly fried though and plenty of fries to go around.
Overall, a good place to stop by after taking the boat tours that explore the Everglades.
Oyster House has been here since the early 1980s, making it look like an early adopter of the 1960's Cracker Barrel restaurant style. Â This Southern-style ranch house has a long, screened porch where you can lounge in comfort on bent wood furnture. Â Inside, there are bluing photos from decades of sport, from fishing to sponsorship of local ball teams. Â The room is circled at ceiling level with hunting trophies: Â Alligators, black bear, coyote, elk and deer. Â A few funny signs include "Money isn't evenything. Â But it keeps the kids in touch.," Â and "I'm for a two party system. One party a week isn't enough."
The menu is printed to look like a newspaper. Â It features plenty of favorites from nearby waters. Â Stone crab is here from October to May, while gator, frog legs, grouper, and shrimp can be had year-round. Â Hush puppies are perfectly round, lightly battered, fried ever so quickly, and saw-weeeeet!
I'm not sure if they've moved recently, or if half the restaurant was closed because it wasn't even close!! Â It was VERY obvious, by the staffs demeanor & they didn't care, your just passing through, so over charge and if you don't come back, whatever. Â
The food was pretty, the 7 bite size Conch Fritters, tasted good. Â WAY over priced, sad how they are taking advantage, Gator bites alone where double to triple what it should be!! Â Plus, I'm still laughing, picture below, white plate, food arranged nicely, we got a brown basket w/ wax paper in it!
Bottom-line, if you like a basket of good fried over priced food, you'll love it!! Â Just remember do NOT ask to change a thing because there's not a chance.
Not too many options for food in  Everglades City so this place is decent but not great. Food is your typical collection of fried and grilled seafood. Stick with grilled. Fry cook has a heavy hand and tends to leave the food in too long. Tons of Mosquitos outside, and a few inside as well.
Review Source:I came here with my sister and we both ordered the same thing, unsweetend ice tea  2 beers, and the fried gator baskets. Well prepared, tasty. Gator actually has a very mild flavor as I found out, so I tasted more of the breading than the gator, but it tasted good! Seasoned fries which were good as well as the one hush puppy. Service was friendly and quick, as the place wasn't very crowded. A bit more expensive than I would have liked - $43 dollars (which included the tip) for two people, but I wasn't surprised by it, and it could have been a lot worse. I would definetely recommend this place to people like my sister and I who love fried food!
Review Source:A day of exploring the mangroves and waterways of the 10,000 islands brought on an appetite of massive proportion. I'm happy we stopped in to the Oyster House. Laid back, local-flavor and good, local seafood are trademarks of this place. Amber, our waitress, was wonderful with her efficiency and humor. )She recommended Leebos to us).
Had a plate of Fried Oysters, Shrimp cocktail and Conch Fritters which we shared. The oysters and conch were perfectly battered and fried, not at all heavy or greasy. And the shrimp were BIG..more like prawns in their size.
With drinks our tab came in under $40.
They have a large selection of local fish as well..I would like to try the Grouper when I'm down this way next time.
Spent the past weekend in Everglades City and was fortunate enough to find this restaurant on Yelp. Â Dinner all 3 nights were excellent. My brother had the Macadamia Nut Crusted Grouper which was outstanding. The second night we brought in our catch of the day for the cook to prepare. The choice was broiled, blackened or fried. We both thought the seasoning on the broiled sea trout was excellent. Â If it is available make sure you order the Stone Crab Soup.
Review Source:You don't really visit the Everglades for the fine dining selection. You go to marvel at the fecund Garden of Eden that the Earth once was. You go to watch the things that sail, swim and screech and, when proper, to eat them. Â
The redeeming elements of the 'Glades are hewn by nature's own hand and there are precious few human additions worth mentioning. Â The accommodations in these parts are spare to the point of being Spartan and crude to the point of being unpleasant but in amongst the creaky shacks touting rooms, meals and gas, there is a gem; the Oyster Bar.
While the sign outside boasting "All You Can Eat Stone Crab" is not misleading, you may need to take out a second mortgage to take them up on the offer; the bottomless plate is $60.00! Â However, there are several other ways to order the local delicacy, most about half that price, so not to worry. Â Truth be told, I didn't taste a remarkable difference between stone crabs and the other types of crabs I can get near home (or all I can eat in upscale Vegas buffets - I'd recommend the Bellagio), so you may not want to make the investment anyway. Â
The good stuff we found at the Oyster House was the local grouper cooked in various ways including macadamia crusted, which was really awesome. Â The sides were a pair of sweet potato pancakes (or something like that) and an authentic southern hush puppy, which for us Yankees is basically a fried corn meal ball.
Our waitress was alert and glib in the homespun way tourists like us hope for. The décor was essentially what another local place, "the Rod and Gun Club," promised but didn't really deliver; a hodgepodge of taxidermy preserved wildlife and dusty lunch counter kitch. Â
If the Oyster House was in Los Angeles, I would go back. Â Actually there is a place called the Oyster House in the San Fernando Valley and I'd go back to that one, too, but I'll save that for another review.
The story you are about to read is true...
1:15 pm. Tuesday. My partner and I are investigating the local flavor in the Florida Everglades. These subtropical wetlands located in the southern portion of the state have seen human habitation for 15,000 years. Remotely located, Everglade City is a tidy town reminiscent of a military compound. Quaint and deeply rooted in Americana, the Oyster house beckons with classic beer neon and a screened in porch.
Specials include not only oysters, but gator, stone crab, conch and frog legs. They are clearly masters of the fryer as fries and hush puppies are common side dishes. The menu is presented as a news paper that you are invited to keep. It also has some interesting side stories which are sure to keep you ignoring your dining companions.
The drink menu is simple, but they do have some non-domestic beer for those opposed to bottled water flavored brews. The atmosphere is rustic and eclectic including a huge stuffed gator that dominates the bar area.
Our food was very well prepared and tasty. Though fried, it was not overly greasy. The stone crab claws were large and full of flavor. Service was also very good.
Overall, it was well worth the 15 minute detour while traveling between Naples / Marco Island and Miami.
The oyster house is where all of the local captains hang out after a day of guiding. Â Its the type of place where you can bring your catch, and they will cook it up for you in a number of ways. The oyster house is a stable for the area, and has been there for over 20yrs now. Made famous by the stonecrabs. everglades city was once known for being the "stonecrab capital of the world". Laid back atmosphere. If you are looking for something 5star and stuffy, look elsewhere.
We stopped in for a beer and some fried finger foods done right. If you are in the area, give the world famous oyster house a shot.
I guess it didn't surprise me there's been no reviews for Oyster House even though it appears to be a popular spot and has been opened since 1983. Representative of the clientele was one driving a truck with the decal of the White House painted in green, white, red, with the caption "So you wanted CHANGE?" and watermelons and chickens in the front. I don't believe these types are Yelpers, thankfully.
Since we were starved and the lack of options nearby, we didn't have any other options. I had the seafood sampler - a fried seafood basket. Well, nicely done! The seafood was lightly battered and NOT over cooked. The grouper was tender and moist. The oyster was sweet and fresh. Clam strip was ok - would've preferred whole clams. Fries were also good. Ok, they know how to do fried food. Does that surprise you? I also had the blue crab soup in a tomato broth which was just alright.
If you're visiting the Gulf Coast visitor center of Everglades National Park, its basically across the parking lot. I'd recommend you stopping by for lunch. Just don't be wearing your Obama T.
BTW, the address on Yelp is incorrect (request for correction submitted). Â The correct address is Chokoloskee Causeway, Highway 29 South, Everglades City.
Our waitress wasn't very friendly. Â We paid a dollar more for a soup that was supposed made with fresh crab, but there were only crab shreds in it and potatoes.
Our appetizer arrived right after our soup and our entree right after that. Â So we had to deal with all of them at the same time.
The conch fritter appetizer tasted like it had been made a while ahead and had been sitting.
I was happy with my fish special (grouper coated with macadamia nuts and coconut), but distressed when I saw that the sweet potato patties I ordered were actually the pre-made ones that came on cafeteria trays in elementary school.
My husband ordered a broiled trio with shrimp, scallops & grouper and said it was all bland.
There were lots of signed pictures of celebrities on the wall, but it was hard to imagine any of them actually eating there.
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