Lots of choices for oysters. I went with someone who actually knew what they all meant and was excited to get ones from where she used to live. I thought they were a little tasteless, but she said that was because of the type she'd chosen.
The food was very good.
The tables are TINY. Good luck fitting everything on there. Also, the walls are all mirrored. I don't particularly enjoy watching myself eat, so that was a bit weird.
Good food, HUGE drink menu. Quick service. I'll be back.
Great seafood combo and huge portions.
For a restaurant in Carmel by the Sea you expect small quantities with large prices. Â This was the opposite and thoroughly enjoyable.
I had the fried seafood combo (Giant Prawns, Calamari, Fish Filet, with fried.) Â The platter was huge, and the food piled high.
Was super excited to try the clam chowder after hearing all the excellent reviews raving about A W Shucks having the best clam chowder in town. However, after trying the clam chowder, I have to agree with some of the other reviews that it was very bland and watery, even after adding fresh pepper to it. For those who like thick and creamy clam chowder, this is not the place to go.
Additionally, we sat at the bar right in front of the kitchen. We didn't get any oysters but after seeing them fry up their combo plate, we quickly changed our mind about what to order on the spot. The fried seafood combo plate (fish, prawns, and calamari) was quite delicious for the first 15 min but quickly became too much fried food for 2 people. Would recommend sharing as an appetizer among 3-4 people. Also, we switched our side of fries to a caesar salad instead. The caesar was also mediocre at best.
I had the Oysters Shuckefeller and was really disappointed. Â They were loaded with salt, and I actually had to spit out a big glob of rock salt that had dripped off the side of the oyster. Â This was a very otherwise flavorless recipe consisting of a lot of Parmesan sprinkled on some very small oysters and stuck under a broiler. Â Yuck.
On the plus side, my boyfriend had the fish and chips and liked it very much. Â He also had a Carmel wheat beer which was delicious. Â He wanted to come back because he liked the food so much, but I vetoed this. Â Oysters were just too disappointing. Â Place is also overly noisy, but the waitress was very nice.
We had really bad oyster cravings, so we were extremely happy to know that there was an oyster bar in Carmel.
They serve 3 kinds of oysters (hood canal from washington, miyagi from tomales bay california, bluepoints from connecticut). You can select specifically those that you wanted, or just do a mix. The oysters were really fresh, and we were delighted to know that they served oyster shooters. They also served Oysters Shuckerfeller/ Grilled oysters, but we felt that these paled in comparison.
The calamari, crab cakes and fish and chips were also nicely battered that you can enjoy it even without any sauce.
In fact, it was so good we had to come back here a second time :)
Oh yes, it might be difficult to get a table on a weekend for lunch so be prepared to wait in line!
Awesome lunch spot! Â If you're looking for a casual lunch that's tasty to boot, look no further. Â If you like seafood, I highly recommend the Seafood Salad sandwich. Â Perfect crab and shrimp ratio to toasted sourdough. Â The shrimp cocktail isn't bad either! Â Service is good considering the crowd and the prices were not bad for Carmel. Â Two thumbs up.
Review Source:Found this place on a Sunday night, holiday weekend, and it was slammed. I was amazed at how well the staff handled a their 'grumpy' customers and made my party feel like old friends. The fish taco's are amazing. The burgers were very good, but not quite  gourmet level. The calamari, however, stole the show. Absolutely amazing. Crispy on the outside, yet tender and tasty on the inside with no sign of rubbery texture or taste. The key lime pie was some of the best I've ever had. And then there was the single malt list... and the owner knows his spirits. Some great local spirits that you'll not find outside of the area....
Review Source:A.W.Ful
Let's start from the beginning. Â My husband and I decided to stop in for oysters. We were informed that there was a bit of a wait, so I asked if we could grab a drink at their bar. At this point, the owner opened his Dutch door and pointed to a sign on the inside. This sign indicated that they had an occupancy limit. Â A simple explanation would have sufficed. Â We waited outside patiently for a while and the owner finally came out to tell us they had a spot available at the oyster bar. He pointed to two empty chairs right inside the doorway. I watched an employee clean the area and then walked toward the open seats. At this point, the owner grabbed my arm and pulled me back out the door. He explained that the area needed to be "nice and clean" before we sat down. Â I've never had a restaurant employee put their hands on me and I think I was so surprised by the situation that my judgement went out the window and we decided to stay. Well, sitting at the oyster bar which is also the location of their open kitchen was quite the nightmare. If I've ever seen a kitchen that needed to be closed, this was it. Â I spent the evening averting my eyes from what was happening in the kitchen. "Crab cakes" were scooped out of a huge bucket of mayonnaise mush and smashed on the flat top. Oysters were cracked open in hands protected by filthy towels. Globby sauces were poured out of oversized plastic maple syrup dispensers. Not once did I see an employee wash their hands. Bottom line - avoid at all costs.
As a kid I used to take trips with my parents to Brighton on the south coast of the UK. There's a tired old Aquarium just by the pier and a cafe underneath that serves 'vacation' fish and chips.
This place took me back partially because we had fish n chips of similar quality and partially because one wall has a massive mural of the sea.
Granted we didn't sample the Oysters of which we will do so on the next adventure but what we ate IMO had a 50% markup for location and a touch of trendy sport bar appeal.
So I wouldn't av I would stick to the theme and go with the Oysters as the ancillary food isn't special enough considering the surrounding competition.
the good: friendly service. my boyfriend liked the oysters.
the bad: we sat at the bar (which is also where the tiny kitchen is) and saw how the food was handled and prepared.
- cross contamination of raw and cooked foods (raw chicken/fish/ground beef patties, cheese slices, shrimp cocktail, lettuce, raw oysters) all touched by the same hands with any hand washing. so, if you get feel sick later after a meal here...now you know why.
- watery bland clam chowder
- bland fish and chips (never saw the cook season the flour, the batter or even season after the fryer). AND the fries are not anything special. i think your local cafeteria/24hour coffee house fry up the same type.
and what's up with all the shops closing up at 8pm on a saturday night?!
This is probably the best seafood place I have tried so far. It definitely made a good impression on me for quality dining in Carmel. However, expect to bring a good amount of cash to pay for a meal. Nonetheless, you get great quality food for the price you pay. It was actually my first time eating here during spring break.
If you haven't been here yet and are thinking about trying this place for the first time I would recommend starting with a dozen oysters. They provide different types of oysters  such as: quilcene, bluepoints, and miyagi. If you have a party of 3-4 people I would also recommend the fried seafood platter (one platter will generally feed 2 people).
This is a place that requires reservation depending on how busy the day is. If you come and have to end up waiting, they are willing to take down your phone number & call you when there is table about to open. Notice how I said 'about' so that as you make your way back, they'll have the table cleaned and ready to be seated once you arrive.
Overall, I really love this place. I would come back here if I ever visit Carmel again. The environment is relaxing and its not too far from the beach! The place is a bit small, but small number of tables makes it better for the waiters to bring quality attention to their customers. So try them! You won't be disappointed! Oh and you don't have to be 21+ to eat there just because there's a bar. There are tables separate from the bars. Families are welcome to eat here.
They keep the menu short and sweet; all the options fit onto one short page. Full menu is available at their website <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fawshuckscarmel.com&s=eb6c0dfac6b841d0c50e906a72abeebf18bd4219de19523096c4378c48b1ffde" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://awshuckscarmel.com</a>
Prices were ok for Carmel, but still not cheap. Draft beer was $5 and we each got 2, my girlfriend got a long island ice tea for $9, and we got fish and chips ($13. subbed salad for chips for free) and fish tacos ($9). Overall it was just under $70 for our dinner for two.
The food was fine. It was mostly bland and deep-fried. The fish had a mild nice flavor and wasn't overly greasy. They were ok.
I'm conflicted. I want to give this place a 5 star review, but there's this nagging voice in the back of my mind saying "nooo, I didn't like it"
Oh wait, that's my girlfriend's voice.... :-)
So, what is the reason for -1 star? That's it. She didn't like it. I could point out a few things that I didn't like too, though. Food was, as someone already stated, a little under-seasoned. It's not salt it needs as much as some spice; a kick. Some herbs, heck, maybe even a bit more pepper. Just. Something.
Then again, we both didn't order oysters or burgers, or cocktails, so I'm granting the 4 stars on the items we DID consume, that is, a tuna melt, and a couple of crab cakes with caesar salad. Oh, and an oyster shooter for me.
So here's what I liked (minus the voice ...)
- Price to Portion ratio. Portions are generous, prices are not bad compared to, oh, ALL other Carmel restaurants. We had leftovers we took home later that day.
- Freshness of ingredients. Mostly everything was pretty fresh. I saw the oysters brought out (we sat at the bar) and the cooks do their jobs. I saw both of our meals being prepared in front of me, and nothing seemed like it was poured out of a can or made from frozen.
- I love big, thick steak fries. And I love even more big, thick, HOT and CRISPY steak fries. Gimme. No, seriously, gimme. Get between me and those and you get stabbity stabbity stab! In the EYE! with a blunt object! Made to order, I saw those fries coming!
- The crab cakes were aaaaawesome. They were not doughy or "chunky" like at other places. What I tasted was almost ALL crab. Delicious. Totally worth it. Their dipping sauce was really good too. They did cook them a little weird (a lump was flattened into a patty, weird shape for me, I guess).
- A minor fail. The Caesar salad. The dressing was not creamy enough; it felt a bit like the lettuce was either too wet or the dressing too runny. It needed to be thicker, and have a bit more lemon, a bit less anchovy. Everyone likes it a particular way, but I wasn't a huge fan of it. It also did need some salt, or some pepper. Â SEE A TREND HERE? Under-seasoned.
- Girlfriend's tuna melt I thought was on point; a bit greasy and cheesy, but she didn't like it very much. She shouldn't have ordered that anyway (she usually gets it and is almost never satisfied with it, why? I don't know) so...that explains the voice for the -1 star.
Finally, the service was VERY attentive. They're doing a good job, are friendly and know the menu. The cook was also friendly (I chatted w him a bit) and I had ordered an oyster shooter (driving, couldn't try their "claim to fame" supposedly best bloody mary) and I wanted 12 more oyster shooters after that one. It had a bit of spice, a delicious, clean oyster. Oh man, now I want to go again and definitely eat 12 more. Maybe some other time; I hope we'll come back!
IT'S REALLY REAL AND REALLY GREAT
- Not a tourist trap but an off the street drop in establishment
- Funky, casual, loud, fun
- Expect the best bloody mary's  and clam chowder ever
- Superb artichokes and oysters
- Great service
- Everything fresh, fresh, fresh
- An oasis in a sea of over-the-top expensive fussy meals
I came here with high expectations as my foodies friends love this place. The fish and chips were just good but not great. Â The service and management are excellent as my wife didn't care for her fish tacos and she requested another dish. Â The manager was very nice about doing the change and the service here is excellent. Â My wife's bay shrimp salad was the winner here tonight and it was big enough tor me to easily share it with her to top me off to full.
Review Source:They do not take reservations so plan on walking around the area while you are waiting. Â You give them your cell phone and they will call you to come. Â The place is small in a cozy way. Â We had our two children with us and they had only one real table, the others were bar tables. Â Our waitress was super cool and didn't mind the constant requests for napkins and the likes. Â We ordered all the oysters and although I have now forgotten which once specifically, the smaller ones were amazing. Â The clam chowder was ok according to my husband (I don't eat pork). Â The peel and eat prawns were good and not very spicy. Â For four people (including drinks for two adults) our bill was $111. Â Not bad for Carmel.
Review Source:I love raw osyters! But why is there such a crazy wait even 3 in the afternoon? I tried the Washington oysters, the East Coast oysters, and the SF oysters. They were all fresh but the SF ones were surprisingly sweeter and juicier than all the rest.
So is a little bit of oyster shell in my half shells acceptable? It sucks I have to spit them out but perhaps the shucking could be more careful? Well... eating it pre-shucked sure beats doing it yourself. That and having some to go with some cold beer in a warm afternoon is just HEAVENLY.
I came here during the Spring but this place is still in vivid memory. Â We sat off the kitchen bar area and everything off the grill looked delicious. I tried the seafood sampler and manhattan chowder and they where both great and very fresh. Â Off the grill, i recall seeing some hearty mouth watering sandwiches and beefy salads that looked superb. Â Cocktails, beer, and wine is also served here and they've got the tv on with sports on.
This spot is tiny, and when i say tiny I mean it fits like 50 people max. Â :) Â So naturally, noise does carry but still perfect for a casual date, a girls meet-up or a small gathering - just be prepared to wait. Â Speaking of wait; waiting to get a seat it's not all that bad because they'll take down your number and give you a ring when ready and there a plenty of nearby shops to peruse while passing time.
Honestly, i can't wait to come back here; it's one of those "have to try" places.
Not that I am a clam chowder connoisseur of any kind, but I can argue that A W Shucks has the best clam chowder on the peninsula! Michael and Michelle, the owners, are two of the most hardworking and friendly individuals I have ever met. The star is always friendly even on their busiest of days. My favorite menu items are the bloody Mary, clam chowder, and tuna sandwich.
if you are feeling extra saucy try a bloody Mary oyster shooter!
Very good...
Didn't order their signature Bloody Mary or Oysters which I highly regret. Â
But we were still satisfied with what we did order.
Also, they brought our food out very fast so that's always a plus.
I plan on going back and only ordering Bloody Mary's and Oysters to make up for my loss.
So we walked by this place on our way to check out a deli the gf read good reviews on. When we got there I just wasn't feeling the deli (shocking). When we checked on another restaurant that had one customer in there we decided to back track to a place we saw earlier. That place was A.W. Shucks.
The first thing we saw of this place was a woman with a big plate of calamari in front of her. That pretty much sold us right there. The place is small but it was pretty packed. We didn't know where to sit so we just sat at the bar. I was really hungry for a burger so that's what I got. The 1/2 lb burger. I ordered it rare and couldn't help but notice the guy was leaving it on the grill just a little too long. But the burger still was ok. It had a nice char on it that I really appreciate. Plus you get more steak fries then you could possibly eat. I tried the gf's seafood platter. The calamari really didn't taste as good as they looked. The shrimp weren't all properly "cleaned". The fish was the best part of the plate.
One cool thing about sitting at the bar is you get to watch them make your food which is almost a show in itself.
I wouldn't make this a must on our next trip out of here but I would recommend people to try it.
On a quest for a yummy and not overly spendy lunch in Carmel, we walked past this joint and saw through their windows an amazing heaping plate of calamari, and we knew we found our spot!
We were seated at the oyster bar, and were treated to a fun view of the cooks working. Â While it wasn't exactly great to be sitting basically on top of the waitresses' station where orders were entered and paid for and silverware, etc. was picked up (made for a VERY noisy seat to the point where I had to shout to be heard by my BF, not from crowd noise but just from employee mayhem). Â But it is a bar in a teeny tiny cozy spot, so we take it in stride. Â On the upside, our waitress was very attentive and in hearing her chat with various customers, it's clear this place has many returning locals who are treated as respected friends. Â
BF went for a cheeseburger, and after being unable to decide on all the tantalizing fried fish options, I went for their fried combo platter, which had fish n' chips style beer battered fish fillets, fried shrimp and that calamari, with a VERY generous helping of fresh hot steak fries. Â Unfortunately my favorite part of the meal was the fries. Â The fish all around was underseasoned. Â The last thing I want to do to a plate of fried anything is cover it in salt but I really had to to make it palatable. Â The fish was well cooked, but just didn't taste like much of anything. Â Their various batter textures are awesome, but some salt and spices are very much needed to make their food truly great. Â Also in attempt to lighten my meal and remove some of the fish's breading, I saw that my shrimp were not clean. Â As soon as I saw that, I was done with them.
What this place doesn't totally deliver in food, it makes up for in atmosphere. Â Everyone there obviously cares about what they are doing, and about their beloved customers. Â Unfortunately without really any delicious offerings sampled, I won't be in a hurry to return.
Oysters were fresh, and the bloody mary was house-made and had a good kick to it. Â However, the crab cakes were utterly disappointing. Â The crab was shredded extremely finely (no jumbo lump here), and the mixture was poured from a ladle onto the grill. Â The end result was mushy and pancake-like.
On the plus side, service was attentive and when they were running a wait, they called me on my cell to let me know the table was ready. Â
Advice: Go for oysters and drinks, but choose carefully on the rest of the menu.
Make a note to get their crab cocktail appetizer. It's an awesome dish if you like crab -- for only $8. Fish n Chips were also awesome since the 'layer' of the fried batter was light, Â because they use carbonated liquid (saw them take a bucket of beer to the kitchen). In anycase, it's much less thickened by being fried with thick batter. Great work shucks. Their clam chowder was ok. I wanted something fresh since it's by the coast but that only limits me to monterey squid. Â So I said nay and got some imported seafood.
Besides this, it's pretty small-mid sized and there's painting against the wall. Bar is attractive and the first thing that greets you at the entrance. :)
First time here, and just for drinks - so I want to come back, and here's why:
Friendly greeting by the maitre'd - it was a Saturday night and the place was full - but he soon squeezed us in anyway. Those he cannot seat right away - he takes cell numbers and will call you while you continue to shop! It is a tiny place and quite popular - especially on weekends.
My martini was great (guess that is hard to screw up), and my hubby ordered 6 oysters. Â He is a big oyster fan (he shucks them and prepares all kinds of heavenly appetizers that leave even non-oyster fans raving). Â That being said, he was disappointed that these oysters didn't have the knife run under them to separate them from the shell, and that there was grit along the edges of the shell. However the oysters themselves were fresh and tasty.
The wait staff is very prompt and friendly and the dishes arriving at other patron's tables looked and smelled wonderful - so my next trip back to A W Shucks will be to sample some of those great looking entrees.
First time visit for drinks and appetizers on a Saturday nite. Â Cozy place, seated in 5 minutes (despite indications the wait would be longer). Â Seating is at bar, 'family style seating (2 at a table for 4) or tables.
Had signature Blood Mary (tasted good but I am not an expert), and Bombay Martini. Â They have incredible inventory of bottles on hand, I assume they can pour any drink. Â
Ordered plate of 6 oysters - 2 pair from Washington and one from Bodega Bay. Â Very tasty, but the preparation was only 'fair'. Â They oysters were not separated from the muscle (your couldn't drink them from the shell, and the shells weren't cleaned and had grit around the edges.
This place is advertised as an "oyster bar". Â You get a 2 for "oysters" and a 4 for "cocktails".
Noise level as fine - easy to have a conversation despite the close quarters.
Wait staff was quick, friendly and  helping with the ambiance.
I thought this place was just great! Â We stopped in for lunch and were seated immediately at a high top table and they were more than willing to accomodate us at that table even with a toddler. Â
I ordered a baby shrimp cocktail for my daughter, which she gobbled up! Â My mom and i split an order of oysters which were so tasty we didn't even need the cocktail sauce! Â And then there was the artichoke which was steamed and served with a mayo dip (blah) and a roasted red pepper something deliciousness :-) Â I've never been a big fan of artichokes with may, i've always preferred them with olive oil and vinegar...needless to say the dish was saved with the roasted red peppers. Â Mmmmm, mmmmm! Â The artichoke made this East coast transplants heart content!
Food: 2 stars
Service: 1 star
Usually, I value food over service, but today the service was so bad that it affected how my food tasted. Granted we were seated at the busy bar but I still expected better.
We ordered:
Bloody Mary (this is alright, but I couldn't drink more than 1/3 of the drink.)
Calamari (mediocre, so greasy and dry.)
Dozen oysters mixed (eh. so much shell pieces on the oysters. but this is the only thing we actually finished.)
Cup of Rosé chowder (so mediocre and bland.)
Salsa oyster shooter (there was shell in this too, wtf?)
So, all the food tasted sooo mediocre and below standards. Secondly, the food was served all together, so we had to rush to eat everything and couldn't enjoy it. (All other tables were served one dish at a time). The lady asked me if I wanted bread 3 times. The lady served our oysters, chowder AND bloody mary to the wrong party.
When I said "Excuse me" the waitress ignored me 3 times (the other people at the bar were all looking at me), then I said it REALLY loud and she stared at me with this blank stare. No words, just a blank stare. The whole time we were there, she did not check up on us. The worst thing, she handed us the check without even looking at us. We had eaten ~$50 between two people and she did not say thank you. She didn't get tipped because we were so mad.
So overall, what a bad restaurant. The only nice person was the hostess.
Tbh we were literally the only Asians in the house, can't help but think that's why.
After getting lost in Monterey/Carmel, my family and I were starving! We decided on A W Shucks Cocktail and Oyster Bar because well, frankly we didn't want to walk that far and it was convenient since my family were ooh-ing and ah-ing at the Christmas figurines next door. The hostess was nice and assured us that all 9 of us would get seated within 15 minutes despite the bar's modest size. The waitress was nice enough to take our orders beforehand and if you know my family, we are definitely complicated when it comes to ordering food lol. Props to the waitress for keeping up with us. :)
I can't really speak for what everyone else ordered because we were starving and basically inhaled our food. I ordered the crab cake and chips which was delicious! The crab cake had a nice sauce that complemented it well. The chips were perfectly fried! Our waitress was super friendly and attentive. She even struck conversations with us and made my cousin laugh. If I'm ever in the area, I would not hesitate to come back.
Funny story: my sister overfed my cousin and he was about to "throw up" The waitresses thought he was choking and were ready to give him the heimlich maneuver. Hey, at least you know that they're trained!
We went here for a quick bite before we went to dinner. Â I was craving some oysters on the half shell and came across this place on Yelp. Â This place had high reviews, so we thought we should try it out. Â
I ordered the dozen oysters and my girlfriend ordered the fried calamari. Â I was quite pleased with my oysters, it was served with cocktail sauce and horseradish(very spicy here). Â The oysters were not sandy and were very tasty. Â I wouldn't say they were the best I ever had, but I was happy.
My girlfriend was not too pleased about the calamari. Â Just plain calamari and i agree. Â However, their serving size was very generous and we did appreciate that.
Unfortunately, we did not try the bloody mary (said to be the best in town, of course). Â Next time we will try that out. Â If you are in the area, give this place a try. Â Keep in mind, large parties will have a wait for a bit for a table. Â Enjoy.
The sandwiches here are always grilled perfectly. They are crisp and Caramelized, but don't carve up the top of your mouth.
The bloody Mary was tasty, but I'm particular about my bloody blends, and while it was quite good, there was just something missing to put it over the top.
The key lime pie is orgasmic. If you are in here, and don't get a slice, you have missed out on a citrus circus for the senses. (Say that three times fast!)
The oysters were very good, expertly shucked, and were fresh and tasty.
Obviously, though, the notion that oysters are an aphrodisiac is a myth. The last time I brought a date here, I had seven oysters, but they only worked four times.
Oh well.
Service here is as good as any you'll find.
No, no, no. Don't go. A sunny day in Carmel, brought us out of the valley to enjoy Carmel at it's best. Didn't happen.
Pros: Friendly greeting, pretty bar top, prompt bread and butter, decent oysters.
Cons: Bad Bloody, the worst fish tacos ever (really, how does one make tacos tasteless?), and we were charged to have my husband's bloody strained into a martini glass! He's been doing this for years, and we have NEVER been charged - which is contrary to what the manager assured us was common practice.
There are so many wonderful and delicious eateries in our area - don't waste your time here.
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