3 /5 James Stafford: We recently visited Fiddlers Steamhouse and Oyster Bar, and while the service was fantastic and the staff very friendly, the food itself didn’t quite meet expectations.
I ordered the shrimp and grits, which tasted like instant grits with shrimp, bacon, and sauce simply dropped on top. It felt more like a quick home-cooked meal than something you’d expect from a seafood restaurant.
We also tried the seafood sampler platter, which has to be served all one way—grilled, fried, or blackened. At $30, it was just okay. The grilled shrimp were good, and the stuffed crab was tasty. However, the bay scallops were very small, the hush puppies were slightly burnt, and the corn fritters were just average. The crab fingers appetizer (grilled) was a highlight, though.
Unfortunately, they were out of oysters, which felt like a big miss given the name of the restaurant.
Overall, while the service was excellent, the food seemed a bit basic for a seafood house, especially at the price point.