Oyster Bah - LEYE restaurant

It is my parents 54th wedding anniversary so Mrs Willie & I took them out to Oyster Bah this evening. Their choice of a long list of potential spots I had emailed to them.

We started with the oysters, there were ~10 varieties to choose from. At $3 a piece they better be fresh and they better be shucked properly (no bits of shell & liquor remaining). They were.

Crab bites are legs of Alaskan King Crab cut into 1" lengths. Easy way to pull the meat out, but the tendon still is in the meat. That said, the legs were fresh and full of flavor.

Tuna Poke. Very good but portion size is tiny.

Grilled Oysters, for $14.95 I'm expecting more than 4 oysters but that is what was served with the order. Seasoned nicely, too heavy on the breadcrumbs, cooked excellent as there was still some nice moisture to the oyster. No real smokey flavor detected.

Smoke Trout Dip, it is tasty but again no real smoked flavor. Too easy to make terrific smoked fish dip at home, so I wouldn't bother ordering this again.

Mrs Willie had the seafood salad. She loves the version served at Shaw's and said Oyster Bah's version was a very palatable step below what Shaw's serves. Not just flavor wise but in the amount of seafood and other chopped goodies, like hearts of palm.

Father had the lobster roll sandwich. He grew up on the east coast so is not an easy person to please with seafood. He stated the sandwich was enjoyable but not great. Looked a bit heavy on mayo to me, I did not taste.

Mom had the crispy one sided snapper w/Thai chili sauce. Yes I know the menu states it is one sided but for $27.95 I really expect the entire fried fish or at least a much larger sized one sided fish. Fish was cooked perfectly, just spot on. Sadly the chili sauce came in a small tiny dish and was very out of balance (I tasted almost nothing but lime juice).

I had the shrimp & grits w/a lobster-tomato gravy. Grits were a bit cheesy, cooked well, I really enjoyed this dish. Addition of a little hot sauce added to my enjoyment of the dish.

Pop had peppermint ice cream. Mrs Willie, Mom & I all dug into a fantastic piece of coconut cake. I'm not a sweets guy but this was truly terrific cake.

Recent Reader review: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/oy ... d=21516850

I believe the Chicago Trib also had a recent review, the parents said they saw one.

Oyster Bah
1962 N Halsted
Chicago, IL
http://oysterbah.com/

Has anyone been downstairs to the Crab Cellar? According to the LEYE website they have craft cocktails and an exclusive menu. After some google searching, I couldn't find any reviews beyond stock PR one-liners. On the actual Oyster Bah website they're still calling it the Low Tide Lounge. Some of the inter-blurbs suggest fine dining, but neither name suggest white tablecloth and Prosecco. For me it evokes more of a smash smash nom nom chug chug vibe. Anyone been?

On Monday, March 13, the team at Oyster Bah is excited to announce the launch of a carryout and delivery only restaurant, operating out of their Halsted location. Seaside's aims to capture the feeling of summers at the Jersey Shore posted up around a picnic table with family and friends.

http://www.leye.com/new-seasides-carry- ... sideslogo1

Dave148 wrote:

On Monday, March 13, the team at Oyster Bah is excited to announce the launch of a carryout and delivery only restaurant, operating out of their Halsted location. Seaside's aims to capture the feeling of summers at the Jersey Shore posted up around a picnic table with family and friends.

http://www.leye.com/new-seasides-carry- ... sideslogo1

I think this means Seaside's is replacing Oyster Bah, but I've read the link in its entirety, and even now am not so sure. Possibly they're just going to take some of the space?

No, it is not replacing it. They are using some of the kitchen to produce a carry out service; it does not replace the restaurant which is going strong.

Thanks, DutchMuse.

Oyster Bah has been renamed Quality Crab & Oyster Bah

https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/c ... story.html