Small quaint bar setting with an awesome seafood menu. The prices are very reasonable for the amount and quality of food that you receive. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes, Fried Oysters, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Snow Crab Legs, King and Snow
Alyssa Denato
Hidden Gem for Seafood Lovers in Chicago! This cozy, no-frills spot has that authentic, old-school charm that makes you feel at home the moment you walk in. If you're looking for fresh, delicious seafood without the pretentious atmosphere, this is the place. The food was fantastic! I went with the famous crab legs, and they were absolutely perfect-meaty, flavorful, and served piping hot. The garlic butter they use here is incredible, adding just the right amount of flavor without overpowering the natural taste of the seafood. The shrimp and oysters were also fresh and expertly cooked. The portions are very generous for the price, especially considering the quality. I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable everything was, making it a great spot for seafood lovers on a budget. The staff was friendly and attentive, checking in often to make sure we were happy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Courtney Nolen
Great food! Love this place. Everything is fresh and delicious. Any time I am remotely close we have to go. It’s clean and the staff is really nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Imad Zoubai
Really classic chicago vibe feel! Cash only! I enjoyed it. It's not a fancy place more of a dive bar feel but a great experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Lada Kotik
Really good sea cockroaches :)) yummm super nice server thank u very much ❤️
Brock Shine
I gave this place two chances (I visited alone). It was okay the first time. It was terrible the second time.
As you approach from the outside, you'll likely have the impression that it's a divey type of place. Although the dim lights and subtle, musty scent of the basement do meet that criteria, the clientele and yacht club flags are quite different. It's often an extremely affluent and standoffish crowd. Not really much of a complaint on my part, but I will summarize by saying the vibe is confusing at the least and weird at most.
Anyway, the food is mostly mediocre. Not much to mention other than the fact that I am confident the seafood is not fresh at all. I was actually expecting that to be the case, given that we are in the Midwest. The problem is that after my second visit, I spent an entire morning puking in my bathroom.
The biggest positive is that the service was nice. Both the bartender and the table servers are quite attentive. I did not have to make any extra requests, and they visited enough to keep me satisfied.
As a final note, I tend to be wary of cash-only businesses. The inconvenience of it is one reason. For example: not being able to split a check. But in the case of Half Shell, what put me off is that they will attempt to sneak extra things into your bill. The check you will receive is going to be a completely unreadable set of chicken scratch, and there's a good chance something small will be tacked on, despite you not ordering it.
In my case, both of my visits ended with a random beer added onto the ticket. These types of discrepancies are hard to dispute when a business lacks any POS system to track orders. I left with the impression that at Half Shell, the problem is intentional.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jeffrey Pellegrino
I was here on business staying in the Gold Coast area which has plenty of great restaurants however the travel to this place was well worth it. Not only because the price was the most reasonable for the seafood I ordered but the food quality was absolutely outstanding. Oysters were very fresh, the king crab was so meaty and delicious. The snow crab was sweet and tasty. The fried soft shell crab hit the spot. Anthony, a generational owner of this place, was super friendly as was the staff (Sara). What you may think is just an underground bar where you would think is the last place to serve high end seafood, it is actually an unbelievable gem of a seafood restaurant. Don’t let the dive bar vibe of this place deter you at all. If you’re the type of person who likes to find that local spot where you’re going to be surprised about how great the food, drink and staff are this is definitely the place for you to go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King and Snow
Tomek Brauncajs
Amazing place. Got own style. Food was delicious and prices reasonable
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Chowder
Christian Carbajal
Except for hating that it's a cash only place, I do love everything else about it. Great king crab, good beer, friendly service and reasonable prices. Will definitely be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Heather
The crab legs were divine! Impeccable service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Let's make this clear first: this place is CASH ONLY. Just make sure you are prepared for that. Found this place through online recommendations and it was so worth it. It's a hole-in-the-wall establishment with a small, cozy, personal bar feel. Both indoor and outdoor seating. The food was amazing and the wait was not long once we ordered. If you're looking for good shellfish that won't break the bank, you gotta check this place out.
Wheelchair accessibility: The outdoor seating is the only spot that's wheelchair accessible. There is a set of narrow stairs with a turn to get to the inside seating.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams
R&S Gaming
I love this place! I only went because I've always wanted to try soft shell crabs, and the food DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I went yesterday. The servers were great, and the older man. I don’t know if he was the manager, owner, or whatever. He seriously went above and beyond for me. I wanted BBQ sauce. They didn't sell it, so he literally made me some while I was eating my food. The food was so great, freshly made, and tasted so good!!! If you haven't tried this place out, go and do it. This place gets a perfect score from me. We need to get Keth Lee to visit, and here what he thinks. On another note, I loved the experience from start to finish. Those soft shell crabs were amazing and worth every penny. They also only take cash, so please have it ready when you go. They also have an ATM inside as well. But yeah, perfect 10 from me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katherine Amaro
Great food
Parking: Pay meter keep track meter lady is lurking lol
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
J.C. Rdf
This place has fell off within the past couple of years. This place used to be the best now it's just mediocre. The crab got smaller the prices went higher and the king crab got saltier and so did the service. This place Is not what it used to be. Its not worth it. I'll just boil some legs and throw on some fillets and fries at my place. The crab taste like they are from the dead sea.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
lucho chacon
Best prices in town for succulent, flavorful, mouthwatering Crab legs. Forget the rest this is the BEST.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Chowder
Small quaint bar setting with an awesome seafood menu. The prices are very reasonable for the amount and quality of food that you receive. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes, Fried Oysters, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Snow Crab Legs, King and Snow
Hidden Gem for Seafood Lovers in Chicago!
This cozy, no-frills spot has that authentic, old-school charm that makes you feel at home the moment you walk in. If you're looking for fresh, delicious seafood without the pretentious atmosphere, this is the place.
The food was fantastic! I went with the famous crab legs, and they were absolutely perfect-meaty, flavorful, and served piping hot. The garlic butter they use here is incredible, adding just the right amount of flavor without overpowering the natural taste of the seafood. The shrimp and oysters were also fresh and expertly cooked.
The portions are very generous for the price, especially considering the quality. I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable everything was, making it a great spot for seafood lovers on a budget.
The staff was friendly and attentive, checking in often to make sure we were happy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food! Love this place. Everything is fresh and delicious. Any time I am remotely close we have to go. It’s clean and the staff is really nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really classic chicago vibe feel! Cash only! I enjoyed it. It's not a fancy place more of a dive bar feel but a great experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Really good sea cockroaches :)) yummm super nice server thank u very much ❤️
I gave this place two chances (I visited alone). It was okay the first time. It was terrible the second time.
As you approach from the outside, you'll likely have the impression that it's a divey type of place. Although the dim lights and subtle, musty scent of the basement do meet that criteria, the clientele and yacht club flags are quite different. It's often an extremely affluent and standoffish crowd. Not really much of a complaint on my part, but I will summarize by saying the vibe is confusing at the least and weird at most.
Anyway, the food is mostly mediocre. Not much to mention other than the fact that I am confident the seafood is not fresh at all. I was actually expecting that to be the case, given that we are in the Midwest. The problem is that after my second visit, I spent an entire morning puking in my bathroom.
The biggest positive is that the service was nice. Both the bartender and the table servers are quite attentive. I did not have to make any extra requests, and they visited enough to keep me satisfied.
As a final note, I tend to be wary of cash-only businesses. The inconvenience of it is one reason. For example: not being able to split a check. But in the case of Half Shell, what put me off is that they will attempt to sneak extra things into your bill. The check you will receive is going to be a completely unreadable set of chicken scratch, and there's a good chance something small will be tacked on, despite you not ordering it.
In my case, both of my visits ended with a random beer added onto the ticket. These types of discrepancies are hard to dispute when a business lacks any POS system to track orders. I left with the impression that at Half Shell, the problem is intentional.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
I was here on business staying in the Gold Coast area which has plenty of great restaurants however the travel to this place was well worth it. Not only because the price was the most reasonable for the seafood I ordered but the food quality was absolutely outstanding. Oysters were very fresh, the king crab was so meaty and delicious. The snow crab was sweet and tasty. The fried soft shell crab hit the spot. Anthony, a generational owner of this place, was super friendly as was the staff (Sara). What you may think is just an underground bar where you would think is the last place to serve high end seafood, it is actually an unbelievable gem of a seafood restaurant. Don’t let the dive bar vibe of this place deter you at all. If you’re the type of person who likes to find that local spot where you’re going to be surprised about how great the food, drink and staff are this is definitely the place for you to go.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King and Snow
Amazing place. Got own style. Food was delicious and prices reasonable
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Chowder
Except for hating that it's a cash only place, I do love everything else about it. Great king crab, good beer, friendly service and reasonable prices. Will definitely be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
The crab legs were divine! Impeccable service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Restaurantji Recommends
Let's make this clear first: this place is CASH ONLY. Just make sure you are prepared for that.
Found this place through online recommendations and it was so worth it. It's a hole-in-the-wall establishment with a small, cozy, personal bar feel. Both indoor and outdoor seating. The food was amazing and the wait was not long once we ordered. If you're looking for good shellfish that won't break the bank, you gotta check this place out.
Wheelchair accessibility: The outdoor seating is the only spot that's wheelchair accessible. There is a set of narrow stairs with a turn to get to the inside seating.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams
I love this place! I only went because I've always wanted to try soft shell crabs, and the food DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I went yesterday. The servers were great, and the older man. I don’t know if he was the manager, owner, or whatever. He seriously went above and beyond for me. I wanted BBQ sauce. They didn't sell it, so he literally made me some while I was eating my food. The food was so great, freshly made, and tasted so good!!! If you haven't tried this place out, go and do it. This place gets a perfect score from me. We need to get Keth Lee to visit, and here what he thinks. On another note, I loved the experience from start to finish. Those soft shell crabs were amazing and worth every penny. They also only take cash, so please have it ready when you go. They also have an ATM inside as well. But yeah, perfect 10 from me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food
Parking: Pay meter keep track meter lady is lurking lol
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
This place has fell off within the past couple of years. This place used to be the best now it's just mediocre. The crab got smaller the prices went higher and the king crab got saltier and so did the service. This place Is not what it used to be. Its not worth it. I'll just boil some legs and throw on some fillets and fries at my place. The crab taste like they are from the dead sea.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo
Best prices in town for succulent, flavorful, mouthwatering Crab legs. Forget the rest this is the BEST.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raw Oysters on the Half Shell Clams, King Crab Legs and Alaskan King Crab Combo, Chowder
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