Ophelia’s Fish House & Oyster Bar

Ophelia's has been on my list to try out for months as we LOVE seafood. The atmosphere was nice and we were excited by the happy hour special of $1 local Chesapeake Bay oysters. They were fresh and delicious (could be improved by being colder). Next, my husband had the Dungeness Cajun Boil, which he enjoyed. One note is that he asked for medium, but it was pretty mild. I don't do spicy hot stuff and I had no problem eating some of it. I ordered the fresh catch Sea Bass and it was a big disappointment, especially for the market price of $28. The fish and sauce was just okay, the rice had no particular taste and was overcooked/dry, and the carrots were just barely warmed over raw. It also came with bok choy, which was tasty and really the best part of the dish. We were seated right away, our order taken promptly, and food brought out hot. Otherwise, the service was nearly non-existent. The finished oyster tray was left on our small table until our main meal came out and that took a while. I had to ask for a drink refill even with an empty glass sitting there when the main dish was delivered. No-one checked on us through the entire meal. We had to ask for our bill from three different people and I had to get up and put on my coat before we finally received it and then had to walk to the host stand to get someone to take it for processing. My husband said he would return for the Cajun Boil again, but for me it is likely to just be a go to happy hour place for oysters and happy hour bites at the bar. Parking: We had a reservation for 5 pm as we had an event to go to on 9th afterwards. Parking is a bit of a nightmare at that time. There is a lot rush hour traffic, making it hard to get around, and the side streets are resident permit parking only. After 20+ minutes of driving around, we were finally able to get a spot on 8th about 3 blocks away. If we go again that early, we'll take the metro instead for sure.

Wanted to be impressed, however, nothing short of being disappointed. After being seated, the wait time for our waiter to greet us was unacceptable. After sitting 15 minutes, I asked if someone planned to serve us. The food needs improvement. Wanted to order crab, however, they had none. Even the sides weren't tasty. We waited at least 35 minutes for the check and again, I had to ask for it. Won't go back. Lots of other seafood options in the area.

With fun decor and great oysters at good prices, this is a great date destination for dinner. The food was tasty and the atmosphere was calm and enjoyable even though the restaurant and patio were relatively full. The cocktails were also good!

Even though it was the weekend they gave us the happy hour offerings so we were able to enjoy $1 Oysters. You can never beat a buck a shuck! Everything was great including mussels (light wine lemon, simple, tasty broth), hot steamed shrimp, fried fish bites, and popcorn fried shrimp. Server was also friendly and on top of everything Will be back soon!

Sign says they’re open Mondays but they are not.

Great place to have a nice dinner at a table or relax and talk at the bar.