Bernie's Oyster House Tybee Island

I was expecting more than we got since a friend recommended this place. We had a party of 9, they had no tables that seat 9 and they said we could not push 2 tables together. We also had to sit right next to trash that smelled. The raw oysters were good, the gator bites were the best thing we tried. The fried pickles were good, the hush puppies were pretty good. I ordered the shrimp, crawfish and crab legs. The waitress did not bring out anything to open the crab legs and they only had plastic forks. I had to ask her for something to open the crabs with. The sides were corn which was inedible and just okay cole slaw and hush puppies. My stepson ordered the chicken fingers and he hated them, I tried them and they were overly breaded and the chicken was super dry. The French fries were also undercooked so much they tasted raw. My son ordered the fettuccini Alfredo with scallops which I had a bite of and that was good. I ordered a pina colada which was good. Overall, a sub par meal for $500. Definitely not worth the price. What a disappointment.

Great experience here. The bartender was very personable. Food and drinks were on point. Perfect spot to grab a bite after a morning out on the beach.

After a long 5-hour haul from Atlanta, we rolled onto Tybee craving one thing: fresh oysters. With “oysters” in the name, Bernie’s was calling our name. Our server was fantastic—attentive, friendly, and quick to rave about their Bloody Marys. Here we go again, I thought. Another server hyping up their Bloody Marys. Let me be the judge of that. And judge I did. Verdict? Bernie’s makes the best Bloody Marys on Tybee. Period. They use their own homemade mix—bold move, because if you’re a true Bloody Mary fanatic, house mixes can be hit or miss. But this one? Absolute hit. Packed with flavor, perfectly balanced, and worth every sip. Pair that with a dozen fresh oysters and you’ve got the ultimate Tybee experience. As a longtime Zing Zang loyalist, I don’t say this lightly: Bernie’s, you’ve officially converted me. Hats off to you, Mr. Bernie.

Had the pleasure of trying this establishment today and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The server/bartender was amazing! I love good customer service and he definitely delivered it. I didn't get his name unfortunately but wanted to highlight him. The food was plentiful and tasty. The drinks were good as well. Whenever I come back to Tybee I will make another stop. Thank you!

Great music. Great oysters. Great Drinks. Ask for Lauren, best bloody Mary’s around!

Tabitha was an awesome server. She was very polite and refilled our drinks when they were low. She also provided some local insight. The food was great. Chees Burger and Cheesesteak. Fries were piping hot as well as the sandwiches.

10/10 for Food, atmosphere and service. Lots of menu options.

I am in love with this place, the double cheeseburger is on point! Everything is pretty awesome, including the taste in music. Me, my bestie, and mom were grooving to some 80s! It was so much fun!

Tony and I stopped at 2nd stop on his Bar Crawl. He ordered PBR and I actually took my Sprite with me! He was not able to smoke here inside so we had to go outback to the enclosed porch area. It's really big out there! Some is under roof and rest is in the open sunlight! Which I like but of course he didn't! I'm not a fan of this location! Bartender was a little rude when she found out we were not eating!

This was a divey style bar/restaurant in the middle of the pier stores and eateries. The area gets a lot of traffic. I'd read that they had good oysters -- steamed as well as raw -- and had bookmarked the place "to try". We came for lunch and sat at the bar. The current oyster prices were posted on a tabletop display. My husband got a half dozen raw oysters to start. I went with a dozen steamed oysters (as I don't like raw oysters) which took a bit longer as they had to cook. The oysters were very good. I think the raw ones were a better choice of the two. After that, he had a side Caesar salad topped with grilled shrimp. He said it was very good. I had their peel n eat shrimp. They were served warm and slightly dusted with old bay. And some melted butter was served on the side for dipping. The shrimp were good, too. This is the kind of place guys would drop by for a beer and some raw oysters.... And the bar was full with just these type of men. Although the guy to my right was also enjoying some steamed crawfish before his oysters. They have other food here besides oysters, but this hole in the wall place is a great intro. And with a name of "oyster house", why would you try anything else?!

We came by midday on a Monday around 3 PM and were a little skeptical at first since the place was empty, but we decided to give it a shot -- and I'm so glad we did! I didn't even get a chance to take pictures because we devoured everything so quickly. We started with the gator bites, and they were honestly the best I've had in a while. You get a good portion, the breading stayed perfectly crispy, and the pieces were a great size -- absolutely delicious. We also got the fish tacos, which came with fries and two tacos. I do wish places would go back to serving three tacos, but at least these had a generous portion of fish on each tortilla. The fish was fresh and flavorful, topped with coleslaw, lettuce, tomato, and bang bang sauce. The shoestring fries were super fresh and perfectly crispy -- tasted like fresh McDonald's fries. Next, we tried the bang bang shrimp po' boy, and it did not disappoint. It was packed with shrimp and came with more of those amazing fries. The bread was buttered and toasted, just like the tortillas on the tacos -- such a nice touch that made everything taste even better. Our last item was the grilled chicken Caesar wrap, which also came with fries. It was decent -- your average wrap, but on the smaller side compared to everything else we ordered. I would definitely come back! Prices are a bit on the higher side, but it's right on the beach, so that's to be expected these days. Overall, everything we tried was fresh, flavorful, and delicious.

stopped in for take out on Christmas Eve. the gator tail & philly cheese steak were great! I will say it's pretty pricey & the gator tail, philly cheese steak, & a buffalo chicken wrap totaled up to $50. There is outdoor seating available & we plan to return & give some of the gumbo a try. the bartender was nice & service was quick, though I was the only one there.

Small spot, weren't to sure but we all loved our food. Recommend the burger, fish and chips, steamed shrimp plate, and buffalo chicken wrap. Cold beer - no complaints. Surcharge if you pay with CC

Can't wait to go back! Great staff, service, drinks and eaaaatssss!! Go support these folks!

My husband and I stopped in yesterday. Lauren was there. She was friendly, efficient and very knowledgeable. We truly enjoyed our visit. I had the shipwreck and my husband had a Miller Lite. The beer was ice cold. Cannot say enough about Lauren and our experience.

Not a bad place, cousin was looking for oysters and this was one of the few places where others had stuff to eat as well. Portions were big and filling. There was only one server around but she was attentive and helpful. Definitely a dive bar atmosphere but nothing wrong with that.

The oysters here were soooo good and fresh! The staff was friendly and they even played the game we wanted to watch on the tv! Such great vibes there. I can't wait to be back!!

The food was not great, Oysters were very salty, fries were not done they were cold and hard. The food sat on the counter for at least 5 min. They waiter walked by it 6x without even looking at it, he was more concerned about counting tips. My order was wrong the drinks were all watered down. Staff was nice. Took a very long time to get the food. Table was very sticky.the slaw tasted horrible it tasted like spoiled malt vinegar.

Awful food and service. Do not recommend!!! Spent way too much money and was very unsatisfied with the entire experience.

Do not waste your time or money here. Never had worse food on the beach. Not only was the environment grimy, the hush puppies were hard as a rock and not even edible, corn was mush way over cooked, crab was not edible it was so overdone mushy and stuck in the shell, and the coleslaw was disgusting? I brought my food back in as I ordered take out showed them everything and explained I could not eat this for 60+ dollars. They said "they cannot do refunds." (Which we all know is a lie...) they remade my food and got the exact same crap food! The sides were not redone and were the EXACT same food I handed them. The crab seemed to be remade but were now different completely over cooked crab legs. I also paid an extra 20 for an extra cluster to go with my 1 lb of snow crab and I only received 2 clusters? How is 1lb 1 cluster?? What a joke. Unfortunate experience that was very poorly handled will not be back. Been coming to Tybee for 20+ years and they've lost my and all my family and friends service, though I'm sure they don't care when they can feed tourists more crap over priced food.

Stopped in here for lunch. Cute little place very much a bar. Obviously this place is an oyster house which is why we've never tried it before because we dont like oysters! But yk we decided to try something new and to see how their other food fared. It was ok. I'm sure for oysters lovers theyre a great place. For other people not so much. The crab bites were pretty good. The fish wrap was just ok. The sauce on it was really good though. Specifically the pop and sweet tea tasted like it was sweetened with agave or something. Anyway definitely think it's for oysters not the rest of things so I cant give it a totally fair rating.

Went on a Sunday around 7:30 pm, it was pretty busy but not insane compared to other restaurants in the area. However, the service was atrocious, I absolutely understand being under stress and having a lot going on but at the bare minimum I feel like you should treat your customers like actual humans (we had an older lady serve us). The restaurant was cute, had a lot of nice outdoor seating and areas to smoke at which is cool. But the food. My lord the food was the worst food I have ever tasted perhaps in my entire life and that is hardly an exaggeration. The fries were not salted whatsoever and almost cold, almost nothing was seasoned at ALL, and the fried oysters tasted gritty and like the sea. A family member ordered the Bernie's Boil and it was clearly simply boiled with some sparse seasoning sprinkled on, which if you know anything about cooking seafood, it's gonna be pretty bland if that's the only step in the process. The sweet tea was terrible as well but shockingly the fried pickles were the only food that was surprisingly delicious. Wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy.

Enjoy some classic beachside comfort food to satisfy your appetite after a long day in the sun. I sampled their steamed oysters and fried shrimp platter. The staff was notably friendly and the ambiance was filled conversations from locals and those visiting Tybee.

Dropped into Tybee Island for some warm weather in December (2024). WE wandered into Bernie's because the first place smelled like cigars. Great service and good food, including the gumbo, the shrimp and the gator tail. This place rocks.

Excellent food, efficient service and a great location! Lots of shopping around Bernie's!

Under new management. Oysters were fried perfectly. Appropriate crunch and the bite melted like butter. These were sourced from the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore side. Slaw and thin cut fries were also well prepared. Overall 9/10.

What a fun bar with really good food. We ordered amazing small portion seafood nachos. The chips smothered with the seafood and queso was very delicious. It was hard to resist them. We tried a cup of gumbo. It's was very good. It had a crisp flavor and a mild bite. The spice doesn't overpower the food. We also tried the philly steak sandwich with fries. The fries were really good. I added jalapeños to the philly steak sandwich and I was in heaven. The waitress was outstanding and the food came out quickly. the waitress was Mary Ann, she truly was so sweet and provided excellent service. It looked like she took care of everything: the bar, the customers and busing the tables. She did an outstanding stellar job. Please check out this place and hopefully your experience is as good as ours.

Two of our four at the table wanted oysters so what better place to go than somewhere called an Oyster House. Menu was limited which was okay. My shrimp wrap was really good. I'm not a fan of oysters so I can't give a review on them but others at the table said they were good. Service was definitely subpar and the atmosphere was very much a bar vibe. Wasn't the cleanest place I have ever been in but it's fine if you want something quick at the beach.

Pretty cool place. $2 Jell-O shots with pop rocks were very cool. House amber beer was good. Bartender was attentive.

If you are looking for an old school Oyster Bar at Tyber Island then Bernie's is it. Good service and good food. Laid back atmosphere is great!

Food is mediocre. Fries were barely cooked. Shrimp too. The can beer I ordered had dirt all in the top. Disappointing at best.

Amazing oyster's! Really cool waitress who stayed over her shift just so we could sit outside !

10 out of 10 to Ethan and Leslie for giving us amazing service. The food was great. We had the fried chicken Caesar wrap and they were delightful. Also, the fries were good.

Crab legs are my favorite food of all time so this place can't get any lower than 5 stars. I recently started enjoying raw oysters as well so this meal was a real treat. If you're looking for a fancy seafood place this is not the one for you. It's very small with maybe 10 tables or less. There was one server and one cook working so bring your patience as well. It was great service, just one person for the whole place. I will be back for sure!

Oysters good flavor but not separated. Wings were very good. Bloody mary was delish and bartender was great. But please, DEVEIN the shrimp - yuk!

Wtaf- my friend and I went to go eat there for dinner at 5:30pm. They don't close until 8:00pm and the kitchen was closed 2.5 hours before actual closing? What kind of place does that?? That's so messed up. Don't recommend because if they can't bother keeping the kitchen open until close then they might as well not be open at all. I'd understand closing it maybe 30 minutes until close but 2 and a half hours? Absolutely ridiculous.

This was a neat enough place, the oysters were alright, I've had better at at least 2-3 other places since being in the area, stop on in if you want- but I wouldn't need to stop in again with so many places around

Stopped on a whim looking for a cheap place for lunch. What a gem!!! Yeah it's an Oyster Bar , but we got the (chicken) cheesesteak which was out of this world, and a stacked high chef salad. The cheese steak was filled with some perfectly spiced chicken, cheese, onions and peppers...and the taste...I venture to say one of the best ever! Chef salad was packed with ham, turkey, cheese an lettuce so yeah it was really good, too! Service was perfect and even though it looked like just one server ours was super efficient and nice! Atmosphere...it's an oyster bar, but nice clean with a fun bar feel. As good as our meal was I can just bet their seafood is is just the same!!!

Wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt on the reviews. Customer service is terrible, we orders drinks when they arrived to the table they watered down. It wasn't busy, it was pretty slow we decided to sit outside. We ordered a lb of crawfish, they came out in a black buttery sauce that was bland. My husband ordered oysters, and they had a strong fishy smell...an unusual fishy smell. We asked for the manager, they didn't even bother to come to our table. Thanks god we didn't order food and just appetizers. We didn't eat the oysters, they still charged us. Won't be coming here again, not worth it. Terrible drinks, discussing food.

We stopped in to grab a drink. The bartender was very nice and we were served fairly quick. Did not try any of the food so I can not comment on that. I thought the crown and cranberry was a little pricey, but hey it's River Street.

We had a dozen raw oysters and a pound of steamed shrimp platter, with slaw, corn and hush puppies. Oysters were big, juicy, and flavorful. Shrimp was well-seasoned and delicious. Service was prompt and friendly!

It is beach food, and it is convenient. The building has wear and tear from the beach elements & needs maintenance, but it was clean and the hush puppies were great! The rest was...just sort of okay. The service was good. Solid three star joint from a visitor point of view. I will probably try something different "next time," unless they were the only business with seating.

Hole in the wall bar with average to below average food Get the hush puppies. Everything was edible. Nothing was great.

Instead of waiting 1.5 hours at the normal spot we decided to give it a try at Bernie's. It's an old building oyster bar and full of young workers and we were glad to hear others around us commenting on their food. The waitress was working her tail off, but quickly got our order in and we were rewarded with a great meal and prompt service. Nice job by the team there and we will be back. Mark Jones

The Food was amazing and the staff very kind my server very attentive to detail. The place was a bit empty when I walked in which usually isn't good news but if your reading this you should definitely check this place out. I ordered the nachos and a order of the snow crab legs both amazing 10/10 would come again.

It was terrible service the food taste like plastic and the waitress was rude and wouldn't listen the pop taste like water and just overall horrible

The oysters were delicious. My favorite thing was the shrimp nachos my husband had the shrimp pasta which he said was pretty decent.

Was crazy hungover after St Patricks Day festivities! Went in here had Oysters and Philly great Bloody Mary, great oysters and loved the Philly! Their T-Shirts are pretty awesome too!

Can I give zero stars? They want you to pay for something that they messed up on. They brought out nachos with tomatoes and salsa on it (which isn't stated on the menu) then said we had to pay for it. Yuck. They proceeded to call the police on 4 black women (1 is pregnant). The police are literally killing us and you called them over $8 nachos????? And she ordered a $13 item to replace the nachos. So you were still going to make money. Wow. They will call the police on you... you know how that ends for us. Update your menus to aay exactly wtf you're putting on our food. Maybe this wouldn't be an issue. Also the nachos came out cold anyway Nasty.

We ate at Bernie's for Christmas lunch. The region was having an unusual cold snap, but we were able to get right in. My father-in-law rarely gives superlatives on restaurant food, but he commented that the seafood gumbo was some of the best he has ever had. I had the oyster Po'Boy. It was very good. Two of our group had oysters on the half shell. They were better than the other restaurant we had visited on Tybee. My son ordered the fish Po'Boy but they misunderstood him and brought the fish platter. Although it was the same fish, the manager comp'd his meal. He ate the entire plate before knowing it was free. We definitely recommend Bernie's.

Absolutely not. Food was disgusting and staff acted like they were annoyed we were there in general.

Stopped in here with our two young kids when everywhere else had a wait. The waiter was nice and attentive, and our food came out incredibly fast. It's a dive bar environment, but they had high chairs so also family friendly. We had the seafood nachos, fried shrimp, and fried oysters. All were great but the oysters were exceptional. I would highly recommend giving this place a try!

The food was good but for the price and the fact they called them platters you think you would get more food! The waitress was awesome and kept the cups full and was very polite! Fried Shrimp Platter and fried fish platters work well together! Not sure what the name of the dipping sauce with the crab bits was but it went well with everything!

I went out to Tybee Island this afternoon to walk around and enjoy the nice weather. After a little while I decided to head back into Savannah, but I wanted to grab something to eat before I left the area. Bernie's was not far from where I was parked. I ordered the crabcakes appetizer. You get two of them for $12. I followed that up with a combo basket of fried oysters and fried shrimp ($18) with tots. The food was piping hot and the portions were huge. I'm a big guy, I have a healthy (or unhealthy, at times) appetite, and I still ended up taking a good amount of food home in a to-go box. I wish I had gotten the Lowcountry boil for the same price as the combo basket. It would probably have been a better pairing with the crabcakes, which were delicious, by the way. Lots of succulent crab. Almost NO filler. I'll be going back there.

We ordered the fried oyster platter which was good, but the waitress was horrendous. She had to have been on drugs or drunk. We only saw her twice, when we ordered and when she brought our drinks out. At least three tables walked out while we were sitting there because of her attitude and/or because she didn't go to their table at all. We saw our food sitting in the window for more than five minutes before another waitress brought it over. When we asked our waitress for the check as she was clearing another table she said, "Sure, just a minute," and proceeded to go pick her teeth and get herself a soda. The waitress who brought our food ended up closing us out. This was the only restaurant we visited on our brief trip through Tybee and we will never be back.

We ordered burgers. The meat was ... eh. The menu said it was served with chips and a pickle. The waitress told us it was tortilla chips. Not used to that with a burger, but that's ok. When the meal arrived the chips were as stale as could be they were just inedible. Some had a seasoning on them. Ate one of those to see if it was intended and it would help. It was similar to Old Bay and made it even worse. Just not a good experience. The pickle was good!

Was skeptical to try the oysters only from other reviews. However, the waitress was encouraging and said the current oysters were fresh, large, and really good. They were not local (bummer but assuming might be a good thing). From Louisiana. The largest oysters we've had yet! And they were excellent- cold, salty, fresh. We hope to be back!