Saint James Seafood

First visit to this new addition to our Durham food scene. Couldn't have gone better. Seated immediately for our reservation thru Open Table. Ordered from their Tiki drink menu. Great drink in the Fog Cutter, but not sure the "Tiki" goes with the nautical theme. Decor was nautical and warm. I liked the tables were placed to give nice space between. We started with the Florida Keys Fish Dip and it's fried crackers. Great texture and flavor in this appetizer Ordered the St. James Stew. Great tomato based with large chunks of seafood. My wife said ''best catfish I've had". I had our server choose three salty, briny oysters. All three were excellent. I saw many oyster plates coming out. Manager visited our table to check the quality. We had a really nice conversation about the restaurant's start-up. The whole experience was wonderful. Can't wait to go back. Update: We went back for a 2nd visit. Another excellent meal. Started with the Salty Dog, a nice, clean drink. Ordered the fish dip with the old Bay seasoned crackers. Such a great appetizer, flavorful with a good spice. We went with two callabash dinners - scallops and catfish. Both were seasoned well, lightly breaded and well cooked. Wife still thinks it's the best catfish she's had. Only one issue - a mess up with my credit card had left us being over charged. We're gonna make this a regular stop in Durham.

The ambiance and decorations were nice. The food was good—the aguachile, grilled oysters, and hush puppies were the favorites of the evening. The tuna tartare was very creamy and needed some citrus, like the aguachile sauce, to brighten it up. The crab dip had good flavor, but the viscosity was thin. Both the tartare and crab dip were mayonnaise heavy. The hush puppies were so light and airy, they were like donuts. Service was efficient and friendly. Overall a good dining experience.

Really liked the decor. Amazing improvement from the prior tenants. Clams were really good, bbq shrimp had great flavor, lobster roll oh so good! Beer list had some interesting picks that worked well with the dishes we got. Get the crab legs, worth it.

Awesome seafood! The oysters are very fresh and the steam bucket is an amazing variety of great seafood. I will eat here again, as soon as I can get back to the Durham area! The waitresses are so helpful and super nice. The music was great and provided the perfect atmosphere for the evening! I can't say enough about this place other than it is simply amazing! The craft beer selection is pertty good too.

We had an amazing experience at Saint James. Phenomenal Caesar salad, perfect oysters, and a over the top ridiculous chicken sandwich. Wouldn't change a thing!

Food was good. The soup I had was very good. There were several dishes I would like to return to try. Service was great. Interesting decor. I would definitely have reservations. We did and I'm glad because the line was a dozen people long.

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday evening. Parking was amble in their lot next to the restaurant. The atmosphere of the restaurant is cool, we sat upstairs where it was decorated as if we were on a ship with portraits of captains, port holes, and all. It would appear we visited this restaurant when they were having a bad day. The server and table runners seemed stand off-ish, but weren’t outwardly rude. A member of my party received an alcoholic beverage that seemed watered down. I had the lobster newberg, which was delicious, but the lobster tail and claw were overcooked and chewy. The stuffed clams had good flavor but were a little salty. The side of bread I got to help ease the saltiness came with a side of butter that was super sweet. When we brought this up to the server she said the kitchen was having a tough week because of the Valentine’s Day rush from the weekend. I would maybe consider revisiting this restaurant, but right now it’s a low priority because of my experience. The only positive part of my visit was the silk pie, it was great.

Saint James has become my go to place when visiting Duke and taking my college student to a nice dinner. Its certainly not inexpensive, but its wonderful. Granted we go for it with the seafood tower, but its a break from the everyday. I look forward to my next trip to Durham...