The Half Shell Oysters & Seafood

Great seafood tower, be aware that its all chilled seafood. The proportions of the salad were a great shareable size for 2 and the chowder was delicious. We loved the sauces that came with the tower, the cocktail sauce was so good. The chowder had some dill in it that really rounded out the flavors. Would have loved to of seen wet naps given to clean yourself after dealing with all that seafood.

I had a great experience at The Half Shell Oysters & Seafood in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The service was friendly and welcoming, which made the visit even better. The chowder was disappointing, too watery. The mussels, clams, scallops and shrimp were fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly.

The Half Shell Oysters & Seafood is a must-visit! First, the food: our mixed selection of oysters was outstanding, and the in-house smoked salmon—WOW—absolutely phenomenal. Both dishes deserve rave reviews for their freshness and flavor. Next, the waitstaff: truly perfect. Friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable, they guided us through the menu with ease and great recommendations. And finally, the views—just incredible. You simply can’t beat them. Hats off to The Half Shell Oysters & Seafood for delivering fantastic food, stellar service, and unbeatable scenery.

Absolutely the best oysters I’ve ever had in my life! The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, with a great vibe all around. The staff were in such good spirits, super friendly, and made us feel right at home. We wish we could come here for lunch more often - it’s a true gem in Lunenburg!

We stopped by primarily for drinks but I couldn't resist ordering some oysters. Great view from the patio and excellent service. We both had one of the drink specials which was a watermelon Margarita and they were super refreshing and tasty. We would definitely return.

Came here for carbonara with scallops, but unfortunately the menu changed. I settled on Linguine & Clams; it was a pesto sauce that overall was okay if you like the taste of clams. As well, tried the Chowder, which was too creamy and pretty expensive for vegetable soup. Also, confused why it’s just chowder and not seafood chowder. The Seafood Risotto was good. But the best food item was the Chocolate Pot. It was very rich, but not too sweet. At least a nice end to a disappointing dinner.

The Half Shell Oysters and Seafood is along the water up from the Bluenose in Lunenberg. It's an open air space with a bar and fresh seafood. The offerings here are simple, fresh and delicious. The servers we had were so wonderful...upbeat and helpful. Loved our time here! 5 x 🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞

We had lunch at Half Shell after a round of golf and really enjoyed it. The outdoor seating area is fantastic. We ordered the Seafood Tower, which was absolutely amazing, and the fish tacos, which my husband really liked. We’re already looking forward to coming back for dinner.

Outdoor restaurant overlooking the Lunenburg landscape with the boats, water, and greenery. Enjoyed the outdoor seating on a beautiful day. The staff are very nice and attentive. The oysters were good and varied; would recommend the Puffin Rock oyster as it's the biggest and one of the tastiest. The mezcal cocktail was fantastic.

It was the last day of the season for this waterfront seafood location so glad we didn't miss it. We ordered the Seafood platter which comes with half a lobster, one section of snow crab, three shrimp, three clams and 6 oysters (and usually 3 scallops but they were out of those) We also ordered an additional 6 oysters. There were three different oysters and all were tasty. This is the only spot we had oysters that they didn't come with fresh horseradish. All the seafood was delicious and the setting great by the water. It is outdoors so weather can be a factor.

Great patio with a waterfront view, pretty good food. Stopped by for lunch and got the mussels (standard garlic and white wine sauce, pretty fresh, pretty good value at $9 for 1/2 pound) and lobster club (good lobster chunks, interesting bacon strip, nice soft bun, tasty side salad, a tad pricey at $25). While maybe not worthy of the hype, Half Shell wasn't half bad.

This place is great. Sit at the bar--the staff is very engaging while they work. Everybody is cheerful. Last night I had the Salmon. It's surrounded by a baby potato and creamy leek sauce...fantastic! Tonight I had the Scallop Carbonara. It's to die for!

Good place for oysters and scallops Price is slightly high Definitely would recommend it if you got a chance to visite Lunenburg

The flavors in the Chowder were out of this world. Best chowder I have ever had, hands down! Both main dishes were also delicious. We died over the carbonara, fabulous! Great spot for dinner, atmosphere was relaxed with beautiful views of the water. The staff were friendly and it was fun watching them work together in that galley kitchen!

The food was pretty good! The oysters and raw scallops are must-haves. The paella was also really good but was quite expensive for the size although it came with a lot of seafood on top. It's much smaller than a regular paella order and has some type of ground meat in it, which we didn't know before ordering. The calamari was pretty good too! Again, a small portion but we also ordered it with the sauce on the side. The clams weren't my favourite.

My partner and I had lunch here, and overall found it underwhelming versus other reviews. That said, it is a finer dining spot versus other (quicker) lunch options, if you're looking for that atmosphere. For food, we'd recommend the Seafood Chowder (lighter cream with perfect amount of dill; needed some salt) and Oyster Rockefeller. The steamed half lobster was well priced, but nothing special. The raw oyster was just that, whereas I was expecting some finish to elevate it. The grilled oyster with tomato is not recommended, nor is the calamari. Their toasted coconut drink (daily special) was delicious thought!

Had the calamari, 1/2 lb mussels and scallops carbonara. Delicious! Service was fantastic. The water front view is incredible. Highly recommended.

We had a very nice dinner here while visiting Nova Scotia. The seafood was fresh and delicious. I would recommend this place .

We were in Lunenberg to the evening and saw this very inviting restaurant up above the harbor area. We arrived just as the sun was setting enjoyed a great evening of food and conversation over our dinner. This outdoor eating experience was the perfect cap to a beautiful day. While only open seasonally, this restaurant focuses on fresh seafood. They had six different types of oysters that you could get served on the half shell, broiled or done Rockefeller style. I had two of two different kinds of oysters, the Chebooktook from New Brunswick and the Gowanbrae from Prince Edward Island. They were served on ice with a slice of lemon and cocktail sauce in a cute little squeeze bottle. The oysters were perfectly shucked and delicious. For entrees, I got the seafood paella which was packed with a ton of seafood. There were shrimp clams in the shell, mussels, scallops and fish. The flavors were great and it was a definite treat. The price point was very fair based on the amount of seafood you got. The dish came out very hot and looked beautiful. We also got the Scallop Carbonara which was also delicious. It had all the traits of a perfectly executed carbonara with the addition of perfectly seared sea scallops. This dish was rich in its flavors and generous with the scallops. The team at The Half Shell was small but extremely efficient. Everyone jumped in and worked together to make for a great dining experience. The tables are fairly close together up by the bar, but frankly, we enjoyed that was we met a very nice couple from Dartmouth and had a great conversation over dinner like we were old friends. We would could highly recommend dinner here if you are in Lunenberg.

Everything was great. Started with a dozen oysters - all the varieties, then fish tacos and the lobster sandwich. Ambiance and view worth the short wait. Staff super attentive and friendly.

After we came back from whale watching we came to this restaurant for dinner. We were a party of 7, the host told us there was no table big enough for us, we told him we can split up into 4 and 3, he came up with another excuse saying there were other people ahead of us. In the meantime, we can see there was nobody waiting aside from us. We left and went somewhere else.

Food preparation was excellent Great oysters Steamed mussels Salad was perfect z waitstaff was steady and professional under pressure. Really enjoyed it!

wonderful view and service. fresh seafood prepared by competent kitchen. I had a great time. would recommend this place to anybody.

Ate lunch here yesterday. I had 18 fresh oysters on the half shell from Malpeque, PEI. The oysters were delicious. They had a good size to them. They even grated fresh horseradish for me. Partner had the chowder. When sitting at the outdoor bar you can see the cook making your food. Hence we saw him make the chowder. The chowder was creamy, with plenty of potatoes and fish and very tasty. The interaction with the bar staff was fun and I had my first bourbon sour. It was very smooth. The outdoor bar is a must do when in Lunenburg.

Thought we were arriving late, but our waitress told us"no we rock till midnight here." We had a tremendous lobster BLT and Indian Point mussels, which were both very tasty. We ordered one more lobster BLT, and two white wines, which our personable and efficient waitress promptly obliged; these guys are a 10 in my book!

Outstandingly fresh and delicious. Sat at the bar and ate delicious PEI and NS oysters, large shrimp and chowder, all at a good price. Be advised to go on a nice day only. No indoor seating. But on a day like ours it's a great view of the bay.

What an incredible find! We had planned to go to the Rum Runner to relive a memory from 15 years ago, but sadly they were closed for renovations. The owner recommended the Half Shell. Oh boy, what a find! It was a warm afternoon. A few in our group had oysters and raved about them. Then we had the fish taco appetizer and it was sooo ridiculously good! So good that we keep talking about them. We had the lobster club and scallop carbonara to share. Wow. The lobster club was seriously delicious and full of lobster. But the scallop carbonara was unreal. I will dream about that dish. The staff were amazing. The food was great. The view was iconic. We threw in some prosecco to toast the afternoon and the view. I cannot wait to go back the next time I'm in Lunenburg!

The worst meal I've had in Lunenburg. The restaurant kept running out of power and were behind on all the orders. My daughter orders mussels that were good and pork tacos. The server brought two tacos (menu said that there should be three) and said they were bigger that was why there were two, unfortunately there was hardly any meat, really just a tablespoon per taco. My other daughter order the seafood paella, it was just rice and some seafood not paella at all. My husbands pasta was good and my meal was forgettable.

Great patio for seafood and beer. Their oyster selection is good and the tuna tartare is fantastic. Would most definitely recommend. Only about 7 tables so space is limited. Service was excellent.

Horrible service. Got serious attitude from a rude female server when we asked about ordering chowder and taking it to our table with the umbrella - after being told it wasn't a problem by other servers. Then had an extraordinary wait time. Avoid at all costs. Definitely won't be back.