Papa Joes Oyster And Grill - Eastpoint

When asked about the best place to eat, a local said, Papa Joe 's in Apalachicola. Without a doubt. That 's where I go. Housed in an old grocery store on Avenue D, you find Papa Joe 's. It 's the often found seafood restaurant for which I 've searched in countless coastal towns. Fried, grilled, baked, raw, and ...fried. Pulling into the adjacent much patched parking lot, you already know you 've found an unpolished pearl. Apalachicola is a friendly fishing town on the Florida coast far from the glitz of her emerald sisters. Known for its fishing, especially oysters, you can share the sidewalk with a friendly feline. Watch a lone red haired girl dart across the street and wonder if she 's a mermaid. You 'll find legacy businesses, seafood restaurants, funky shops, and funkier art galleries. Inside Papa Joe 's you find a mix of customers, from locals in workwear chic and fishing boat couture to a few scattered tourists. The bar is backed by neon beer signs and is dedicated to the consumption of oysters. There is also beer, wine, and liquor but only as a sideline to the local bivalves. I should mention that the beer was cold, and the bartender went heavy on the liquor pours. There were two shuckers working steadily behind the bar to feed the customers. Oysters are The Thing here, particularly, baked recipes of seemingly all varieties. I went with old school raw. This place has real waitresses, not those spoiled tweens or 20 something 's who bitch and moan about having to work while wondering aloud about when they 're getting off their shift. The wait staff was nice and quick to give their advice. Mine said the shuckers were running behind and that there might be a 20 minute wait for my dozen raw. I didn 't care. The waitress was wrong. The oysters took 10 minutes. Still she apologized. The half shells arrived with zero regard for presentation like I care. A black plastic tray heaped with oysters and a couple of packs of Saltines. It was solely about eating them. How were they? Remember Hemingway? As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold [beer] washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of [beer], I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans. Papa Joe 's oysters worked the same magic mentioned by Papa Hemingway. Perfect. Who knows, maybe I 'll soon be the King of the World as I planned during my dozen raw. You could be, too. For a meal I opted for the fried scallop basket and a side salad at an added cost. Again, perfect. My only complaint was that there was too much salad in the bowl. I have no shame. I simply ate stray lettuce off the table. Savage, I know. My waitress recommended desert, specifically the Key lime pie. As promised, it, too, was perfect. T shirts in multiple colors are available to buy to commemorate your visit. Also get a copy of the Forgotten Coast Line, the local newspaper, before you leave. It 's free...and why not?

We were seated then it took 10 minutes for our waitress to ask us what we wanted to drink she never bothered to introduce herself. She wasn't friendly and never smiled. Rude. It took forever to get our waters. She finally came back to take our order. My friend and I both got a baked potato which wasn't even done! LIKE HOW DO YOU MESS UP A BAKED POTATO?! We asked for them to just throw it in the microwave and she brought it back and still not done. The fried grouper and shrimp was amazing! Service was terrible and slow. I paid with cash and didn't get a receipt so I asked for one and they looked at me like I was crazy. So this is what they brought after ten minutes telling us they didn't have one. We had asked for them to separate our checks and they still brought out the total together. I don't think the owner would want employees treating customers the way they treated us.

Just ok. Nothing over the top. Heard great things. Many more choices in this area that are better. Oysters were good but kind of tasteless, jumbo needed some spices, we got a grouper and shrimp platter for our main course. The grouper was excellent the shrooms were just OK.

Nice place, very close to bed and breakfast we stayed at so we walked. Brandis took excellent care of us. Service was fast and friendly. My girlfriend and I both had a dozen raw, very good. I got the grouper finger basket and it was outstanding. Lots of food, couldn't finish the fries. We also had the fried pickle spears. Surpsingly tasty. Had never seen fried spears before and they were great. Will definitely go back next time in town.

Disappointing, gumbo was very good, Oysters were pretty good, but oyster stew was watery milky bland, decor is gloomy depressing