Perla's Seafood & Oyster Bar

Never going back. I will never return to Perlas. We went here for dinner and was tolld no tables available, but we were 1st on the waiting list. While we waited on the patio a table opened and we waited a quite few minutes. Finally I went to ask hostess if we could be seated and was told that they decided to give that table to some other customers who came in after we were placed on the waiting list. I spoke to the manager and did not feel that they really cared if we were offended. We walked to Gueros and got good service and good food with a minimal wait. Perlas was really disingenuous and pretentious.…

Wonderful atmosphere, extraordinary food, overall a great pl. For my wife and I one year anniversary we visited Perla’s and it was amazing. The ambiance was romantic, and set the mood for entire evening. Their website has an online reservation service and it was simple to use. We ordered several appetizers including oysters on the half shell, of which I had fifteen varieties to choose from, Grilled Octopus & Papas Bravas, it was to die for, so tasty and tender. We also had New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp, with Oak Grilled Ciabatta, these shrimp were huge and tasted spectacular. For dinner I had Crispy Red Snapper which was delicious, they cooked the skin till it became a chip: it was WOW. My wife had Oak Grilled Scottish Salmon, she really enjoyed the smoky flavors of the dish and loved it. For family side we had Lobster Stock with Cheddar, & Green Onion Grits and Wood Grilled Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. They were both extraordinary, my wife especially enjoyed the asparagus and she doesn’t usually like it, it was that good. Finally for desert we had Wild Blueberry Shortcake, which was out of this world and chocolate & Earl Grey Pots de Crème, smooth and very chocolaty, perfect for a coco head. We enjoyed our selves exorbitantly and it was a night to remember, I hope to return soon and not wait for a special occasion.…

photo Disingenuous meal times. Watch what time you go, because there's a dead spot thirty minutes before the change. We arrived at 2:45p on a Saturday and were told that the kitchen had closed, even though they advertise on their website and on a sign in front of the restaurant "Brunch 11a-3p." Also, we were told that we couldn't sit in the restaurant side. We had to sit over in the bar area. Once we sat down, we were given the bar menu, which is still very full of goodies to eat. Our waiter came over and asked us if we wanted anything else to drink besides water. When we said, "No," that's when things started to go downhill. He gave us a look like we were going to be a sucky table. We asked him for a few minutes to look over the menu. He returned five minutes later and took our order, then proceeded to tell us that he couldn't actually place it until after 3p, because that's when Happy Hour started. What does that have to do with placing a food order? It being 2:50, 10 minutes wasn't too much of a wait. At 3:10 he finally entered our order in. We know this because he was talking to a table outside until then and that was the time he returned. Luckily we ordered some cold items and they arrived right away. The oysters were what we expected, but their condiments (horseradish, vinegar and cocktail sauce) weren't in any way amazing. The ceviche was just ok. Super chunky, so it was difficult to eat. We ran out of saltines, and our waiter abandoned us again, so another staff member got us some. Another staff member brought us our hot items because our waiter was still outside talking to that same table. Our water glasses sat empty for most of the meal. We consistently had to ask someone else for things. I had to go outside to ask him for the check. The meal was just OK, but at $50 for two apps and two sandwiches, it was overpriced. This might be a two or three star review if the waiter had been better, and the advertised meal times not been disingenuous . The experience was just plain awful.…