New LH restaurant - Offshore's Next Door

While we're waiting for a slew of new restaurants to open at the LH Town Center, we can try the new Offshore's Next Door which recently opened at Audelia and Walnut Hill (it'll always be Kingsley to this old timer.) I haven't yet tried it, but several of you have sent rave reviews. It's located where Hog Wild used to be, and the added outdoor seating will be nice once the temps get reasonable. My friends, the Tawneys, especially liked the  fried shrimp ("they huge!") and the fried catfish with the Cajun flair. There's a bar inside, and some of the waiters are LHHS students or graduates. If you go, would you add your comments here?

Comments

[Disappointed]

Long wait - don't go really hungry or you'll be upset after waiting 30 mins for your food.

Young staff, seemed to be chatting it up with their friends that were also dining in when we went. You know, the type that sit and talk and don't realize I need a refill!

Pricy! It's all in the $10-$35 range.

Food was okay, but not that great. No one was asking for feedback.

I'll bet they close it down by next summer.

[kph]

I agree... food was just okay, but for the price (party o' 3 = $70 but that did include 2 glasses of wine and 1 order of 'gator tails, which we'll definitely skip next time but needed to try, doncha know), I expected WAY better. Will still give it another shot and see if one of their grilled fish dishes is worth its price. I had the salmon w/crab and shrimp, which was pretty good but also pretty rich. They also forgot one of our side orders and mixed up a second one, which is a small thing, but still a negative first impression.

[lsc]

We tried it out last Tuesday. We had an attentive waiter but I too thought it was pricey for what you got. I told him he needed to put some fish tacos on the menu and he said they were revamping the menu and would be open for lunch soon. Our food was good I had the Chicken and artichokes and my husband had a shrimp poor boy. There was plenty of food and it came in a timely mannor. I'm hoping the menu will offer more variety or a lighter fair. I tried to order the spinch salas and they were out of spinch.
One of our favorite fish place is Fish City Grill this place could learn a lot for them. Good value for what you get.

[TD]

Well, I will give a good review as my experience was very different than the previous posters. I took my wife there on Saturday night with no expectations...and I consider myself a bit of a foodie. We live in Lake Ridge so it is nice to have somewhere we can basically walk to. I was just hoping this place wasn't a glorified Long John's Silvers--everything fried with super-sized heartattack portions. It wasn't...the grilled chicken sandwich and the cajon shrimp po-boy were well above average (actually great, but that is my opinion)..and the price was definetly fair compared to an average meal here in Dallas. Service was good also. Drink prices seem reasonable and it looks like a fun place to hang out and have a few drinks with friends without having to drive to Greenville. I am not sure the $25+ steak dishes will fly with the locals, but they will find that out with time.

I don't post much on this site, but you would think people would welcome a new restuarant in the neighborhood and not bad mouth it and hope for its demise...mr disappointed.

[bh]

Ive been there three times now. The servers are a bit laid back but mine have always been attentive. They seem to fit the atmosphere and costal theme. We are so happy to have a place where we can almost walk to and get a great bowl of gumbo and a cocktail. We have found the wine list to be a plesant surprise and it has grown each time weve been back. Last Friday night was busy and our food took about 30 minutes which is what I'd expect from a busy place on a Friday night. Our server was professional and let us know that our salmon dish was an 8oz filet and took around 20 minutes to cook and we appreciated that. He also told us that they prepare everything to order and that nothing is pre breaded which also takes a bit longer than your typical ready to fry places.

We have found the portions to be very generous and the price range to be quite reasonable. Heck, three people driving through Whataburger is over $20.00 now. We especially like the crawfish etouffee and the fried asparagus. We love the patio and wish these folks who have invested in our neighborhood nothing but success.

[gordan ramsey]

I love how many Lake Highlanders on this comment board want all this high-end stuff in LH like they have in HP, West Village, NW Hwy and Preston, etc then complain about what it costs. I think the contrarians want more of an outlet store/restaurant concept for the area; you get the brand name but don't have to pay full price for it. If you didn’t like it don’t go back. It’s a brand new place working out some kinks. Vote with your wallet if you had a really bad experience. Why would someone take a risk doing something new for in the area only to have it badmouthed online by a bunch of whiners? Phil Graham is right.

[LRE Neighbor]

We live four blocks away and we'll make an effort to support any decent business that is willing to invest their dollars in our neighborhood. We tried it last night and while it wasn't perfect, it was MUCH better than it's predeccesor. The kids chicken tender meal is a great deal at $2.99 and better quality than what we would get in the Wendy's drive through. The adults had the crawfish ettoufee ($12ish) and crab cake po'boy ($8ish). We thought both were pretty good with generous portion sizes. The ettoufee came with a really nice side salad that was included in the price.

Service has room for improvement and the whole staff does seem very laid back. While we still wish someone had opened a great burger joint there, we'll definitely be back. It's a nice treat to be able to walk to a dinner date or glass of wine right here in the neighborhood. Here's hoping they make it!

[Scott]

We have eaten no less than six to eight times at this restaurant since the opening. Each time we have eaten there, things get better. The key to getting better, particularly with a new restaurant is to tell the owners how you feel, not post it on a blog. Most blog comments are untrue anyway.

Comments on service: Hires Lake Highlands young adults as waiters (good for the community). They may not be ready for the "Mansion", but at least they are having fun and learning.

Atmosphere: Best bar seats in town. If you can't get comfortable in one of these, I give up! Great bar selection. COLD BEER! Good music, not to loud. Sports on most of the time.

Food: Gumbo - Great!; Beans and Rice - Average; Poor Boys - Great; Salads - Huge (watch out for the Habernero Ranch); Fried Asparagus - Great; Hush Puppies - Good. If you would like something on the menu cooked differently, ask the owners, they are nice people and will do what they can to make it your way!

Personally, I am glad that someone decided to open a new restaurant in our area and I will support it any way I can. And NO!, I do not own an interest in any way with this resteraunt. By the way. I have never left this restaurant hungry!

[Hmmmmm....]

Scott - you mentioned that "Most blog comments are untrue anyway".

So should I believe anything you just posted about this place?

Signed,
Things that make you go hmmmm....

[Laura]

BH hit the nail on the head... We want our area to have the same perks as HP, but at Dollar General prices.
This place is fantastic! It outshines Bonefish and Aw Shucks. The draft beer is ice cold and a great price. White Castle burgers are a fantastic kid menu choice. The crawfish ettoufe was a standout. I have heard great things about their fried shrimp and salmon. The habenero ranch is really hot... almost too hot. The one fault I had was I felt like the waiter should have given us the heads up on that. I suggest you order it on the side if you want to give it a try.
We found the service attentive. We did not see any slacking off from the staff. There were two high school / college aged boys working. Both hustled and were very pleasant.
We did have a small wait on our food, but we enjoyed our drinks and socialized. I do not mind waiting for good food. I noticed so many of the little things tasted homemade (dressings for example). I think this is a unique touch compared to many other LH restaurants and more than justifies their prices.
LH has been lacking a good place to get seafood. Offshore's fits the bill!
We will be going back because the food is great and we prefer to support our LH businesses.