The 7 Best Oysters in Illinois

If your passion is seafood, you may feel like you have to hop across the pond to Europe in order to find some truly delicious oysters. However, if you’re living in or visiting Illinois, there are plenty of great spots around the city where you can find exceptional oyster dishes.

With so many options out there, how do you choose which ones will satisfy your cravings? Read on to discover our pick for the 7 best oyster bar in Illinois!

The 7 Best Oyster Restaurant in Illinois

Shaw’s Crab House

• Address: 21 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (4153)
• Phone: +1 312-527-2722
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

  Tuesday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

  Wednesday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

  Thursday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

  Friday: 11:30 AM – 10:00 PM

  Saturday: 11:30 AM – 10:00 PM

  Sunday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM
• Reviews:
  The food was amazing. We started with delicious crab cakes and then moved to the salmon sushi and salad. But all was not well! They forgot to bring bread to the table out of the gate. Then they brought us in a wrong dish. It would have been no big deal except our waiter would literally disappear for 10 minute increments. I had to get up from the table and point out to the waiter that we had also ordered blackened shrimp and grits, which were probably delicious when they were cooked but now they were 15 minutes cold and a little more chewy than they should have been.

  Three times we had to ask other staff to fill our drinks. While they graciously took off the dinner we did not order, it seemed like the staff was a little discombobulated.

  But for me, the straw that broke the camel’s back is when they brought my girlfriend her blackened shrimp and grits, to make a place on the table, he grabbed the mistaken fish and chips and actually asked her to grab her fork from her plate instead of just bringing a fresh one. Seriously?

  It was my first time at this establishment. My girlfriend has been here many times before and assured me this was highly unusual. Time will tell.

  ✭✭✭✭ By Jeff Thompson (6 months ago)

  It’s OK…portions were quite small and I definitely have had much better lobster roll for less.
  The Chilean sea bass was under seasoned and for being the highest priced fish I expected better.
  All in all… Its just OK where it needed to be really good.

  I do have to say that the oysters were EXCELLENT. The options and variety is good.. From sweet to briny. This was the best part of the meal.

  ✭✭✭ By ben l (2 months ago)

  We we thankful to get a table straight away on Saturday night holiday weekend. Sat at high top in bar area which is open to the regular dining area with white tablecloth. We started with chop salad and I think this may be their specialty. It was very nice. Shrimp cocktail amazing. our waiter asked if we wanted bread. iWarm potato’s bread. We had 5 or 6 different wait staff tend to us. Crab cakes great! Shaw platter and found the Scallops to be a little small but good very very well. Asparagus has a nice dip. The vegetable is from a local farm, It needed a splash of lemon, oil. s/p. This place is next to Andy’s Jazz club so it’s the perfect dinner before your show but I recommend a reservation. Finally, not sure why, but we were surprised with a free desert. Raspberry pie and it was out of this world!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Shannon C (5 months ago)

  This should be on the list of Chicago’s must try/eat/do. Such traditional feels and food is really good! The manager is so knowledgeable about the oysters and the food. The waiter was so warm and friendly. It checks every box for a perfect dining experience! I had the lobster roll and it was delish. I like that they used toast and not a bun. The oysters! Oh my…. So so good. I think I can just have the oysters for a meal… the key lime pie was nice, too. It didn’t have that over the top sour zing which I think makes it more enjoyable. If I ever come back to Chicago I will revisit.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Nicole Yeong (4 months ago)

  Nice seafood food place too visit. Oysters were very delicious and lobster bisque was so tasty. Waiters were very attentive and friendly. I’ve been to quite a few seafood restaurants and I must say prices here are bit high here. Overall, very friendly establishment and very tasty good. Thank you Shaw’s Crab House.

  ✭✭✭✭ By Albert Solano (11 months ago)

Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House

• Address: 1024 N Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (1482)
• Phone: +1 312-640-0999
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Tuesday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Wednesday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Thursday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Friday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Saturday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM

  Sunday: 3:00 PM – 12:00 AM
• Reviews:
  Friday night, I sat at a high top near the bar. Baseball game was on so it was pretty crowded. They had someone playing the piano, which was a nice touch. My waitress made great recommendations. Food was almost perfect – I would say the white fish could’ve used more seasoning. Maybe it’s just me 🙂 The waitress saw that I barely touched it and took it off the bill. Overall great experience.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Natalie T (4 months ago)

  Our waiter, Brandon, was excellent. Good personality, funny, attentive. The manager, middle aged gentleman, was outstanding! The food was prepared perfectly. The sauce with the tuna…. heaven in my mouth! Such a perfect way to start our weekend getaway from kids, work and school.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Beth Whitaker (5 months ago)

  First time trying Hugo’s and will definitely be back. Great service starting from the hostess to our waiter. Made a reservation and even if I couldn’t select outdoor seating they accommodated my family and I. I was also celebrating my birthday and they brought out a dessert on the house. Everything we got was delicious!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Polyxeni K (4 months ago)

  This review is based on our visit to Hugo’s yesterday evening. It’s summertime and the idea of getting some oysters and a drink could not be cast aside for long(especially if you are walking past the patio arrangements this place has!). It was our ‘season’s first oyster and lobster roll’ and they were great! The oyster options are limited but you get the good stuff! Apart from the lobster roll(s) being great, it was presented in an interesting way (see pic). What else? A glass of white and a goose island 312 and a great time. My wife and I will soon find ourselves frequenting this neighborhood charm throughout this summer.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By saptarnab naskar (6 months ago)

  We went for our 9 year anniversary and it was perfect! From the moment we walked in the door the staff was extremely nice and welcoming. The service was great. Our food was amazing. Then, before we left they brought us an ice cream sundae to celebrate. Now that’s really above and beyond service!! We were so excited to go to Hugo’s and are so thrilled that it was a great time, we will definitely go back. I would recommend anyone go there for a special occasion or just good food

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Samm Vinesett (3 months ago)

Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House

• Address: 55 S Main St, Naperville, IL 60540, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (964)
• Phone: +1 630-548-3764
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Thursday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Friday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Saturday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

  Sunday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
• Reviews:
  Hugo’s is a nice, upscale seafood place with a very modern design that feels inviting. The staff is also very pleasant and our service was impeccable. The issue here, really, is the food. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, by any means, it’s just nothing is really what you expect it to be. For instance, the Bacon Clam Chowder was good, but the bacon flavor overpowered everything to the point that it was all I tasted. It was more like a cream of bacon soup than a clam chowder. It definitely wasn’t bad, but when you order clam chowder you want clam chowder. And pretty much all the food was like that: tasty, but not really what I was expecting, so it led to some stark disappointment. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience and I’d be willing to try it again. And maybe knowing that the food is a little more left of center than described would help the next, as my expectations will be more in line with what I’d get. But as it stands after trying it once, our group was left a little bewildered and unsatisfied.

  ✭✭✭ By John M. (9 months ago)

  I went here for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I sat at the bar and felt that the whole the bartender did wait on me, he was much more attentive to “regulars” that he seemed to know by name. They were not terribly busy, but the wait for my food was 25+ minutes. The veggie burger and side salad were good. Nothing over the moon, but something I’d recommend and get again. I don’t honestly plan on going back anytime soon. Not that my experience was bad, but I wasn’t wowed by the whole experience.

  ✭✭✭ By Edye Nicole (8 months ago)

  Excellent service and food. We stopped on Valentine’s Day without a reservation and were seated immediately at 12 noon. In a booth! By 12:45 there were maybe 15 people SRO waiting for seating so we were lucky. Our server Deonte was great. He knew the specials and answered our questions. Very efficient server as we noticed he was super busy with many tables. Drinks and soup came right away. We ordered shrimp po’boys and they were so good. Key lime pie for dessert is a MUST here!! Highly recommend and we can hardly wait to come back!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By MJBB (10 months ago)

  Service of superb and attentive. Amazing food. We tried frog legs for the first time. Chicken milenase was done beautifully. We completed the meal with wonderful espresso and creme brulee.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By RC WM (10 months ago)

  Stopped in for lunch on a sweltering Sunday afternoon. Service was great, the whole experience was classy. Great menu along with a very expansive wine list. Of course we had to start with the frog legs which were delish. Whats nice is they have something for everyone. If you don’t want to spend a lot on the high ticket items they have sandwiches and smaller plates. Will definitely be back to try more menu items!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Joe Dattilo (a year ago)

GT Fish & Oyster

• Address: 531 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (856)
• Phone: +1 312-929-3501
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: Closed

  Tuesday: 5:00 – 9:00 PM

  Wednesday: 5:00 – 9:00 PM

  Thursday: 5:00 – 9:00 PM

  Friday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM

  Saturday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM

  Sunday: Closed
• Reviews:
  I am absolutely in love with this place! I ordered the crab cake, oysters, and had lobster roll + black truffle and mussels as my entrees.

  My favorite were definitely the crab cake and lobster roll. I am so in love with the pickled cauliflower it came with. The texture of the cake was phenomenal. It has that thick and rich flavor, and crispy texture on the outside. Adding the sauces it came on the side, and a bit of the pickled cauliflower as a palette cleanser definitely won it for me!

  The lobster roll was just dynamite. I added the black truffle because I’m simply obsessed with truffle, and I was lost for words of how good this dish was.

  Overall, I will come back to this place when I visit Chicago again!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By ashley (7 months ago)

  Very friendly and helpful staff. Seafood was outstanding. Oyster variety of British Columbia, New Brunswick and Cape Cod was delicious and informative. Best octopus dish I have enjoyed…Perfectly prepared with yogurt and fresh beets. Salmon prepared with crisp skin and vey pink center as I requested and enjoy. Complemented food with a smooth Oregon Chardonnay that had right touch of oak. Lively but quiet enough for a conversation. Very cool and functional “boomerang” table in bar area

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jim O (11 months ago)

  I had high hopes but GT Fish & oyster turned out to be average for me. For appetizers the shrimp bruschetta was very mediocre, the avocado on it tasted like generic grocery store guac. Shrimp cocktail and oysters were the best out of everything we ordered. Lobster Mac was super dry with not much cream to it. Lobster roll and fish entree were just okay— nothing to write home about.

  ✭✭✭ By Imaad Shoukathullah (8 months ago)

  By far the best meal we had in Chicago. 5 stars DO NOT do our experience justice. From the service, to the atmosphere and attention to detail GT is in a category of it’s own. The Mussels were absolutely incredible ! We don’t normally do desert but glad we did……ridiculously good. Thanks CT and all the staff, please open in Toronto soon !!!!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Stan Matecki (4 months ago)

  Came here for Valentine’s Day and only available seating was at the bar but it was so worth it. We had an awesome time chatting with one of the female bartenders and all of our food was to die for! Can’t wait to come back.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Rachel S (10 months ago)

Half Shell

• Address: 676 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (829)
• Phone: +1 773-549-1773
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM

  Tuesday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM

  Wednesday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM

  Thursday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM

  Friday: 4:00 – 10:00 PM

  Saturday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM

  Sunday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM
• Reviews:
  FANTASTIC!!! Very unassuming initially. IFYKYK! This restaurant has been around for decades! I’m new to this! 😳 Definitely return visits will occur. Enjoy the patio or head inside! Grab a table or have a seat at the table! The drinks were decent. The clam chowder is highly recommended. I saw a few shrimp 🍤 dinners pass by. The shrimp were large and present on the plate…with the standard accompaniment…fries! But, for this visit, the star of the show was the KING CRAB LEGS! If you enjoy crab, you gotta do it. I can’t wait to return. If you are looking for good seafood in a comfortable, relaxed setting. A neighborhood spot with great seafood…this is your place! Oh…and…CASH ONLY!!!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Kisha Johnson-Smith (2 months ago)

  Half Shell is a throwback, sort of divey but nice. Old school decor and really good seafood, what more could you ask for? It is still CASH ONLY so prep for that. The shrimp, scallops and clams are only fried but there are tons of other choices. Portions are more than generous. Get something unique like the oyster shooters. With cocktails lunch for two was just over a hundred bucks.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Mark Devino (5 months ago)

  The clam chowder, fried calamari, and oysters were yum! We sat outside and the lights make it such a cute dinner spot. Loved the blue berry mule! Easy street paid parking parking. My only gripe was the grilled shrimp with garlic sauce was over done, and one of the shrimp was so gritty, I could not swallow it for fear of sickness. The service was pain staking and I would say slow but that doesn’t quite describe the lack of awareness. we never were asked if we wanted a second drink. There was a woman outside who was clearing tables who was either hyper focused on doing said job, and or, is not aware staring at people is uncomfortable and strange. Wouldn’t acknowledge any thank yous from me, only my partner. Very strange. I’ll be back for the food though!

  ✭✭✭✭ By Nat Tay (4 months ago)

  Talked about going for oysters and crab legs and Half Shell won hands down. Tables outside are comfortable and allows a more comfortable family experience. The bar and indoors space is low key and lively. Started with a Manhattan and dozen oysters. Recommend ordering the Fresh Blue points along with Crab Cakes, tasty hand made patties without much filler. Dinner was King and Snow Crab legs, Frog legs and a Cheeseburger just for kicks. Crab legs were delicious, served with house tartar, garlic butter and cocktail sauce on a bed of fries.
  Frog legs are just as remember, crunchy and well spiced like bone-in wings. Servers were on the ball, delivering food and cocktails and never empty-handed. Half Shell is cash only so prepare to spend about $45-60 a person with drinks.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By chad svastisalee (a year ago)

  Decent little seafood bar. The crab legs were huge! That makes you paying $42 a meal worth it. They had other things like po boys but my wife and I went for the crab legs. The service was good. It is CASH ONLY. I wish the meat was seasoned just a little more but it definitely wasn’t bad. When the crab legs came out they were served on top of fries which surprisingly weren’t soggy lol. I would go back.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Cait C (a year ago)

Tortoise Supper Club

• Address: 350 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (620)

Sriracha Thai Bistro and Oyster Bar

• Address: 2900 River Dr #118, Moline, IL 61265, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (439)

Thank you for reading! If you have any additional information on the best oyster resto in Illinois, please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!