Pearl Dive Oyster Palace
With an ambience steeped in rustic charm and a menu filled with treasures from the sea, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace focuses on fresh produce and quality ingredients in its welcoming eatery. Specializing in a wide variety of oysters, from such places as Virginia, Japan, Rhode Island, British Columbia and Washington state, Peal Dive Oyster Palace takes oyster preparation seriously, complementing the delicate taste of the oyster. Appetizer options include crispy crawfish fritters, barbecue shrimp and wood-grilled oysters. Besides oysters, house specialties have a decidedly Cajun flair, with items such as seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee and Gulf Coast Redfish, all of which have an amazing balance of spices.
The rich entrées at Pearl Dive Oyster Bar are further replicated in its dessert menu, with winning options like Beignets and Brazos River Bottom Pecan Pie.
Support Pearl Dive Oyster Palace during COVID-19
Offers
OYSTERMANIA
Multiple dates available
Mon 4:00 PM - 8:15 PM
Available in Pearl Dive Oyster Palace starting at 4 PM. Raw bar oysters on the half shell are 1/2 price !
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Contactless payment available
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Cornmeal Crusted Oysters
Cayenne Aioli, Lemon [Min. of 3]
97 reviews
Wood Grilled Oysters [4 Pcs]
Garlic and Red Chili Butter, Gremolata
1 reviews
Addie's Mussels
Garlic, Shallot, Chicken Stock, Butter, Lemon, Chili Flake, Grilled Baguette
8 reviews
Because of the ordering process (app based) adding to the order once submitted seemed troublesome so we stuck with what we first ordered with no additions.
Friendly staff very nice place cute ambience great food the oysters are amazing this is the new spot
The food and drinks were delicious! Thanks for a great evening.
This was our first time visiting this restaurant. We felt that they did an awesome job following the COVID requirements. We ate inside, people were spaced out. They took contactless service to the next level. You use your phone to view the menu, to order, and to pay your bill. I hope that they keep this service after COVID. It was such a great experience. You didn't have to wait for someone to take your order or bring your bill. We took our time to review the menu without feeling rushed and after eating some amazing food, we paid via the app and walked out. The food came very quickly, we were in and out in a hour and 10 minutes and never felt rushed.
Even though no one had to take our order or bring us a check, the staff was very engaged. They checked on us regularly. When placing the order, we added special instructions. We order lemonade and asked for it to be mixed with tea. A lady came over to let us know they were out of tea and changed our order.
Now for the food - We ordered several appetizers, my favorites were: The Cornmeal crusted Chesapeake Oysters, Angels on Horseback, Blackened Shrimp, and the shrimp cocktail. I ordered the Seafood Gumbo as an entree. Do not let the look fool you. When I saw it, I was disappointed. I even stopped one of the waiters walking by to ask "what is this?". It looks like a bowl of dark broth with 3 large shrimp and rice. I was thinking where is the other seafood? I decided to try it. Oh my goodness, it is amazing! After eating everything I could with the spoon, I used my delicious garlic bread to get the remaining juice. I will definitely order this again.
Street parking is very limited. We found a public parking lot on the corner of 14th and Rhode Island. It may be 3-4 minute walk to the restuarant.
Pleasant time outside with friends
Great service. Was hesitant to sit indoors (COVID), but everyone was safety forward. Including ordering processes. Staff was excellent. Food was great.
$20 salad with shrimp was the size of a side salad. Seafood gumbo barely had sea food in it and was one ladle scoop, also small portion. Great for oysters and great for French fries.
I've visited Pearl Dive pre-Covid and have sang nothing, but wild praises for their food, ambiance and service. Unfortunately, I attempted to visit them during Covid, in which they have covered and uncovered outdoor seat with heat lamps. Heat lamps light -they did what they can, but it was unfortunately still uncomfortable to bear. On top of that, they tried to seat my family - African-American - in their uncovered patio area - mind you there was an insulated table next to heaters right next to the uncovered table. Rubbed me wrong and spoke a message I didn't appreciate. Like mentioned - the food here is fantastic, but this just left a bad taste in my month. One last nugget - the insulated patio was full of non-black folks except for that one table... le sigh. Maybe just take-out if we decide to go again. - Cheers.
Outside on the street on a cold day. COVID constrained. Hard to relax and enjoy. Oyster po’boy skimpy. Hot toddy welcome.
The food was great, though the menu was fairly limited. We went for brunch and were expecting more of a "brunch" menu than lunch, but everything was tasty. The heaters were really nice but if you sat too close, they were painfully hot. I even took off my coat and placed it near the heater, and it melted the faux fur around my hood.
Best New Orleans food I have ever had. And I visit there often.
It was a little cold outside and I wish that there was still a wait staff instead of ordering from your phone. But the food is amazing.
Just need more heaters for outside
I always have great service here. I LOVE oysters but had never eaten any here until today! THEY WERE AMAZING
Our waitress was very nice and friendly, as was the host. We got oysters, lobster Rangoon (which was incredible), one of the salads and gumbo. We chose to sit outside and it was a bit chilly but that didn’t take away from our positive experience with Pearl Dive! Would definitely recommend.
If you want to eat outside, there are no heaters!
As always, the food and service never disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed contactless service. It was easy to order and there was no delay in us receiving our food.
The restaurant did an excellent job is creating distance between the few patrons that chose to eat inside of the restaurant.
The only issue was the lack of acknowledgement regarding our special occasion.
Love how you spruced up the outside areas. Will you be getting heaters soon for the colder weather?
Very odd to be at a restaurant and have 0 service. We were sat at the table and told to scan for the menu then no one came back. We realized later that we had to order from our phones and that no server would be coming back. I don’t like this type of service, what’s the point of eating out when there is no ambience? Also, there was so much plastic waste! I believe that more touching has to go into placing the silverware into the plastic over wraps. Get rid of the plastic and just wrap the silverware in cloth napkins. If you’re getting rid of customer service the least you can do is protect the planet.
The service at Pearl Dive was prompt and the food was delicious. There was an abundance of space between tables and constant disinfecting.
Love the touch less ordering & paying.
Great oysters and on Monday they are half price. Cant go wrong w that.
I know Covid-19 is a real issue and a real concern. Hence we sat outside
in the rain and in the cold. The order system was rediculous. It was not just a menu on an app, but you had to order and customize your own drinks, you meals, no waiter would help you or take your order on an iPad. It was so cumbersome that rather than enjoy our guests, we were figuring out and customizing orders. And when we said it was too complicated, we got little sympathy. Further we thought we put in our dinner order, but they said they hadn't received it. We got there at 730 and by 930 still hadn't had dinner. There were no heat lamps outside so it was freezing. So we walked across to Le Diplomat and had a great meal, with servers who took your order, even if you had to see the menu on your phone, and there were heat lamps. It was a totally different experience. I think Pearl Dive could do a lot more to make this experience better for customers. That said, the food and drinks are always good. I think they just need to get a better system in order. What is the point of having a waiter if they won't take your order. By the way it you wanted a second round of drinks you had to start all over, you couldn't just get a second round. Crazy.
Pearl Dive is doing an excellent job of keeping customers safe, and the food and drinks are excellent as always. I loved their system that allows you to order and pay from your phone. Easy to use, and fast. Patio is well spaced out. Great experience!
Blackened Shrimp....DELICIOUS
The virtual system they are using for guests to order is well intended, however it was not the easiest system to use. As someone in the service industry I understand all the per cautions we need to take to ensure the safety of guests, however having not having a server most certainly left our experience less than desired.
We had a bottle of Tempranillo from Rioja which was amazing, a dozen Well Fleet Oysters and 6 corn meal fried oysters all really delicious. Our bill was $110 for two people which for not having table service or server interaction stung just a little.
Keeping in mind the safety standards we have to adhere to I would just recommend the staff not rely 100% on the guest to strictly order through the app. Make suggestions when possible, because I know had we had some interaction we would have ordered more.
I don’t und lees rags how getting rid of the waiter prevents COVID? BS to me..nothing more then a way to fire staff and then still ask the customer to tip 20 percent via app....I won’t be back until actual service is back
Awesome experience! GET THE ROCKEFELLER you won’t regret it.
Excellent food and great service. And the restaurant has taken appropriate covid precautions.
We went there for our anniversary and the service, the food and the attention and cleanliness was outstanding
Celebrated my 1 year anniversary and we had such an amazing time. The kitchen was fast, the drinks were good, great service and even better food. We were running late due to traffic from protesters and the restaurant manager still ensured that our reservation was honored and provided us with awesome service. Thank you guys for everything!
Great service! So nice to my pups!
Great food great drinks great service....nothing else to say!
Pearl dive is clearly not coping well with Covid-related restrictions and the service shows it. I always tip but gave a bad (10 percent) tip here on purpose. The server-technology interface here is clunky and makes the service noticeably painful. The servers are also actively disinterested in troubleshooting with customers.
Issue #1: we stop by on an admittedly busy Sunday at 2:20 pm looking to see if they have an outdoor table available. I’m told no, twice. I go onto open table and put in a reservation for an outdoor table at 2:45, which they accepted. They ended up seating us at 2:35. Figure out your table management system.
Issue #2: they are doing an online ordering option for table delivery, which is great. However, the online menu looks like it was written in MS-DOS and allows no flexibility. For example, we wanted a side of eggs. They had multiple egg dishes on the menu, so we know the kitchen is physically capable of and stocked to make eggs. But no egg side dish allowed. Fine. We then tried to modify the steak and eggs entree to have no steak. We were told that no modifications can be made, period, so that wasn’t allowed either.
Issue #3: there were no vegetarian meal options. Not a single one. Do better.
Great table setup and service was quick.
Worst dervice
I did not like only having an hour and a half. My friend and I were still ordering food and drinks. Too little time!
Pearl Dive never disappoints!! Always a nice time. The staff is great, very friendly and the food reminds me of NOLA.
Oysters were great!
It was fine, except I had requested outdoor seating and it was not reserved for us. We were told it would take 15 minutes, and after 20 minutes we gave up and sat inside. My suggestion is that they not offer an option if they are not prepared to honor it.
FAQs
Pearl Dive Oyster Palace offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (202) 319-1612.
Pearl Dive Oyster Palace is rated 4.7 stars by 780 OpenTable diners.
Pearl Dive Oyster Palace does offer gift cards which you can purchase here http://www.pearldivedc.com/gift-cards/.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.