Lucky Oyster Seafood Company has become a local gathering spot

The Virginian-Pilot

OUT IN THE Strawbridge area of Virginia Beach stands the Lucky Oyster Seafood Company – a well appointed restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere. It’s the sort of place where you can drop in for a meal, or have a few beers and selections from the raw bar while taking in a college ballgame. It is part of a group of restaurants – including Atlas Grill and Bars, Chick’s Oyster Bar and Five 01 City Grill – run by the At Your Service Restaurant Group.

The space is open, with high ceilings . There are circular and square padded booths and plenty of tables. The walls are festooned with fishing gear, photos of area fishing events, fish models and enough Virginia tournament citations to make you want to grab rod and reel and head for the beach. One thing I particularly liked was the glassed-in bar area. This provided a nice view of the raw bar and the football games .

We had a chance to visit on a recent Saturday night. After being led to a booth, we perused the menu and started off the evening with beers and a few appetizers. Lucky Oyster had a reasonable beer list, including hefeweizen on tap and by the pitcher. My only issue here was that they are guilty of the common practice of selling Killian’s as an import, with the attendant increased price. Killian’s is not Irish and is brewed by Coors.

We couldn’t go through an evening at a place called the Lucky Oyster without partaking of a few of its namesake bivalves. The Chesapeake Bay Oysters ($5.99, half dozen; $9.99, dozen) were steamed the way I like them – just dry on the outside, but still a bit soft in the center. They were not salty enough for my taste, though.

A bowl of Creamy She Crab Soup ($5.49) was a hit. Lucky’s version was thick with a hint of spice heat and a nice background of sherry. It did not have an overabundance of crab, but it did have a rich taste. Given the addition of a baguette, it would easily have made a great lunch.

The hush puppies ($1.99) were lightly fried and enjoyed by all, along with the Heaping Basket of Clam Strips ($7.99). I felt that the moniker of “heaping� was more marketing copy than fact, though I would not call the portion small. The accompanying homemade sauce was good.

For the entree we ordered the Shrimp Alfredo, or Marinara ($15.99). We chose the Alfredo preparation, which was creamy with plenty of Parmesan cheesiness. The shrimp had a nice snap when bitten, and we enjoyed the leftovers upon reheating the following day.

We also went with the Neptune’s Feast ($24.99), a large plate of broiled fresh fish, scallops, crab meat-stuffed shrimp, oysters Rockefeller and clams casino. The preparation was not the best I’ve had, but it was good. The scallops appeared to be small sea scallops; they had an enjoyable sweetness. The oysters and clams went a bit long under the broiler and were chewy. For my side I went with the coleslaw, which was fresh and had a nice balance of vinegar and mayo, along with a touch of celery seed for added flavor.

We ordered one of the specials on the board that evening – Blackened Tuna Steak with fresh black bean and mango salsa. ($17.99) It missed on a few points. The tuna was blackened but overly dry. The mango was not ripe and lacked sweetness. My issue here is that this was a special, which should indicate that the chef has found or has on hand some great ingredients. I love black bean and fruit salsas, but the flavors in this version were not fully developed and fell short.

We all enjoyed Jimmy’s Ultimate Crab Burger ($8.99). This was a cheeseburger with a crab meat added to the top. It was perfectly cooked and had a great flavor. The accompanying fries were good.

The Tuna, Neptune and Shrimp came with a choice of vegetable and a house salad. The house salads came with crisp lettuce adorned with red onion, corn, black beans, tomato, croutons and cucumbers. The chosen Dijon vinaigrette, parmesan pepper and ranch dressing were all good.

Lucky Oyster does serve desserts, but we did not have the chance to experience them as our waitress showed up with our check without asking if we were finished for the evening. As we were pretty full, and only the brownie portion of one dish was made in house, we skipped dessert.

Our waitress was friendly but a touch scattered and inattentive to such details as identifying the specials, clearing off the table as various appetizers and starters were finished, or offering dessert. We did find out that she was new, and other staffers noticed the crowding of the table and cleared of dishes with a smile.

Lucky Oyster is a place with a definite local flair. On the evening of our visit a cycling team was enjoying itself and having a party. With a good selection of seafood offerings, a spacious, comfortable feeling and friendly atmosphere, I can see why it has become a popular gathering spot.