Butcher Bay (511 E. 5th St.)

I've been doing a lot of substandard home cooking & eating out at my usual haunts recently, so I was very excited to check out Butcher Bay on 5th Street between Avenues A & B with my Dad & buddy Dan. Located in the space that used to be Seymour Burton, they aim to be a local Fish Shack.

We arrived shortly after opening & got decent seats. They are cash only (as per the huge sign in the door) & have no draft beers (seriously!?!). The decor is pretty nice though, I'll give them that. We ordered some bottled (bleh) beer & decided to start with the oyster platter while we looked through the menu.

I was somewhat disappointed in the fact that they only had East Coast Oysters, but in the grand scheme of things, I guess that is the 'look' they're going for. I'm much more of a West Coast guy myself, so I found these to be really without merit. Plus the shells were very flaky (bad shucking?) & I kept on getting bits in my mouth.

We moved on to 2 apps we ordered to share; the absolutely delicious Fried Clam Strips & Remoulade and then the hideously greasy Shrimp Hush Puppies that tasted like cardboard.

As you can imagine, this was not the start that I wanted for this meal.






The main courses were as follows:

Dan got the Scallop Pan Roast which he enjoyed. I tried some as well & I'll admit that I actually enjoyed this dish, pretty darn good.

Fish & Chips were ordered by my Dad. All 3 of us have spent a lot of time in England during our lives & we can tell bad F&C from good. I thought this was a decent attempt. Not quite what I'd expect from the UK, but good nonetheless.


I got the Maryland Fried Chicken w/Cornbread. I know what you're thinking... At a seafood joint? I only did this because the choices of mains were so damn limited & this was the only one that caught my eye. The chicken was seasoned well, but slightly greasy. The cornbread with honey, however was great.

There were no desserts on the menu, so we trudged off, dejected. I'm really disappointed by Butcher's Bay & if I ever go back, it'll only be for the scallops - In & Out quick-style.