There is a wall of glass between the dining room and Mobile Bay, and at sunset the whole room turns gold. Joe and Mary Lou Roszkowski and David and Jane Dekle opened this Original Oyster House on the Battleship Parkway Causeway in 1985, two years after the first one in Gulf Shores. Order the hand-shucked Gulf oysters off the raw bar and the seafood gumbo, built on a family roux with crab, flounder, shrimp and okra. Most plates run $18 to $30, and a full seafood dinner lands around $20 to $40 a head.
The Kitchen
This is a family seafood house, not a chef's kitchen, and that is the point. Founders David Dekle and Joe Roszkowski built the operation around a raw bar of hand-shucked Gulf oysters served raw, charbroiled and baked, and a gumbo recipe passed down from the founding family. The roux is made from scratch and simmered with crab meat, flounder, shrimp, okra and vegetables; it is the dish the Causeway regulars come back for.
Beyond the oysters and gumbo, the kitchen runs the full Gulf repertoire: fried and grilled snapper, shrimp every way, po'boys stacked with oysters hand-breaded in a house cracker-meal blend. Save room for the peanut butter pie, a Kahlua-laced slice on a chocolate-chip and Oreo crust that made the official 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die list. Plates sit between $18 and $30, and a full dinner runs $20 to $40 a person. The Roszkowskis and Dekles took a Lifetime Achievement award from the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance for forty years on the bay, and the Causeway room at 3733 Battleship Parkway has been packed most of them.
The Room
The draw is the water. The dining room sits on stilts over the marsh at the edge of Mobile Bay, with a glass wall and a wraparound deck that looks straight west across the water, so an early dinner runs into a full Causeway sunset. Inside it is big, bright and family-loud, the hum of a busy seafood hall rather than a quiet room. Lighting is daylight by day and warm by night, tables are generous and spaced for high chairs and big parties, and there is no dress code. Service is quick and Southern. On a weekend the wait list runs long, because nobody takes reservations and everybody wants the deck.
Best for Birthday
Bring a birthday crowd to the Original Oyster House because it is built for a big, easy seafood feast with a view. The tables seat large parties, the menu spans raw oysters to fried platters so picky eaters and oyster purists both eat well, and the bay-front deck gives you a sunset backdrop without a special-occasion price tag. Picture a long table of twelve, two dozen charbroiled oysters down the middle, a round of gumbo, and the peanut butter pie arriving with a candle as the sun drops behind the Causeway. For more celebration rooms, see our Mobile dining guide.
Not for a quiet, refined dinner. The room is large, loud and family-packed, there are no reservations, and weekend waits for the bay-side deck can run past an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Original Oyster House worth it?
Yes, for hand-shucked Gulf oysters and a genuine bay-front sunset at a fair price. The Causeway location has been a Mobile landmark since 1985, the seafood gumbo and oysters are the real draw, and the peanut butter pie made Alabama's official 100 Dishes list. It is a casual, busy family seafood hall rather than fine dining, so come for the view, the volume of fresh Gulf seafood and the value, not for a hushed room.
Do you need a reservation at the Original Oyster House?
No, and you cannot get one. The Causeway location is first-come, first-served, and on weekend evenings the wait for a bay-side table can run past an hour. Arrive before 6pm or on a weekday afternoon if you want the deck without the line, and put your name in early. The dining room is large, so the queue moves faster than it looks. See our Mobile dining guide for nearby options.
What should I order at the Original Oyster House?
Start with hand-shucked Gulf oysters, raw or charbroiled, then the award-winning seafood gumbo built on the founders' family roux. The oyster po'boy and the fried or grilled snapper are the mains to know, and the peanut butter pie is the dessert that landed on Alabama's 100 Dishes to Eat list. Plates run $18 to $30, so a full seafood dinner sits around $20 to $40 a head.
Is the Original Oyster House good for a birthday or a group?
Yes. The big tables, the wide Gulf menu and the bay-front sunset deck make it an easy call for a birthday or a large group. Raw-bar purists and fried-platter eaters both find their dish, the price stays reasonable for a crowd, and the staff are used to candles and cake. There are no reservations, so arrive early with a big party and put your name down for a window or deck table.