We were in town for a ball game, and after trying Old 82 for dinner, we went back for brunch. The oyster dishes are excellent — we had Creole and charbroiled — and the seafood medley was a very nice mix. great array of creative sides, too. kitchen can be a bit slow, but the atmosphere is relaxed and the wait staff very personable. if you’re in the Columbus MS area, put this one on your list!
Chris D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Ridgeland, MS
I drive three hours from Jackson, MS just to eat here — no business travel excuse needed, just a good lunch. It’s fresh, made-from-scratch seafood dishes at prices you’d expect to pay for dishes or half the quality. The owner/chef goes out of his way to deliver a quality product to customers, and it’s evident in every bite. A lifelong oyster fan and resident of the Gulf Coast for a period of 20 years, I can say without reservation that Old 82 has the best Oysters Rockefeller I’ve ever had. They have an appetizer consisting of deviled eggs with fried oysters on top. The deviled eggs are already delicious by themselves, and while the pairing sounded odd at first, it’s like eating a piece of heaven. Also, it’s worth noting that all the fried oysters I’ve ever eaten here have been properly cleaned(that’s something I found I can’t say about 99% of the high-end oysters bars I’ve visited). As long as this restaurant is open, I will continue to make semi regular six hour trips(three hours one way) just to eat their food.
John D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Columbus, MS
Just made my 4th visit to Old 82 and it was the best by far. Their new Blue Plate is excellent! It was like a fine meal not just heavy slopped on food. I had the perfectly grilled pork chop which was nice and juicy, cheese grits and nicely sautéed green beans. Visited with the owner chef who could not have been nicer. Try this place!
Amanda B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Columbus, MS
I’m sure I will keep going to Old 82 because I love oysters and — let’s face it — we don’t have a huge selection of restaurants around here. But every single time I’ve been, I’ve had issues with the service. It’s not that the wait staff has been unfriendly, they’ve been perfectly nice. But ¾ of the times I’ve been, my food took FOREVER to come out, and 2⁄4 of the times I’ve been, my order came out wrong. If they could improve on that, I think it would help the overall experience tremendously. The back of the restaurant is the coolest — they’ve got a great antique bar and a nice size patio. They should consider opening it for lunch, as it is currently only open for dinner! They also have an ever-improving list of draft beers, so thumbs up on that part as well.
Sven L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 New Orleans, LA
Really stunning food! Fresh and on point. nice service and the Banana bread pudding is a must.
Meredith C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Columbus, MS
Old 82 is a little slice of oyster heaven in Columbus. Seriously, all of the oysters are amazing! In addition, the sweltering shrimp tacos are to die for. They’re a little spicy, so be prepared! The only downside of old 82 is that they only serve beer. However, you can bring your own wine or liquor! Cheers and shuck ‘em!
Justin C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Schertz, TX
Great creole oysters and shrimp tacos! Now serving beer. Great addition to downtown Columbus
John C.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Columbus, MS
This is a provisional review based on only 1 lunch. I cannot yet speak to the brunch and dinner and several items I have not yet tried on the lunch menu. This is a very new restaurant and may well improve. I had tuna with grilled vegetables. The vegetables were a little overcooked, but well-seasoned, with a nice flavor. The tuna was a good sized portion for the price and and cooked rare, exactly as ordered. It was far from the best tuna I have ever had, but for Columbus, MS it was pretty decent. My lunch companions did not fare as well. They both had Po-boy sandwiches served on very mediocre, bland bread. I hear that they will be replacing this bread with Leindenheimer’s, a very good bread from New Orleans. The seasoning of the batter of the fried tomatoes and fried shrimp is strangely spiced. It was to the taste of no one at the table. I say fried tomato because the fried green tomatoes in the sandwich were red. Fried red tomatoes are not a thing as far as I know. I would like to try the fish tacos which sound interesting and the oysters which appear to be a specialty. I would very much like to try the brunch.