Metropolitan Oyster Exchange

I loved the atmosphere at Metropolitan Oyster exchange. I was traveling for business by myself, and after a long drive up and down Atlantic avenue I was starving, couldn’t find anywhere to park, and didn’t want to sit alone at a touristy place. So I went a few blocks off the main drag and found this place thanks to Unilocal.I am sure glad I stopped in! The service was excellent. The waitress was so nice, I think her name was Margaret.
I ordered 6 oysters because it was happy hour and they were $ 1 each. I was very pleased with the freshness of the oysters. I also had the burger that came with fried oysters on top. It was delicious! I wish I lived closer to this place — I would be here several times per week for happy hour!

I came here two night ago with my boyfriend. I had order the house oysters, calamari, and fried pickles!
The house oysters were fresh and amazing. I ate it so fast I had to order another one.
The calamari reminded me of my mommy’s cooking which made me super happy because my mom is an amazing cook! The way they topped off the calamari with an eggroll sauce made me want to eat an eggroll! Such a tease!!!
I love pickles, but for some reason fried pickles sounds disgusting to me. I order the fried pickles because usually anything fried is amazing! I’m so happy that I ordered the fried pickles because they were the best thing in the world! Especially with there dip!
I’m definitely going to this place again before I go back home!

In VA for a few days and found this place on Unilocal.So glad we gave it a try. Wound up going there 2 nights in a row. Cool atmosphere. Really friendly staff. The she crab chowder is killer. Nice raw bar. Homemade deserts were tasty. Key lime pie just like my Grandma used to make. Really liked the fish tacos. It was all good!

My mom chose this place for her birthday and it was a winner! The ambiance and the décor definitely suits the ‘Metropolitan’ name. It was both cozy and modern and altogether very comfortable. Our server was extremely polite and attentive, and made sure to tell my mom «Happy Birthday» on more than one occasion!
We shared a dozen of the house oysters which were fairly priced. Since my mom and I are pretty big on raw oysters, I was pleasantly surprised at how good these were. They weren’t too salty and had no grit to them, which I’ve experienced at other restaurants. The calamari was cooked to perfection with an amazing chili sauce that my mom wanted to put on everything. The tuna poke bowl was fresh and tasty and was a great dish to share. The she crab soup is one of the best I’ve had and is very rich and creamy and makes a great entrée on its own. We finished off our girls night out with a crème brûlée perfectly made for two people to share.
They offer a good variety of local oysters and I would recommend this place to all seafood lovers! I can’t wait to go back and try some of their cocktails on the occasion that I don’t have to drive :)

I was super excited to try this place, but left pretty underwhelmed. I arrived during happy hour and ordered a classic cocktail and a dozen oysters (buck-​a-​shuck). The oysters were good, arrived very clean, and the mignonette was amazing. For my meal I ordered the tuna tacos, which arrived just as of ordered, blackened and rare. The tacos were great, there was only 2, no side and they were $ 14. Additionally, the waitress neglected to bring us the happy hour menus and we ordered from the regular classic cocktail menu. After a long negotiation on the price, bringing up the website and explaining to the bartender the waitress brought us the wrong menus it was finally corrected. Overall, I thought the food and drinks were good but very expensive for what you get.

The appetizers were great but the entrees and dessert we ordered just didn’t cut it. I came in on a Friday with a couple of friends for a girl’s night. There was no wait and we were seated at a high top over by the bar during March Madness lol. Our server Will was very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.
The kitchen is open. Usually, this is a pretty cool concept, except here, there was this awful aroma coming from the kitchen. Like when you cook with asian fish sauce, which I do, and although it is delicious, it is stinky! We kept getting whiffs of it at our table. Other patrons did not seem to be bothered so maybe we were just lucky.
The oysters were delicious! We ordered the house oysters. They were a good size and was not gritty at all. Served with two sauces and crackers. You can get ¼, ½, or full dozen. The option is great for trying different varieties that change on availability. The smoked whitefish spread was so good. This was a first time having it. Not sure if it is tradition to serve it with saltines, but it would’ve been nicer with pita chips or something to offset the saltiness from the spread instead of add to it.
I wanted to try a poboy. I got the Vietnamese: Fried oysters, pickled veggies, jalapeño, spicy mayo. Sounds amazing right? It was disappointing to say the least. The roll was old, it was heated to crumble with every bite. The sandwich was very light, it felt like nothing was in it. Everything inside was skimpy. It was mostly like eating bread. My friend’s salmon was over seasoned, all she tasted was capers.
For dessert, I got the banana rum cake. It didn’t taste like banana or rum. It tasted like butter and sugar but was kinda dry.
I would come back for happy hour or just for appetizers, but that’s it.

this restaurant is of good environment
I like the real candle especially
I ordered fried calamari and steam whole lobster for dinner, the calamari cames very fast with sweet spicy sauce. the lobster is tasty and attractive. really enjoy the dinner here

I actually meant 3 and half star.
We came here for a Sunday lunch. And they only served brunch. So I couldn’t order the food I want.
What we had was decent and not impressive. I don’t remember the names. You can see my pictures. The appetizer my husband ordered was tuna fish dip or something. It was very salty.

This was my worse dinning experience ever! The bartenders were rude, unfriendly and not attentive at all! They made me feel very unwelcome for a person out of town I saw reviews and thought this might be a great spot I was wrong! I asked the guy bartender what was a great drink and he told me to look at the bar cocktail menu just rude. I ordered a martini it was horrible then I ordered the oyster rock a feller it was the worst ever the spinach tasted like old collard greens! Never ever going back and I came hours away for this place never ever again! Also no diversity in restaurant! If I could give zero stars I would!

I walked the fence on if this would be a 3 or 4 star… But basing it on this 1^st experience, I’ll have to go with 3.
Oysters, drinks, service were all really great and we all had a really great time.
The overall vibe is is very welcoming. From über-​casual surfers who roll in from the 1^st St jetty to those looking to dress up a bit more for a nice night out, you’re not going to feel out of place.
The only reason for the 3-​star rating, our entrees. All 5 of them were served warm… Obviously having died in the window.
We didn’t complain as we normally might, mainly cause the food was still okay, and of course day-​drinking had commenced about 2pm (it was 9:45pm or so when we got our entrees)
Personally, even not piping hot, my crab cake was good in that it’s a non-​filler type of crab cake. Our table-​wide critique; which I believe is purely a preference thing; is they could have used a bit less Old Bay as we all prefer to taste more of the crab & less of the OB.
The Shrimp and Grits… 3 people got them and they all felt the same, that they were acceptable… But I believe everyone was hoping they’d be a bit closer to «real» New Orleans style with a nice roux.
Oysters were great as one would expect (or hope for) from a place with Oyster in the name.
She crab soup… We are all pretty big she crab snobs so to be fair, it was fine but if I were craving She Crab, this would not make it onto a list of destinations I’d seek out.
While this review may not reflect it, do not let this so-​so star-​rating be a deciding factor as to whether you eat here or elsewhere. I’m pretty sure the food being less than hot was nothing more than us being that 1 out of 20 tables that didn’t have the best experience they can offer as the place seems very well managed. I realize we can’t be perfect all the time.
We all had a really great time and I personally will eagerly come back in hopes of revising my review to a star rating more inline with what most folks are saying.

Metro has become one of my favorite places for happy hour. I love their $ 1 oysters and discounted appetizers, especially the whitefish spread and the fries with its special dipping sauce. My daughter loves the mussels. Happy hour starts at 5 pm.

Atmosphere is laid back, but nice. Food was delicious — lots of options.
Carson was a perfect server. To be honest, my gf and I are not the easiest guests — we have specific tastes and lots of questions. She lets us taste several wines before choosing, found answers to questions she couldn’t answer, and never lost her helpful, friendly attitude in the face of our multiple requests and substitutions. Thanks Carson, for making our experience here so wonderful!

Yes, YES, and Yes!
My family is BIIIIG on seafood, so coming to this place and enjoying some of the oysters made my day. A friend of mine who invited me here couldn’t help but laugh as I ordered a dozen oysters and devoured these fresh jewels from the ocean. We went on a night were the special was Cajun Night, so she got Gumbo. I was happy just ordering calamari and more dozens of oysters. Everything tasted great, no complaints here. Another time I came, I ordered the Fish Tacos and Steamed Mussels. Again everything tasted fresh and perfect. Emma was our waitress and she is such a sweet girl, she even took a selfie with us!

Went for happy hour… a few times. Very disappointed that more people weren’t here. Good location, close to the Oceanfront. Good happy hr prices. Mmmmmmm oysters. Need I say more. Haha. Come and check this place out for happy hour!

It was our first visit and we were looking forward to trying a new brunch spot. The ambiance is fun and the décor both impressive and inviting.
That’s where management needs to be there at noon on a weekend…
I love a good Bloody Mary Bar… But the many delicious items were put out to remain at room temperature… Most appealing was the shrimp which, as we were there 2 hours… Woe to the unsuspecting customer who ate one at 2pm… Yuck.
The servers were young and unprofessional. It was more like a college bar. They were laughing and joking with friends — shouting across the restaurant, having too much fun while we sat and watched. We also could not tell who was who as there is no uniform…
The bartender was nice but again, no personality or flair — just get the people their drinks and go back to talking to friends at the bar. We will frequent a bartender who takes time to cultivate business, get to know his or her customer and ensure our return.
The food was OK.
We had the shrimp and grits which was good but I was fearful the shrimp were off the Bloody Mary bar. Yuck.
The seafood omelette was good — not much seafood but what was in it was tasty. Just wish it was filling! The plate served was just the omelette and hash browns. The hash browns were old, cold and obviously from bottom of the pan sitting around under the heat warmer all morning. If the server had come back to check on us I would have asked for something else.
Oddly, for the price, neither dish included toast or bread of any type. We had to pay $ 2.50 extra for a side of toast. Again, Nothing special — for the price and experience we will not return here.
Too bad. We really wanted to like it here…

I was debating between 2 or 4 stars for this place. I finally landed on 3 because the apps and service was solid. But if I were rating just my entrée, it’d probably would’ve been a 2.
We came here with a relatively large group (10 people) for a friend’s birthday dinner. The wait staff was very accommodating with our seating arrangements. We originally requested outdoor seating so they set us up outside. And when we changed our minds and decide to be sat inside instead, they happily obliged. The group split some appetizers. The two that I tried were the house oysters and also the famous fries. Both were delicious. Oysters were fresh and just the right level of saltiness. Fries were fried well but the best part was the two types of mayo that came with it. I’m a sucker for Sriracha mayo.
Unfortunately though, the entrée I ordered, the fish & chips, left something to be desired. The fish itself was decent but the batter was too thick, greasy and over-​fried. A properly deep-​fried fish should be light and crispy.

Went here tonight for dinner. It was a bit of the beaten path if you are vacationing. Knowing where it was located, we still decided to walk.
We got there about 10 minutes after they opened. There were a decent amout of people sitting at the bar.
We were seated in a booth.
I stated off with a cocktail. I decided to go with the Anejo. I was delicious. For food we started off with the smoked whitefish spread. It was good, but then need to give you more crackers. After reading the other reviews, I decided to try blackened shrimp tacos. There was two in the order and it was the perfect amout of food. And they were delicious. My mother got the blackened tuna po’ boy. She raved about it.
Next time we come to Virginia Beach we will be sure to come back.

For this review we’re gonna play a round of NEVER HAVE I EVER! Because NEVER HAVE I EVER had this many firsts when dining out… Buckle up cuz here we go!
1) NEVER HAVE I EVER encountered such a bizarre reservation system. They only take reservations at 6:30pm and 8:30pm for groups larger than 6 people. This complex set of rules proved challenging for our young hostess as we had a huge struggle to get a table.
2) NEVER HAVE I EVER had a hostess tell me it would be an hour wait, come back in 40 minutes only to be told it would be another hour wait at least because now we were coming up on reservation time, after she told us we wouldn’t need a reservation originally even though we had a group of 6 because we’d have a table before 8:30pm. Then proceed to throw shade as if we were shocked that we wanted to speak to a manager.
3) NEVER HAVE I EVER seen a manager work so hard. This lady that was working that night deserves a raise and would be this places only saving grace that made me think long and hard about giving a second star, and if I could tip her and only her I would have. She was trying to keep this understaffed poorly trained place afloat while the hostess was mean muggin’ my table the entire time.
4) NEVER HAVE I EVER seen such an unprofessional and inconsistent dress code for a place that is trying to present itself as a more upscale oyster bar. The bus girl was in cowboy boots and her high school track jacket, and didn’t even have the decency to place table settings but rather slammed them down on the table and we had to distribute them ourselves. The hostess who is supposed to greet and encourage people to come in and drum up business did the exact opposite. She told us that we should definitely consider eating somewhere else as if our party of six was in the way and didn’t want to bother doing our business, my party was shocked to say the least. I’VE NEVER HAD A HOSTESS TELL US TO CONSIDER LEAVING THEIR BUSINESS AND EAT ELSEWHERE EVER WITH A STRAIGHT FACE AND MEAN IT. (Often times as a side comment to make light of a wait time, but this girl was dead serious)
5) NEVER HAVE I EVER had a cold rubbery oyster po’ boy and soggy fries cost me $ 12. This thing had to have sat at the pass for at least 10 to 12 minutes, by the time it got to the table the oysters were soggy and flavorless and the fries were flaccid and damp. The one thing I did enjoy food wise were the raw oyster special ($ 8 for 6 local oysters and a Rolling Rock) but most likely this is because there was no cooking involved.
In summary, this place is an understaffed mess. There were, from what I could count as I waited for an hour between courses, three waitresses for the entire restaurant that really needs 6 (on a Saturday night, which for most restaurants should be one of the busiest nights) plus that poor manager who was trying to bartend, waitress and manage all at once. And after observing service for an hour (waiting between courses) it was clear that this was the primary source of the problem, as these waitresses couldn’t turn tables fast enough to keep up with new customers leading to back ups in waits and food left cold at the pass both of which I experienced the full force of.
AND until these issues get corrected I can not on good conscience recommend this place as a good deal when there are many places around VA beach doing the same menu but better and sometimes cheaper and definitely faster. TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

First time visit tonight… Fantastic oysters! We ordered the calamari– very lightly breaded and perfect. Has an Asian sauce on it. We really liked it but might be good on the side.
Fish tacos were the bomb. Had rare tuna and the portion was great with great flavor. My wife had blackened shrimp tacos– very spicy. She would order grilled next time but would still get the tacos again. Also had the fish and chips — by far my daughters favorite ever. Again, lightly battered, good fish, good fries too!
We will be back again… even yet this week for more oysters and try other items that looked good on the menu!

Fried pickles are an art form. There’s a balance to be struck between too much batter and too much grease on the one hand and not enough flavor on the other hand. MOE does a great job with a crispy crunchy batter that makes for good dipping into the tangy spicy sauce without taking away from the sour crunchy pickle spear. My mom had never had fried pickles before and she was really pleased.
I opted for the fish tacos and they were delish. Very messy, very drippy and maybe could use a bit more fish on there since there was twice as much cabbage slaw as the single finger of fish. But they were definitely tasty as they dripped onto the plate. $ 15? Ouch.
There was a happy hour? Our waitress never mentioned it when we arrived at 6:00 on the dot.