Great service & vibes. The cocktails were made perfectly. The oysters were very fresh but some were small & had shells in them. Scallops were made perfectly with the butter sauce. Their house potatoes were one of the best sides I've ever had. Would recommend this place to anyone in the area.

This place is a Raleigh staple. The atmosphere is incredible and there is so much history to look at around you. The shrimp and grits were amazing!!

Cool restaurant that has been around for a long time! We didn't know what to expect when we walked in but we were greeted right away and the service was super friendly. We sat at the bar for a drink and tried a couple oysters and they were really great. You can buy single oysters which is hard to find. The vibe inside was very neat and old school. If I am ever in the area I would go back to try some food!

Walking into the restaurant it was very clean and a lot fancy than I expected for an oyster bar. The service from our waiter 'Price' was absolutely fantastic. He was consistently on top of everything and made sure we were taken care of. All of the food tasted amazing and the crab cakes had great flavor. The reason I put a 4 star instead of a 5 is the crab cakes were super small. When you order $36 'jumbo' crab cakes I feel like they should be larger than the palm of your hand. But these were so small it was disappointing. Now the flavor was great but there needed to be more. Also, the raw oysters were incredible!!

I will be honest, I was not sure what to expect from 42nd Street. Many reviews are great, but there were a few that were average. I decided to give it a try when my family was in town for a visit and I'm glad I did! The history of the restaurant is very cool! It has been open since 1934 and have some older pictures and history around. It is a darker place, white tablecloths but not fancy by any means. Frank Sinatra was playing for part of our dinner. Huge bar and you can see into the kitchen which I thought was neat as well. They start with giving you hushpuppies and butter instead of bread which we enjoyed, they are a bit addicting. We started with a few oysters which were super fresh and delicious! They came with cocktail and a mignonette, which I appreciated (must have the mignonette)! I decided to get one of the fresh fish options - blackened local mahi mahi with the 42nd street potato on the side. Delicious! The fish was fresh, flavorful and cooked perfectly, the blackened seasoning gave it just enough spice. Do not skip the 4nd street potato - very cheesy, creamy and good! Appreciated the salad that came with it as well. The rest of my family also enjoyed their meals thoroughly. My dad is still talking about it! Prices are on the expensive side but between the high puppies, salad and side I thought they were justified. In terms of cocktails, I thought they were decent, not the best I've had my any means. I think there is some room for improvement there, but I may be what you call a "cocktail snob." Good selection of drinks though. Our server was attentive for the most part, however, she did take awhile to come back to take our order. But our food came out relatively quickly after that so no complaints there. Definitely recommend!

To be honest, this isn't my typical type of place to dine but I needed to set up a business meal for my peers and this was the top choice among them. Let me start off with the service. As soon as I walked in, half my compadres were already there (at the bar) and I was greeted by three ladies who each seem eager to serve me. I told them who I was and they immediately knew where my party was and told me as soon as we wanted to be seated to just let them know. A great start! After being seated, our waitress came along and she was absolutely wonderful. She never missed a thing and was on top of from the get go. Every appetizer, entree, and dessert was right on time and given to the right person without question. So why 4 stars? In all honesty, everyone said the same thing. The food was good but nothing special. I mean, if I'm going to pay $40 for a NY Strip, it should dissolve in my mouth, taste brilliant and make me want to come back. If it's going to be no different than a $20 steak at a steakhouse I'll just go there. So it's not that the food wasn't good, it was just over priced for the quality. I do recommend them overall if you've got extra money to spend.

Thankfully this establishment met my high expectations of it! We had 3 types of raw oysters along with Rockefeller and 42nd st oysters(baked), mussels, and later split the shrimp & grits entree. Everything was amazing! From the food to the service to the drinks, 5 stars all around! The restaurant is massive yet still manages to get so crowded that we had to make a reservation a day in advance. I highly recommend you check this place out while in Raleigh.

I'll be begin with the fact we walked to this restaurant from our hotel downtown, and passed a dozen empty restaurants. This place was PACKED and still got seated immediately upon arriving. This place is gigantic with a full service oyster bar, beverage bar, and multi-level dining room with a lounge. Many options represent the Mid-Atlantic coast very well, ranging from Chesapeake oysters and crab, NC oysters and select seafood, and many other delectable options. We ran with a full dozen to start, 2 from each region they had to choose then went to half a dozen, 2 of each our favorites of the selection. By far some of the best oysters we've had in our times exploring different regions. We filled up so much with our oyster orders that we ended up sharing an entree, the Crab cakes. I'll say--I could've eaten the entire thing myself. The crab just melted in your mouth and it wasn't filled with breading but completely packed with fresh lumped crab meat. Perfectly seasoned and juicier than a crab fresh out of the water! Our server was absolutely incredible, and found out that she had even previously worked for the company I'm currently employed by! Small world in the universe of hospitality! I regret not taking any photos during this experience but trust when I say--this place is great! I definitely recommend this place to any local and anyone traveling to the downtown Raleigh area!

Quiet Monday at the bar. Just the way I like it for dinner. The bacon Wrapped Scallops are great. In this case less is more.. savor every bite with just a touch of remoulade. Outstanding starter. On to the entree... Norfolk style crabmeat. Something I have not had before. Patiently waiting while I sip on my 3rd Bill City Cider. Cheers! Well worth the limited wait. The loaded baker and Norfolk style crab was an outstanding combo. I'm Irish so I don't waste a drop of potato and the portion of crab was ample enough to eat with every bite. In summary, the scallops were outstanding, the Caesar salad didn't stand a chance and the entree knocked it out of the park! I travel all over the Southeast and this is a place I look forward to visiting every time I'm in Raleigh. You did it again 42nd St.!! If you live here and haven't tried this place you are missing out! Cheers with a Bull City!