Alley Cat Oyster Bar

Can you give negative stars? Went for Saturday lunch, seriously and I have to say I have never seen a restaurant so under staffed. Waited 30 minutes to be acknowledged by our waitress, like even a nod from across the room but just gave up. We lasted longer than the table next to us though. Silver lining? Seriously needs to figure out both how to staff properly and how to train their current staff.

The amazing view of Cleveland water front. The inside is nice the bar seats suck! suck! Cold hard uncomfortable. Outside of that very nice inside. The food is good would like come back try more. The staff vibrant lots personality. Wish they had jet ski dock. Yummy oysters.

OK. The new East Bank of the Flats has recently added a number of new dining options to explore.
We decided to try Alley Cats Oyster Bar. If your looking for a Flats bar to bulk up on bar food and down beers don’t go. But if you want to savor some of Cleveland’s latest in the culinary arts, Alley Cats should be a must stop on your dining experience bucket list. Between the three of us we shared the Shrimp Stuffed Peppers (a spicy kick but well worth ordering off the appetizer list) along with a sampling of Blue Point oysters. Tasty!
The sharing didn’t stop because each dish each of us ordered just begged to be sampled just based on the presentation alone. Chili braised beef, Mexican Chopped Seafood Salad and Grilled Octopus, all exceptional, with each offering an enjoyable mélange of flavors. No wonder Zac Bruell is one of Cleveland’s culinary stars.
Our waitress Samantha was friendly and helpful and her suggestion for topping it all off with Key Lime pie was unanimously accepted.
Since it was a rainy Tuesday night we can’t wait until summer to return take in more of the open air fun at riverside as well as the food.

My husband and I ate here for my bday dinner, I have to say it was the best meal I have had in Cle in quite some time. (And we have had some good ones!) Our server Alexis was very prompt and great at managing the whole meal, she checked on us often enough but we never felt rushed and of course she was very friendly. Now on to the food!
Super delicious fresh seafood. I wanted to try an entrée but honestly we could not get past the apps. Baked oysters were cooked just to the point of not raw, and served with the traditional sides of horseradish, lemon, and cocktail sauce. The baked oysters were Blue Point. There were three raw varieties, and my husband enjoyed those. Next we ordered the calamari. Real deal, no questionable tubes here. Lightly fried, it was delish with the kimchee and lime sauce. Our seafood cocktail tasted like it flew in from Miami. Huge chunks of scallop, squid, and shrimp. We enjoyed all this with an excellent Rose and finished with the key lime pie. Our only gripe was the thickness of the crust. I was afraid to break it with spoon for fear of injuring a fellow diner as it flew off the plate. The actual key lime part was spot on though.
Cant wait to come back and delve further into the menu!

Great oysters, Nice ambience, friendly staff. Really cool location and glad to see the revitalization of the flats.

I would have loved to give them a better review, but… I just can’t. Food was OK. Service was… meh. I felt very rushed. We were in & out of there in an hour, granted it was a Tuesday evening, but for $ 150 dinner for 2, I would have loved to have had an «experience», not just food served quickly. Our server left for the evening as soon as we paid, so I guess that’s why we were rushed.
Nothing was bad, except the bar tender was literally screaming multiple times talking with her customers at the bar, and it was so dark at our table, we had to get our phones out to read the menu (no candle on the table or light within 10 feet of our table!)
So we won’t be returning. We love fresh oysters, but we’ll go back to Blue point Grill for those.

We celebrated our anniversary at Alley Cat on Jan 16^th. We have been wanting to dine there for awhile. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience! We started off with 9 raw oysters. That was the only real disappointment. They only offer 3 different types of oysters. I would expect a bigger variety from a place that calls itself an Oyster Bar. Having said that, the oysters were fresh, briny and so tasty! We also had the ceviche. It was fresh and wonderful. My only other complaint was, the restaurant was so dark, we could not fully see what we were eating! My husband had the Lobster Roll for his entrée. He said that it was the best he ever tasted. That is saying quite a lot! I had the Rainbow Trout, which was perfectly cooked. Our server was attentive and funny without being overbearing. He made some great suggestions. He was an asset to Alley Cat!
We will definitely go back. And want to experience it in the Summer. Wonderful experience!

I’m very surprised that the Alley Cat Oyster Bar’s overall rating is only a 3! I thought the food here was amazing and it had a great ambiance! Good to note: I came here on a Sunday night with my dad and sister after spending the day at the Cleveland Art Museum. We only ordered drinks and appetizers, but it was enough to be a full meal.
One quick negative aspect of this restaurant is their inconsistency about their hours. Which are, you know, kind of important. Their website doesn’t even list the hours which to me, in this day and age, is annoying. When you Google it says 11:30 am — 8:00 pm on Sundays. Thankfully, I called in advance to ask their Sunday hours and the hostess said they didn’t open until 4:00 pm.
Despite this, the food was beyond good! We ordered the following appetizers to share: Clam Chowder (New England style), Seafood Cocktail (shrimp, scallops, squid,
chilled spicy tomato broth), Alley Cat Ceviche (tostones), Shrimp Stuffed Peppers (rock shrimp, Spicy mayo, queso fresco, soy sauce{VERY hot!}), and the Iceberg (tomato, cucumber, avocado, egg, miso ranch and I added fried rock shrimp). All of these dishes went so well together I would even recommend ordering exactly these if you’re a hungry party of 3!
The Iceberg Salad and the Seafood Cocktail stand out to me the most. The fried shrimp paired with the cold lettuce and ranch dressing was sooo good! The cocktail was a very liquid-​y mixture of all the seafood and vegetables (I was expecting similar to shrimp cocktail) and it was served in a cocktail glass. You use a spoon to dish it out. These two were by far my favorite, but every single dish was amazing!

Came here on a Friday night around 9… the place was extremely dead which I found odd. I know its slow season for restaurants but I expected it to be busy since the flats always seems to be now. Service was great, oysters were good along with mussels and crab cake appetizer. Also tried to octopus, ceviche, and fried chicken. All were good dishes but nothing that has me dying to come back. Service was quick, food was moderately priced. The weirdest thing was they called me 15 minutes before my reservation to confirm it.

The signature drinks were the best part… after we were served those everything went down hill.FAST.
YOU will need to LOVE cilantro to eat here, because everything we ordered was covered in it… COVERED. Octopus was cooked bad and overall dish was a mess.

Overall, Alley Cat offers some decent (but uneven) food in a casual but picturesque dining room, highlighted by the garage door walls that open up onto the Cuyahoga River. I really enjoyed the Grilled Octopus, which was surprisingly tender and served with a cassoulet-​like mix of ham and beans. Understanding the look of octopus on the plate is not for everyone, I strongly recommend the willing to give this dish a try. Unfortunately, the other foods I tasted did not live up to the octopus: The Crispy Oysters off the happy hour menu were small and primarily composed of breading. The Hush Puppies tasted off, being mixed with some chili powder (something that should be disclosed on the menu). The Baked Oysters were merely lukewarm but did come with a little bit of sauce and butter for taste. On the other hand, the Calamari was good and a step up from the generic calamari you get at non-​seafood specialty restaurants.
Despite the disappointments with the side dishes, Alley Cat deserves a solid «A-​OK» rating, driven primarily by the Grilled Octopus and scenic views – not to mention the variety of oysters available to taste.

Went with a group of friends (4 total) for dinner on a Tuesday night. Restaurant is very trendy and I’d even say hipsterish. The décor is beautiful and being able to look out onto the water is a great addition to dinner. It was packed even on a Tuesday night with no events going on downtown. We were seated at a table by the bar. There is a nice bar with big screen TVs that were showing a tennis match.
They bring out bread and olive oil to start. The olive oil was of course Zack Bruell’s own. It was good but the bread was crusty to the point where you’d cut your gums on it. The next time they brought out bread it was nice and soft inside but crusty outside.
While we had several visits to bring bread or refill our water we did not see our server until at least 30 min. after we arrived. She apologized and took our drink and food order promptly. The food took quite a while to arrive.
We of course ordered the oysters as a starter. The menu online shows a dozen varieties but the actual menu had half a dozen varieties. Then the server explained they only had 3 varieties. Pretty slim pickings for an «oyster bar». It took quite a while for the oysters and food to arrive. The oysters were great although pricey at around $ 3 each. Served with the traditional accompaniments. I ordered the perch sandwich because of the rave reviews. It came with a mountain of fries. The fries were great but the sandwich not so much, I was only able to eat about half of it because the fish was extremely greasy leading me to believe it was not fried at the proper temperature. My friend’s lobster roll looked much better and he said it was quite good.
I can’t fully recommend this place but I’m willing to give them another try. I hope that they do better next time.

Came here for drinks and apps. The shrimp stuffed peppers were really good– had a little spice to it and very tasty.

Being from Akron, I found out about this place when I came up to Cleveland on National Oyster Day and decided to dine at The Rusty Anchor for some oysters. I believe Alley Cat had just opened up at the time so it was rather busy and I didn’t want to deal with it so skipped it.
Months pass and I decided on a whim to make reservations for a Saturday as a treat for all the OT I’ve been doing. I had reservations for 2 made via OpenTable. The website lists opening time as 5 but they actually open at 4. I called to confirm around 1 the day before and someone actually picked up to my surprise.
We arrived on time and was quickly seated. I made reservations early to avoid the rush and so that we could explore the new area after dinner. It was restaurant week but we chose to order off the regular menu. I was under the impression that they offered all the oysters on the menu but they rotate them. Kind of disappointing but no biggie. That’s a big gamble.
The oysters change so no point in reviewing each one. We ordered 4 of each and they were all good. They were also served in a timely fashion. No issues with our server at all. We also ordered the beef tartar for an app to go along with our oysters.
For the main course, I ordered the monk fish and my friend ordered the grilled octopus. The octopus had me very intrigued but I was informed by my friend that it had mixed reviews. My friend ordered it regardless. The food came out pretty quick I felt and the grilled octopus was AMAZING despite some of the reviews. I went back to read the reviews and they were from when the place first opened so I’m guessing it’s all sorted out now. It has a great texture to it. It was fleshy and just something else. Ive only had octopus sashimi style so that’s my only comparison as far as texture goes. It’s a totally different texture. The Monkfish was, fish. It was good but nothing mind blowing.
Dessert. I normally never do dessert but I just felt like it this time around. I ordered a chocolate cake of some sort that reminded me of tootsie rolls. My friend ordered the raspberry and mango sorbet. The mango sorbet was another mind blowing experience. I’ve had many things mango flavored but they were pretty much just sweet flavoring with small hints of mango that never really captures the essence of a mango. The best part of eating a REAL mango is the seed. When you shave the meat off of the mango, you really can’t get it all off the seed. I enjoy eating the remaining flesh off the seed. Pulling the meat off the seed has a real unique taste/​texture to it that was capture very well in that sorbet. Maybe it’s just me, but it was very surprising. It’s definitely something that knocked me off my feet. Bravo.
Overall the place is nice. I would come back for sure to try some of their other offerings. Check the place out definitely try the grilled octopus.

I must put a warning on this that I did give it 5 stars, but I was also very intoxicated while I was there so that may have something to do with my raving review to follow.
I have already recommended this place to countless friends/​family and if you like seafood, you have to check it out! I had to most delicious martini (wish I could remember the name) but I know it was vodka with champagne and it was delicious! Also, a friend of mine got a drink she didn’t like and the waiter immediately took it back and brought her something else.
We obviously had never been there before since its new and the waiter had definitely tried everything on the menu and was able to explain what was splitable, what flavors everything had and if you like this, you’ll like this. I tried a few different appetizers they had. the seafood quesadilla was my favorite and the stuffed peppers which were really spicy were so good (but you definitely have to like spicy). Not everyone like oysters so we only got 6 and split it among 3 of us. I don’t recall every liking Oysters but I definitely ate two of them without a squint of the face (could of been the alcohol). We also split one of the lobster rolls and it was delicious! It is not a very good thing to split with more than 2 people though but I would go back and order everything I had again.
The feel inside was hip and new, they had TVs to watch any sporting event and killer drinks. Obviously you are going to paying a little more at a restaurant like this but give it a shot for a fun date night before heading over to another new spot in the flats!

My husband and I have been wanting to get down to the newly redeveloped Flats area. With Restaurant Week happening this week, we decided to check out Alley Cats.
We both ordered off the RW menu. I got the beet salad, walnut crusted chicken and chocolate terrine. My husband ordered shrimp appetizer, beer battered catfish and coconut cheesecake.
My beet salad was very good and the house vinaigrette dressing made it. The chicken was moist and tender but had a little too much walnut coating. The mashed cauliflower was excellent. The chocolate terrine was extremely rich. My husband said his was very good from the shrimp to the cheesecake.
Our server Ricky was very friendly and attentive. We enjoyed him. The views are exceptional and since it was a balmy November evening, the garage doors were open which made it that much nicer. This place definitely makes one feel that The Flats are back and will thrive. Such a fun vibe in the area.

I am so glad Cleveland has finally done something with the awesome water front property that was spent wasted ever since the flats’ heyday ended many years ago. And what better place to go right on the water than an oyster bar.
My parents were in town visiting and they love oysters, so I thought what better way to show them the beautiful waterfront while enjoying some oysters. This place fills up quick so be sure to make reservations. We made reservations for a Thursday evening and glad we did because it was full.
We were immediately seated at what looked like the best seat, right next to the water. We got there just before sunset so the views were amazing right from our seats (see picture). We started off with some drinks, wine and beer. Service was quick and server was very friendly. For appetizers, we ordered the oysters, they had three different types that night, and the shrimp stuffed peppers (which we were told was Bruell’s favorite). I personally do not eat oysters so can’t say how they tasted, but can only go by everyone else’s word and everyone who did eat them thought they were fantastic. The stuffed peppers were delicious, perfect amount of spice in every bite.
For dinners my mom and I ordered the tuna, which came slightly seared and sliced into pieces. It was perfectly cooked (or not cooked), each bite had that perfect velvety smooth texture that I love so much in tuna. I also ordered a side of hush puppies. The order was big enough to share with the table. The hush puppies were some of the best I have ever had and they came with a creamy sauce for extra flavor (don’t remember what was in the sauce). My boyfriend ordered the pork steak. When the server brought out his plate, we thought he was bringing enough food for the table. The steak was huge, the size of someone’s head, it also came with cream corn and fingerling potatoes. He really loved the dish, I thought the steak was a little tough, but I am not a big fan of steaks, so take his word. The serving was actually so big he took about half of it home and we snacked on it the next day. The cream corn and potatoes were fantastic. My dad ordered two appetizers, the mussels and the shrimp cocktail. I didn’t try either, but he absolutely loved both of them, especially the mussels. He kept talking about them the next day saying how delicious they were and also couldn’t believe how many mussels came in the dish.
And lastly, we ordered dessert, rice custard crème brûlée, one for the table. I was not impressed with the dessert at all. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t realize it was pretty much just rice pudding (don’t like rice pudding), it was cold and sweet. I guess I was just paying attention to the crème brûlée part and had higher expectations. Everyone else in my party liked it just fine, but didn’t think it was anything special.
This was a perfect place, on a perfect night for my parents last night in Cleveland. I got to show them what awesome locations and restaurants are in Cleveland and we all got to enjoy some wonderful food.
Can’t wait to come back!

Cleveland has long lived down being colored as this mistake by the lake. Well, this does not really apply anymore these days, with the brand-​spanking new boardwalk, the Flats East Bank development and this new restaurant of Zach Bruell among many others; color me impressed. The location is the first I’ll comment on and dare I say, sunny, lively and happening?
As for the food, if the name of the restaurant has oyster in it, order the oysters. I especially loved the baked oysters that reminded me of the grilled oysters of Louisiana. Otherwise, enjoy this summer destination of a restaurant, go for the seafood, and watch the fun festive, and very drunk, people zip by on their boats! (How do I make friends with them?)

I’m always skeptical of trying restaurants right after they first open but man oh man was Alley Cat BOMB! First off, it’s in a BEAUTIFUL location with waterfront views, which was perfect for my scenic dining experience. Second, our waitress was amazing. She was friendly, helpful, and did a really great job ensuring my date and I were happy with our evening. And lastly, the food is amazing.
We started with a selection of oysters which were fresh and our waitress did a really thorough job describing the different flavors we’d taste with each type. The fried calamari was impressive as well, with a Japanese twist using kimchee. I’m a huge octopus lover so my date and I shared the grilled octopus entrée which was absolutely delicious, but the star of the meal was actually not seafood! The chili braised beef takes first place! WOW! It was a very large, meaty portion, not to mention the fried plantains that garnished it were excellent!
A bottle of wine later and after all this food, unfortunately there was no more room left for dessert. Next time I’m in Cleveland, I will definitely come back and leave a little extra room in my seafood-​and-​beef-​filled-​stomach for a sweet bite!

Being brand new, I was highly impressed at how well Alley Cat had their stuff together. We had impeccable service and with me being an oyster fanatic– I was SO excited to have more oyster options nearby. They had 3 options of oysters available the night we went, but the server said they will eventually offer all of them that are listed on their menu.
Our server was very knowledgeable of the different oyster types & flavors. You can order in increments of 3,6,9 or 12. We ordered 6 of 2 different types. I love the ability to mix and match. The perch sandwich was delicious and the ambiance was great. Alley Cat is situated right along the Cuyahoga River on the bank directly across from Shooter’s. I am so excited it is within walking distance of my apartment and will without a doubt, be back very soon!