SHRIMP HAUS RESTAURANT

Friday night was my second visit to Shrimp Haus Restaurant located at Schlitterbahn at the Beach.  It's open year round, regardless of the Schlitterbahn operating hours.  The first time I went, was after an afternoon at Schlitterbahn and the teen and I sat outside overlooking the Boogie Bahn.  Not much choice but to sit outside because, of course, no wet swim suits in the inside restaurant.  Apparently they expect you to check in (in your wet bathing suit which requires you to go inside) so they didn't "know we were there"...despite making multiple eye contacts with wait staff.  The service was not great so I never went back again.   The food, that time, was good but not really outstanding.  Some of my opinion of the food might have been tainted by the exhaustion of a day in the sun...and slow service.  The teen had a burger and said it was good.

What a difference a crowd of thousands makes vs the peaceful post-Spring Break crowd.  Friday night was one of the best evenings out I've had in quite a while.  Mostly due to the happiness-invoking voice of the ever-lovely Leslie.  She's popular here on the island.  She performs covers of a wide variety of popular music and every song was performed in an exceptional way!  Gorgeous voice.  I'd heard about her, but never heard her live.  I could have stayed for hours...she's good and she's funny in between songs - sharing interesting news tidbits.

We sat next to the big picture windows and since DST is in full effect, it didn't get dark for quite a while...and we had a nice dune and sea grass view out the window when seated.  If I stood I could see the ocean.  Nice.

Our waiter was very attentive and had quite the dry sense of humor.  He asked how I was doing and I said fine and responded..and you?  He hesitated and said "okay...I have a pulse" with a totally straight face.  We laughed...a pulse is good to have!  Nice guy and the first waiter I've ever had shake my hand when we were leaving.  You meet all kinds...but most importantly - he provided excellent table service.

The food was good.  I specifically went for shrimp.  They serve shrimp a heck of a lot of ways at Shrimp Haus.  You know my standard though - when I am doing a comparison, I get fried shrimp.  They have an every night special of All U Can Eat Shrimp for $14.95...includes a trip to the nicely outfitted salad bar, French Fries, and a loaf of bread.  I don't know why I got that...because I couldn't even eat all that they brought me the first trip.  I could have saved a buck and just bought the fried shrimp platter for $13.95.  I know better.  The shrimp were quite large and nicely fried - not overly battered as I frequently see.  Good tartar sauce - which is good because I don't eat cocktail sauce on my fried shrimp.  I'm picky about my tartar sauce and this met my high standards.  It was a very good fried shrimp dinner.

All U Can Eat Fried Shrimp

The teen had the grilled shrimp - $14.95.  Normally that is served with rice and some steamed or grilled veggies I think.  I am pretty positive that's what I got last summer out on the deck.  My boy doesn't eat vegetables though, so he ordered it with just French Fries.  SHOCKINGLY, he complied with my suggestion that he go check out the salad bar...he got one with his meal and I thought there might be SOMETHING he could nibble on.  I nearly fell out of my chair when he came back to the table with a salad plate with green leaf lettuce and mushrooms piled on it.  It had no dressing, but he ate half of it.  Maybe he is growing up.  I encouraged him to just squeeze some lemon on it since he doesn't like dressing, but, although he squeezes lemon all over his shrimp AND his French Fries (???), he refused.  Later he said "I didn't realize lettuce was so dry".  I had to chuckle.  He said the grilled shrimp were really good...and he polished them off in no time flat, so they must have been!  He actually ate most of my fries as well as all of his.  They were pretty tasty too...not that I'm a huge FF fan.

Grilled Shrimp and French Fries...normally rice and veggies!

We ate slowly and enjoyed watching several couples get up and dance up by the stage...it was very pleasant!  Tropical exposed wood decor, lots of "port hole" shaped aquariums (including one submarine-shaped aquarium suspended from the ceiling), great view...all add up to a nice alternative to my regular haunts.  Most people probably don't think of going to eat at Schlitterbahn...but it is worth the trip in my opinion!  It's on the south end of the island, ocean side, and you can't miss the big Schlitterbahn entrance.  The restaurant entrance is to the right of the water park on the 2nd floor.  There is an elevator for those who can't or don't want to use the stairs.


Casual yet "nice" place to dine on an off-season night!

On the way home I asked the teen what he thought about Leslie's singing.  He said "I liked it...actually, her voice sounded kind of angelic."   That is high praise from a hearing impaired individual who didn't like ANY music until about 5 years ago!

All-in-all, I think we both had a nice evening.  Our total bill was $36.37 plus tip...not a bad Friday night's meal AND entertainment!  The sign says Chuck and Leslie play every evening Tuesday through Saturday.  I'll make it a point to go again.  I want to try their Shrimp Scampi and their Shrimp Nachos.  Leslie singing will likely lure me back sooner rather than later!

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

3 – Pretty Yummy - I feel my flip flops wanting to head back from time to time!