Walking into the newly opened seafood restaurant, Southern Pearl Oyster House feels like stepping into a fine-dining eatery in New Orleans. Exposed brick, wrought-iron chandeliers, stained glass windows and a painting of Dr. John and a second line parade on the wall give the large space a classic Big Easy vibe.
Southern Pearl Oyster House opened its doors Wednesday. The Perkins Road restaurant is the 12th location for the Mississippi seafood restaurant Half Shell Oyster House.
“It’s fine dining, but without the attitude,” General Manager Stephen Pitcher says.
Instead of using white table cloths like many fine-dining establishments, Southern Pearl keeps it casual by topping its tables with white paper. Above the bar, light fixtures hang from a ceiling display made solely of homey cedar doors. In another seating area, one of the walls is covered in distressed multi-colored window shutters, giving the space a rustic, artsy feel.
The menu is just as Southern as the interior. From fried shrimp po-boys to smoky steak tenderloins, Southern Pearl Oyster house has a little bit of everything. The seafood section features crab, mahi-mahi, salmon, shrimp, redfish and yellowfin tuna.
On the oyster menu, guests can choose from traditional favorites like Oysters Bienville, Oysters Rockefeller, charbroiled and the restaurant’s Oysters Orleans, which are charbroiled then basted in a “New Orleans style smoky Cajun sauce.”
While there’s plenty to choose from, Pitcher says two of its signature dishes are the Big Easy Surf and Turf—a 6-ounce filet served over a fried handcrafted crab cake—and the Filet Orleans.
Southern Pearl Oyster House is at 9460 Perkins Road. Its hours are Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday’s hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m with Sunday brunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
This story originally appeared in 225 magazine. Subscribe to the free 225 Dine e-newsletter here to keep up with Baton Rouge food and drink.
