FISH KING
Bar offers a unique twist on traditional seafood
daniel@yesweekly.com | @Daniel_Schere
When you think of Winston-Salem you don’t usually think of seafood, but King’s Crab Shack and Oyster Bar on Fourth Street offers a slightly different twist. It is here that you can enjoy fish or shrimp, have a burger or quesadilla with fries, down a few cold ones and watch the big game on the big screen.
King’s is not exactly the hip, trendy bar typically found in this stretch. It is of the more traditional variety of lunch spots and after-work hangouts. It feels like your neighborhood bar, but the décor gives you the hint that this place offers just a little more. With 25 different beers on tap, it is something of a cross between a gastropub and a seafood joint still searching for its identity. There are plastic cups strung above the awning and posters plastered to the outside. Inside there are colorful lamps hanging above the tables and fishnets on the walls accompanied by models of sea animals.
King’s offers deals on four days of the week. On Mondays you can get crab legs and bottles of wine for half price.
“We are busy all day long,” manager Dawn Harrison said.
Also popular at King’s are Taco Tuesdays, where you can get tacos and South of the Border beers for $2 each. On Wednesdays you can get half-priced oysters and $3 drafts, and Thursdays feature $6 rum buckets.
In addition, Wednesdays are also Wounded Warrior nights when customers can add to their bill an amount they wish to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project. At the end of the night, the restaurant donates 10 percent of its sales there.
Harrison said King’s has been open for three years and it has benefited greatly from the fact that it is located in one of the busiest sections of downtown.
“Lunches, businessmen come from all over,” she said. “There’s a ton of local businesses.”
When asked what separates King’s from any other seafood restaurant, especially those on the coast, Harrison said they place a high priority on quality.
“We get our seafood in seven days a week, it’s all fresh,” she said. “We get the whole fishes, and they’re cut and filleted here. They don’t come packaged or frozen, so that’s one thing we take pride in.”
I got the blackened salmon sandwich “” the seafood version of a bacon cheeseburger “” that comes with Cajun seasoned fries and leaves the palate satisfied.
Harrison said her favorite menu item is the shrimp quesadillas; one of several twists on the Tex-Mex dish that King’s offers. She also recommends the steam buckets, which feature snow crab legs, shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters and scallops for $24.99. King’s also incorporates its seafood mashup into salads, wraps, soups and five different pastas. !
WANNA go?
King’s Crab Shack and Oyster Bar is located at 239 W. Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem. They are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday through Sunday. You can reach them at 336-306-9567 or visit them at www. kingscrabshack.com.
