When Montgomery County restauranteur Jim Hallers wanted to dine on chargrilled oysters — one of his favorite dishes — an hour-and-a-half car trip was required.
He’d either drive down to Kemah or if he wanted the really good chargrilled oysters, he’d make a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Now he’s brought the Lousiana-style chargrilled oyster experience home to Montgomery County with his new restaurant Good Charlie’s Oyster Bar and Seafood Kitchen on FM 1488 in the same shopping center as his Citizen’s Grill.
The restaurant opened in July and features a variety of fresh seafood, including oysters, shrimp and crab, as well as dishes like lobster bisque, fish and chips and they continue to add items to the menu every week.
“There wasn’t anyone here in Montgomery County doing the real Louisiana-style chargrilled oysters,” he said. “I’m sure there are other people just like me who want a good oyster.”
The chargrilled oysters are cooked over an open flame grill making for a visual delight in the restaurant’s evening hours. Good Charlie’s oysters are also served raw, loaded and with habanero.
The chargrilled ones are served up with butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese.
Seafood entrees like ahi tuna, ceviche with shrimp, mango and scallops, gumbo, sea bass and salmon are also on the menu.
The dessert menu features Kahlua tiramisu, house made key lime pie and peach cobbler with ice cream.
Hallers also owns two Tailgators locations in south Montgomery County and The Thirsty Texan in Harris County. A third location is also in the works on Lake Conroe.
While he’s a seasoned restaurant owner, owning an oyster bar brought new challenges like learning to quickly shuck a large volume of oysters.
“It’s been fun, and people are really excited to have something different in the area,” Haller said.
Good Charlie’s team consists of Charlie Inman, the managing partner and owner at Tapped Drafthouse, chef Ricardo Clough, ex-executive chef at Trulucks, shift managers Eileen Lopez from Acme Oysters and Rick Bachman from Wolfies and previous general manager at Tailgators Magnolia.
Hallers said Clough was a longtime customer of Tailgators and was eager to craft high-quality seafood dishes at a location that was near his home on FM 1488.
The location was formerly Burgers and Bourdeaux.
Designer Marissa Salmassi revamped the space into a light and open coastal kitchen experience.
A design highlight is the backlit blue agate stone used along the 50-foot bar and as accents throughout the restaurant.
“I wanted it to look coastal and beachy with a clean, earthy feel,” she said.
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There is a 40-person private room and patio that seats 70. Televisions are mounted above the bar and the grill area is open for viewing from the bar.
Haller said they are serving up to 1,000 oysters a day and they get shipments from Prestige Oysters on the Texas coast three times a week.
“There’s an old myth that you only eat oysters on months that end in ‘r,’” he said. “The Prestige oysters go through an intense high pressure pasteurization process that kills all the bacteria and give them a longer shelf life so they can be trucked up here and all over the southeast part of the US.”
Good Charlie’s is at 4900 FM 1488 with a Conroe address. Visit the Good Charlie’s website for more.
