Joe's Oyster Bar
Home of Gulf Seafood Market
Joe's Oyster Bar is the restaurant side of Gulf Seafood Market at 207 E Maxan St. in Port Isabel: Joe Castillo Sr. opened the market in 1982 and added the oyster bar in 2001. The menu runs from fried and grilled seafood platters and po boys to Mexican-style shrimp cocktails, oysters on the half shell, ceviche and caldo de marisco, and the kitchen will cook the fish you caught. The market next door sells fresh and frozen seafood by market price.
Location, Hours & Good to Know
📍 Location & Contact
Address: 207 E Maxan St, Port Isabel, TX 78578
Phone: (956) 943-4501
Official site: gulfseafoodmarket.com ↗
Specials: Weekly specials ↗
Seafood Market: Market list ↗
🕒 Hours
- Restaurant: 11 AM – 7 PM
- Seafood Market: 8 AM – 8 PM
Hours from gulfseafoodmarket.com, checked September 23, 2026. Their site gives these times without listing days (the home page says the menu is served every day of the week).
✨ Good to Know
- Wednesdays 4–7 PM: a dozen half-shell oysters for $8.99, dine in only
- Bring your own catch: they cook it any way you want for $10.99 per person, with fries, coleslaw and a roll
- Seafood plates come with French fries and coleslaw
- Kid's meal: 3 chicken strips, fries, coleslaw and a dinner roll, $9.99
- Beer, micheladas, beer buckets, pitchers of draft beer and wine by the glass are served
- Gulf Seafood Market, next door, sells fresh and frozen seafood to take home at market price (listed at the end of the menu)
- The market will pack your purchases for travel
- Whole fish, shrimp and oysters by the pound are sold at market price; ask for today's price
What to know before you go
Details checked . Confirm prices, schedules and policies with the business when planning your visit.
Amenities 2 details
The restaurant serves alcohol: domestic and imported beer by the bottle, a beer bucket, draft beer by the pitcher, wine by the glass, and micheladas.
The retail seafood market side sells fresh and frozen seafood packed for travel, including red snapper, flounder, black drum, three sizes of shrimp, crab meat and fingers, oysters, plus frozen Alaskan king crab, snow crab, octopus, lobster tails, mahi mahi, salmon, ahi tuna, mussels, scallops and clams — all priced at market rate rather than fixed prices.
Policies 2 details
The restaurant offers a 'bring your own catch' cleaning/cooking service: $10.99 per person to have your own fish cooked any way you want, served with fries, coleslaw and a roll.
The site posts a standard health advisory that raw oysters carry a risk for people with chronic liver, stomach, blood, or immune conditions, and recommends fully-cooked oysters for anyone unsure of their risk.
Suggested: Any time · You pick the meal