Right inside the entrance is an oyster bar. It’s an actual bar. I’d never seen such a thing. It made me realize how serious these folks were about their oysters. I considered myself a casual oyster fan, but once you taste the oysters down there, you will become an addict. But, I digress, as we were seated immediately and then quickly forgotten. The service here was very slow. It took 10 minutes for our order to be taken. Once taken, we waited another 10 to 15 minutes for our drinks and appetizers. My boyfriend and I are sweet-tea drinkers, and Felix’s tea is unsweetened. The other couple in our little group are wine drinkers - they thought the bottle they ordered was okay. For appetizers we had calamari, which is something I try to order wherever I go if it’s offered - it was very good. We also had fried zucchini, very good, and raw oysters, which were absolutely delicious. At the end of the appetizers, we began to forgive the wait staff for being so slow.

This place was very noisy. It was spacious enough, every table was occupied, and the voices carried. We weren’t bumping elbows with the customers next to us, but the atmosphere is very casual and relaxed, and the volume was high. This, in no way, took away from the enjoyment of the food itself. For an entrée, I ordered a soft shell crab po’boy, while the others had jambalaya and more oysters. The po’boy is what I had determined was NECESSARY for me to have while in New Orleans, but this was not the one. The soft shell crab was not cleaned, and in all my crab-eating career, I had never had a soft shell crab, so I don’t know if they are supposed to be cleaned or not, but I did not like the unclean soft shell crab po’boy. The jambalaya was tasty, and I reiterate, the oysters were delicious.

If you don’t mind waiting for good food or a lot of noise, you will enjoy Felixe’s.

The back room is very casual, with fluorescent lighting and a crowded, messy oyster bar, while the front room is a bit more refined, more suitable to nighttime drinking.

Felixe's is just across the street from the Acme Oyster House, and though Acme is perhaps more famous, Felixe's did not disappoint. (And you can't beat the price: four entrées, six oysters, and six beers came to about $60.)

If we had been willing to stand at the bar and order only oysters, we wouldn't have had to wait, but we opted for a table with full service. Unfortunately, the service wasn't worth waiting for – we never got the water we asked for and once the server delivered our food, she didn't return to our table until she was ready to give us the bill.

The oysters were great and you make your own sauce so it can be as spicy or mild as you want. We could have put away several dozen if we had not ordered other dishes as well. We had crawfish etoufee and a soft shell crab poor boy, both of which were unremarkable. But the oysters were worth every minute of the wait. Next time, we'll avoid the line, sidle up to the bar, order a couple beers, and tell them to keep the oysters coming!