With only 14 seats and a daily sign-up sheet that fills quickly, securing a coveted spot at KC’s Oyster Shack is part of the experience. Inside, fresh oysters and shrimp are displayed on ice along the bar, with an open kitchen just off to the side. The small-scale setting creates a more intimate dining experience, keeping guests close to both the food and one another.
The restaurant opened in October 2024, bringing to life an idea owner Chad Gorczyca had been considering for more than a decade. He knew he wanted to open an oyster bar but struggled to find the right location. When this space became available, its small footprint offered a chance to do something different from Stingrays, the Port Aransas sports bar he also owns. His wife, Kimber, joined him in the venture, managing the front of house and much of the operation behind the scenes. Their partnership also inspired the restaurant’s name, drawn from the couple’s initials.
“I wanted it to be more intimate,” Gorczyca said. “I want people to surround each other and talk to each other and have a good time and see all the food.”
The limited seating ultimately shaped how the restaurant operates. KC’s offers four seatings each evening, a system Gorczyca introduced after noticing diners typically spent about 50 minutes at the oyster bar, making it difficult to accommodate others who wanted to experience the restaurant. The sign-up sheet—for seatings at 5 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.—is posted daily at 3 p.m. on a clipboard outside the restaurant’s front door. Accommodating just 14 guests per one-hour session, the restaurant operates under a strict “No Eat, No Seat” policy.
At KC’s, the menu keeps the attention on the seafood. Nothing is fried, and sides are intentionally left off the menu, with seafood served raw, steamed or cooked over the oak wood grill. Oysters are naturally a centerpiece, with different varieties brought in based on availability.
Beyond the oysters, the seafood is sourced both locally and from around the world. Most of the shrimp is local, while the larger shrimp displayed on ice at the bar comes from Ecuador. King crab is another menu staple, along with honey crab sourced from Africa, a variety similar to snow crab that comes from deep water. Depending on availability, the specials board changes with additional offerings, sometimes including fresh swordfish caught by local fishermen.
“I want people to enjoy the actual good-quality seafood,” Gorczyca said. “Most people don’t get a chance to have seafood like this.”
The menu moves beyond the raw bar with crab cakes and a surf-and-turf pairing of an eight-ounce filet with an eight-ounce lobster tail. Housemade sauces and glazes add flavor to several dishes, including a sweet and spicy Caribbean glaze over the warm-water Caribbean lobster tail and an apricot-habanero glaze paired with grilled quail in the quail and tail. The chargrilled oysters are finished with a house butter sauce and Romano cheese.
Dessert rounds out the experience with the unique and unexpected “Dare You to Try It,” featuring vanilla bean ice cream layered with olive oil and caviar, then topped with white chocolate flakes.
KC’s may be small in size, but that is precisely what allows the concept to work. From the seafood displayed along the bar to the open kitchen and carefully prepared menu, the restaurant keeps diners close to what brought them through the door in the first place: the food.
Contact: 125 W. Roberts Ave., Port Aransas | @kcsoystershack | 361.428.0196
