8 NYC Restaurants With The Best Raw Oysters
Long before the dirty water dog, the knish, and the halal cart, New Yorkers on the go took their lunch breaks along the waterfront, guzzling oysters by the dozen as they discussed the future of a burgeoning metropolis. In fact, lower Manhattan's Pearl Street is so named because of the constant blanket of empty oyster shells that crunched their way into the very cobbles of the city every day after lunch hour in the Financial District.
Nowadays, the carts in the Financial District are more likely to offer lamb over rice, tacos, or the boiled Hebrew National frankfurters of New York City fame. And to be fair, our shellfish sensibilities have changed to the point where a pushcart on Pearl Street isn't exactly our idea of an oyster destination. In fact, oysters have gone from being the preferred repast of lunching professionals to a special treat: part of steakhouse seafood towers and summer vacations to the shore.
The prices of oysters, as anyone who's ordered a high-end seafood tower with the works at a New York steakhouse can attest, have made it less and less the food of the everyman. However, for those who know where to look, the city is still home to some of the freshest, tastiest oysters around. There are even oyster-based happy hours to take advantage of that (almost) make the delicacies an everyday food again. From the fancy classics like Grand Central Oyster Bar to the interesting upstarts like the rooftop at the Rockaway Hotel, each of our featured entries is certified shucked fresh and taken extremely seriously by the chefs and staff.
1. Grand Central Oyster Bar
Getting the granddaddy of all NYC oyster spots first seems like the best place to start our mollusk marathon. The Grand Central Oyster Bar is the oldest restaurant in the venerable old terminal, and its old-school sensibilities become clear before you even walk through the door. During the planning phase of their visits, guests will notice several things: First, the Oyster Bar is closed Saturday and Sunday, an outdated bit of scheduling that harkens back to the days when oysters were a working lunch.
Next, guests looking at the Oyster Bar on Google will note that the decor seems to have changed little since it opened, and the service matches that sensibility. Third, the menu features no fewer than 25 different varieties of oysters (yes, believe it or not, there are that many). In addition to 20th-century classics like fried bluepoints and Oysters Rockefeller, the raw bar here is second to none, even if it isn't cheap. For a splurge, however, we strongly recommend the medley of raw clams and oysters, a sampler platter sure to crush your shellfish cravings.
(212) 490-6650
89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
2. Fish Market
It doesn't get much further down the luxury spectrum than going from Grand Central's Oyster Bar to Fish Market. A supremely divey joint down by the South Street Seaport, Fish Market is a staple for adventurous eaters (and especially drinkers) based on a fusion of New York seafood classics and Malaysian dishes from the family recipe book.
But beware, during your time at Fish Market, you won't be enjoying a quiet steakhouse booth with your date in a darkened room: you'll be an active participant in a never-ending party. The bartenders are just as likely to be schmoozing from table to table — a handle of Jameson in hand and offering free shots – as they are to be behind the bar. Start your meal off here with a dozen oysters, then follow them up with the chef's special "yummy noodles." It doesn't get much better than that.
(917) 363-8101
111 South St, New York, NY 10038
3. Strange Delight
Strange Delight isn't as buttoned up as Grand Central Oyster Bar, but it's also not quite as adventurous as Fish Market, making it a lovely in-between for hosting friends and family, or for a casual (perhaps first) date. Its oyster selection is more playful than most of what we've seen so far, offering local raw oysters, fried oyster baskets, Oysters Rockefeller, spicy BBQ oysters, and more.
Its mollusk menu is also supplemented by a wide variety of snacks from the sea, such as smoked trout roe with fresh hush puppies, catfish nuggets, and tuna tartare. And if you're looking to splurge since you were responsible and skipped the fanfare of a fancier joint, the French-inspired seafood tower at Strange Delight is a behemoth featuring enough oysters, clams, shrimp, sauces, and seasonal delights to satisfy a party of three.
63 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
4. Siren
For an oyster bar that might as well be tucked into a beachfront hotel on the Côte d'Azure, discerning Brooklynites choose Siren, where Mediterranean decor and ambiance are complemented by fresh, local seafood and an impressive wine list. This Park Slope staple's most alluring offering is its daily happy hour (5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday), which features $1.50 oysters of the day, as well as Little Neck clams, $12 cocktails, $5 beers, and assorted bar snacks.
For dinner, traditional Mediterranean seafood dishes like branzino, scallops, and lobster rolls round out the fruits de mer on offer, making Siren a must-try for anyone willing to brave the stroller traffic of Park Slope's mecca for new parents. Thankfully for the grown-ups, however, there's not much on the menu to please the petite palette, so Siren can generally be counted on to be a rare and welcome adults-only oasis.
(347) 689-4577
687 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
5. Maison Premiere
Featuring one of the most thoroughly curated oyster lists in the city, Maison Premiere requires a separate menu just to get diners familiar with its many options. While the overwhelmed can simply opt for a chef's selection of 12 oysters, the prepared can choose each one individually, choosing from origins as diverse as New York's own Moriches Bay; Barnstable Harbour, Massachusetts; Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island; Humboldt Bay, California; Puget Sound, Washington; and Deep Bay, BC — whose Kusshi oysters go for a whopping $5.25 each.
The rest of the menu features a wide variety of seafood as well, from caviar service to three crudo options to Maine Hollander mussels. Founded by Joshua Boissy & Krystof Zizka, Maison Premiere looks and feels like it could be an absinthe bar on the banks of the Seine, making it a classic of New York French cuisine. In fact, taking pride of place in the dining room can be found a meticulous recreation of the absinthe fountain located in the famed Olde Absinthe House in New Orleans.
(347) 889-5710
298 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
6. Bad Luck Bar
If you're a native New Yorker above a certain age, the idea of a great oyster spot in Bed-Stuy might seem a bit incongruous, but Bad Luck Bar, like Fish Market, erases pretention so completely that it's created a unique place for locals to enjoy the blending of high and low culture Brooklyn has perfected. Why not have some greasy, house-made French fries with that cold, civilized martini? Why order one cocktail when you can simply get a pitcher for the table — not of beer, but of Negronis.
An undeniably chill spot for Brooklynites and tourists alike, Bad Luck bar has something for everyone, bivalve enthusiasts included. In fact, its oyster happy hour is one of our favorite deals in the borough, offering a dozen oysters and two drinks for $33. Except maybe from a beachfront shack in a country with an extremely favorable exchange rate, there's no deal like it around.
492 Nostrand Ave, New York, New York 11216
7. Nobody Told Me
With locations in DUMBO and the Upper West Side, Nobody Told Me is a perfect spot whether you're exploring the hippest neighborhood in Brooklyn or the hippest neighborhood in Manhattan. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, it offers a happy hour that features fresh oysters for $2 each along with discounted beers, cocktails, and bar snacks. The menu in general tends to focus on drinks and small bites, making it a perfect pre-dinner spot to ease into your night out.
Tuna tartare, caviar, eggplant dip, and arancini with truffle (as well as, of course, oysters) anchor the menu while a few larger bites (think composed salads and familiar pub grub sandwiches) make Nobody Told Me worthy of a full dinner as well, should you and your party decide the place is just too cool to leave. There's even a slickly creative take on the most classic dessert there is: milk and cookies. Via its Amaretto milk and toffee chip cookie, Nobody Told Me can bring a table full of adults who've just finished their oysters, cocktails, and caviar back to their childhoods with a single bite.
Multiple locations
8. The Rooftop at the Rockaway Hotel
Yes, this one is a bit further afield than the other entries on our list, tucked away in the distant hamlet of Rockaway Beach (of Ramones fame). But seeing as the NYC Ferry operates a scenic and leisurely boat ride to the barrier island (and seeing as that ferry has a bar on board) makes the trip go by in a blink. Once disembarked at Rockaway, you'll find yourself in a beachside community that can, at times, feel supremely disconnected from the bright lights and constant motion of Manhattan. And perhaps no other spot in Rockaway encourages letting go of the city mentality quite like the Rockaway Hotel Rooftop, where diners and drinkers can gaze out at the open ocean and forget that the busiest intersections in the country are just a few miles away.
The menu at the Rooftop focuses on small plates (especially and unsurprisingly raw fish dishes) from sushi to crudo to an extensive raw bar, which includes its signature seafood tower, The Hemingway. No doubt Papa Hem would have been more than happy with the platter's perfect selection of oysters, clams, shrimp, tuna, and snow crab.
718) 489-8914
108-10 Rockaway Beach Dr, Queens, NY 11694
Methodology
When putting together our list of the best restaurants serving raw oysters in New York City, we didn't just chase the briniest half shell or the most photogenic platter on ice. We looked for the places that make eating oysters feel like an experience: something between ritual and reward. First and foremost, freshness mattered. The best oyster bars treat their seafood like a living thing, not a prop, and offer enough variety to keep regulars guessing whether the next dozen will come from Prince Edward Island, the Pacific Northwest, or right here from the bays off Long Island. But great oysters need a great setting. So we considered ambiance, too: the kind of room where you can lean in over a marble bar and talk for hours, whether with a first date, an old friend, or no one but the bartender.
Drinks played a part in the calculus, because the right glass of Champagne, martini, or chilled white can turn a plate of oysters into a small celebration. And finally, price. If you're trying to eat in NYC on a budget, oysters may not be the answer. But good oysters don't have to mean bad personal finance. The spots on this list are the ones where you can indulge without wondering if you'll regret it tomorrow. After all, oysters are meant to be a pleasure, not a panic attack. We only included places that hit all four marks: fresh, inviting, well-poured, and worth every dollar.