This is a list of notable oyster bars. An

oyster bar An oyster bar, also known as an oyster saloon, oyster house or a raw bar service, is a restaurant specializing in serving oysters, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters buffet-style. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and w ...

is a restaurant specializing in serving

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters

buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

-style. In France, the oyster bar is known as ''bar à huîtres''. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and were common tavern food in Europe, but the oyster bar as a distinct restaurant began making an appearance in the 1700s.

United Kingdom

Loch Fyne Restaurants Loch Fyne Restaurants is a chain of nine seafood restaurants in the United Kingdom owned and operated by Greene King plc. History The company takes its name from Loch Fyne, a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The business started life a ...

– a chain of 25 seafood restaurants in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

England

Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill is a restaurant at 11-15 Swallow Street, London, which opened in 1916. The restaurant, previously known as Bentley's, has always specialised in oysters. History Bentley's was owned for some years by Oscar Owide, "o ...

* Sinclair's Oyster Bar – Cathedral Gates, Millennium Quarter, Shambles Square,

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United States

California

72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill was a popular Venice, California restaurant founded in 1983 and launched by Tony Bill and Dudley Moore. The small restaurant was a celebrity hot spot which received attention for its food as well as an in hous ...

– a former oyster bar and restaurant in Venice, California * Swan Oyster Depot – in San Francisco, California

District of Columbia

Hank's Oyster Bar Hank's Oyster Bar is a chain of oyster bars in Washington, D.C., and Virginia in the United States. Background Founded in May 2005, the flagship restaurant was named "Hank's" after fisherman Hank Wolfe Leeds, the father of founder and chef ...

– multiple locations in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

* Old Ebbitt Grill – a historic bar and restaurant located in Washington, D.C.; holds an annual oyster eating event called Oyster Riot every November

Florida

Flora-Bama The Flora-Bama Lounge and Package (or The Flora-Bama) is a honky-tonk bar located in Perdido Key, Florida, United States, adjacent to the Alabama-Florida state line, from which it draws its name. It calls itself "America's Last Great Roadhouse". ...

– located on Perdido Key in Pensacola, Florida; a world-famous

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

, oyster bar, beach bar, and Gulf Coast cultural landmark *

Shuckum's Oyster Bar Shuckum's Raw Bar & Grill was a restaurant located on Young Circle in downtown Hollywood, Florida. The restaurant gained worldwide attention in 2001, when it was widely reported to have been one of the last places that the September 11 hijackers w ...

– a former restaurant located on Young Circle in downtown Hollywood, Florida

Louisiana

Arnaud's Arnaud's is a Creole restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It serves classic Creole dishes. History Arnaud's was founded in 1918 by a French wine salesman, Arnaud Cazenave. In 1978, 60 years after the restaurant opened, it was bou ...

Classic eats for dining in New Orleans, Louisiana , Experience Food & Wine
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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Massachusetts

* Union Oyster House, in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the oldest restaurants in America. Union Oyster House Boston MA

New York

* Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, a seafood restaurant located on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street and

Vanderbilt Avenue Vanderbilt Avenue is the name of three thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island. They were named after Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877), the builder of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in New York CityThe Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant - New York , East 40s Restaurant Menus and Reviews
/ref> * John Dory Oyster Bar –

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

* Mermaid Oyster Bar – in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York City opened by Zach Braff

North Carolina

* Sunny Side Inn – a historic oyster bar located at Williamston, Martin County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Oregon

Dan and Louis Oyster Bar Dan & Louis Oyster Bar is a seafood restaurant in Portland, Oregon described by Fodor's as a "Portland landmark". As its name implies, it specializes in oysters — from Yaquina Bay and beyond — served raw and in an oyster stew the restaurant ...

– a

seafood restaurant A seafood restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in seafood cuisine and seafood dishes, such as fish and shellfish. Dishes may include freshwater fish. The concept may focus upon the preparation and service of fresh seafood, (as oppose ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

described by

Fodor's Fodor's is a publisher of English language travel and tourism information. Fodor's Travel and Fodors.com are divisions of Internet Brands. History Founder Eugene Fodor was a keen traveler, but felt that the guidebooks of his time were borin ...

as a "Portland landmark"Dan & Louis's Oyster Bar , Portland Restaurants
from

* Eat: An Oyster Bar * Flying Fish Company *

McCormick & Schmick's McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. is an American seafood restaurant chain, formerly based in Portland, Oregon. As of July 2021, the company operates 26 locations in the United States and 5 Canadian locations that operate under the Bo ...

– an American seafood restaurant chain, based in Portland, Oregon

Pennsylvania

* Old Original Bookbinder's and Bookbinder's 15th Street - old, iconic Philadelphia seafood restaurants (Original dates to 1893), now both closed.

Virginia

* Old Original Bookbinder's – Richmond, Virginia- expansion from Philadelphia.

Washington

* Coastal Kitchen, Seattle *

Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar is a seafood restaurant in Seattle's Pike Place Market, in the U.S. state of Washington. Emmett Watson and Sam Bryant opened the city's first oyster bar on February 18, 1979. The restaurant is now operates by Bryant's so ...

– located in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pug ...

The Walrus and the Carpenter "The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his book ''Through the Looking-Glass'', published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is co ...

, Seattle

Gallery

File:County Lock in flood, Reading.jpg, The Loch Fyne restaurant in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, England is in a former brewery building by the

River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...

. File:Oysters with mignonette sauce and cocktail sauce.jpg, Raw

s on the half-shell served with

cocktail sauce Cocktail sauce, also known as seafood sauce, is one of several types of cold or room temperature sauces often served as part of a dish referred to as a seafood cocktail or as a condiment with other seafoods. The sauce, and the dish for which it i ...

and

mignonette sauce Mignonette sauce is a condiment made with minced shallots, cracked pepper, and vinegar traditionally served with raw oysters. The French term term ''mignonnette'' originally referred to a sachet of peppercorns, cloves, and spices used to flavo ...

References

Bibliography

* Williams, Nicola. ''France.'' London: Lonely Planet, 2009.