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Each of these restaurants is a real pearl
Salty or sweet, every oyster evokes the waters in which it was raised. That makes hitting the oyster trail a fascinating and delicious experience. Each region has its very own gems, and with new oysters coming to market on the regular, the selection is ever-changing.
Here, we zero in on the Mid-Atlantic region, where oyster bars from D.C. to Jersey celebrate local waters.
Note: While New York is technically a Mid-Atlantic state, it’s so packed with oyster bars that it could fill an entire post. For that reason, we’ll save it for another story.
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Rappahannock Oyster Bar | Washington, DC
Name-checked by the Michelin Guide, Rappahannock Oyster Bar is a must-stop. For one thing, it’s in the center of D.C.’s Union Market, where vendors serve up everything from French patisserie to Israeli street food.
More enticing to the oyster lover is the fact that Rappahannock, in the business since 1899, features its own shellfish, farmed along the Atlantic and Chesapeake. That means they can get full-on nerdy with oyster geeks who seek out briny Olde Salts, sweet Rappahannock River Oysters and soft-salt Rochambeaus.
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Hank’s Oyster Bar | Washington, DC
An oasis outside the frenzy of Dupont Circle, the original Q Street location of Hank’s Oyster Bar has a grown-up vibe, all mercury glass and marble with an R&B soundtrack. Yet it still feels mellow.
At happy hour, locals fill the tidy bar or claim outdoor tables. The menu offers an East Coast / West Coast split, with locals grown in Virginia. Crafted in partnership with War Shore Oyster Co., Hank’s Salty Wolfe Oyster pairs virtue and brine, with ten cents from every oyster donated to cancer research. Also watch for War Shores, which blend salt-umami with a pop of minerality.
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Sailor Oyster Bar | Annapolis, Maryland
Our server at Sailor Oyster Bar set the stage the moment we sat down: “We never kick anyone out, so enjoy yourselves. It’s Friday.” If there is a friendlier oyster bar on the East Coast, this writer has yet to find it. Amid buzzy chatter and candlelight ambience, it’s clear why this handsome rowhouse is packed.
A sense of welcome is the driving force. That the food is sublime takes things into next-level territory. A tiny kitchen turns out small plates, from a daily roster of oysters to miso-lacquered sea bass. The nautical vibe befits its location in proximity to the Naval Academy, as does the owner’s vibrant sailor tattoos.
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The Local Oyster | Baltimore, Maryland
Laid-back cheer is on the menu at this fun spot run by the folks behind True Chesapeake Oyster Co. Tucked in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Marketplace, the menu at The Local Oyster brings the beauty of its farms front and center. Salty-sweet Skinny Dippers offer cheeky brine, grown at the intersection of the Chesapeake Bay and St. Jerome Creek.
The Local also fries up a blue catfish sandwich that serves double duty – satisfying diners and helping rid the Chesapeake of an invasive species. (Also check out the company’s new, eponymous restaurant in nearby Whitehall Mill.)
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Thames Street Oyster House | Baltimore, Maryland
From the second-floor dining room of this bustling Fells Point institution, one can gaze out over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, its waters glittering like diamonds. It’s an easy vantage point from which to sense the oyster industry’s deep regional roots.
Equally deep is the oyster list at Thames Street Oyster House, which features heavy hitters and smart descriptions to help one navigate. Start there, then move on to the oyster po’boy, a case study in savory satisfaction.
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George & Sons Seafood Market | Hockessin, Delaware
Before seafood went corporate, family-run joints like George & Sons were the standard bearer for great food. Here, you see why. Inside a seafood market 20 minutes from Wilmington, this come-as-you-are spot is worth the detour.
Snag a space at the oyster bar, the surface of which is filled with sandy shells. Then peer up and read the sign: “Trust the oyster experts.” This is great advice. The Shucker’s Choice Platter, selected by a team wearing “Just Shuck It” shirts, guides you to the day’s most interesting options.
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Oyster House | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In the same family for three generations, this perennially packed oyster house has been a fixture in Philadelphia for 40-plus years. You never know who will slide in next to you at the expansive oyster bar that takes center stage in a spot adorned with antique oyster plates.
“We’re an oyster house that’s for everybody,” explains Oyster House owner Sam Mink. That makes for a lively scene. Choose a mix of oysters from the East and West coasts, then tip back your shell and join the fun.
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Pearl’s Oyster Bar | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Half the pleasure of slurping bivalves at Pearl’s Oyster Bar is watching the world go by. Nearly everyone who visits the city, along with a hefty representation of locals, swings through its home in the Reading Terminal Market.
The menu here is tidy and heavy on oysters from local waters. Sitting with an oyster in hand and throngs milling by, you sense what it must have been like in colonial times when oyster bars spanned the city.
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Dock’s Oyster House | Atlantic City, New Jersey
Folks line up before the doors open for daily 4 p.m. happy hour at this Atlantic City legend, in the oyster business since 1897. That Dock’s Oyster House has endured is no surprise. Though the inside has been refreshed, it remains a classic.
Near the elbow of the bar, the shucker works with speed, the sound of clinking shells a kind of meditation. Oysters are served with a tin of oyster crackers on the side, a lovely old-school touch.
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The Old Causeway Steak & Oyster House | Manahawkin, New Jersey
Situated in a salt marsh, all big skies and reeds swaying, The Old Causeway is an evocative place to slurp oysters just minutes from where they were raised. The list is heavy on locals, as is the clientele, and bivalves infuse the menu. Case in point: a righteous burger topped with fried oysters that will make you question your loyalty to bacon.
This commitment to place makes sense. Two of the owners, Melanie and Eric Magaziner, have such deep oyster love that they now grow their own, Parker’s Pearls, in partnership with Jersey’s Barnegat Oyster Collective.
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