National Oyster Day fell yesterday – but a great oyster is a year-round pursuit. From marble raw bars to whitewashed cottages beside the beds, here are the places worth travelling to.
There are few finer travel rituals than a dozen oysters and a cold glass of something crisp, eaten within sight of the water they came from. In honour of National Oyster Day – celebrated each 5 August, and although a day late, we’ve rounded up some of best places – so pack an appetite.
The UK & Ireland
Scott’s · Mayfair, London
The grande dame of London seafood, Scott’s has been drawing the great and the glamorous since the 19th century. Its glittering marble bar, piled high with fruits de mer, showcases the best British natives and rocks from Essex, Kent, Cornwall and Scotland — the definitive spot for a champagne-and-oysters afternoon in the capital.
Moran’s Oyster Cottage · Galway, Ireland
A 300-year-old thatched, whitewashed tavern on a tidal weir, immortalised in a Seamus Heaney poem, serving Clarenbridge oysters plucked from the beds directly opposite. Time it for September’s famous Galway International Oyster Festival and you’ll see the world’s best shuckers at work.
The Whitstable Oyster Company · Kent, England
A pilgrimage for lovers of the rare native oyster, this beachside institution has been harvesting the Kentish flats since Roman times. Simple, salty and sublime, eaten with your feet almost in the sea.
Continental Europe
Huîtrerie Régis · Paris, France
A tiny, marble-topped jewel-box in Saint-Germain seating barely a dozen, and all the better for it. The speciality is the prized Gillardeau — arguably the world’s most coveted oyster — served with rye bread, butter and a glass of Muscadet. No fuss, just perfection.
Mirazur · Menton, French Riviera
For the fine-dining end of the spectrum, Mauro Colagreco’s three-Michelin-starred stunner overlooking the Med turns the humble Gillardeau into edible art, dressed with pearls of tapioca and pear jelly. Nearby, the Languedoc oyster beds around Bouzigues offer the beachside, bare-hands version.
The Americas
Grand Central Oyster Bar · New York, USA
An institution beneath the vaulted tiled ceilings of Grand Central Terminal since 1913, shucking some two million oysters a year across 20-plus varieties. A cathedral to the bivalve, and a true New York rite of passage.
Maison Premiere · Brooklyn, New York
All old-world, absinthe-scented charm, with an epic daily oyster list and a horseshoe bar built for lingering. The go-to for a moody, romantic dozen.
Neptune Oyster · Boston, USA
A pint-sized Art Deco gem in the North End, beloved for its ever-changing list and playful tasting notes — expect descriptors like “buttered popcorn” chalked up beside the day’s catch.
The Walrus and the Carpenter · Seattle, USA
The heart of America’s Pacific Northwest oyster scene: a buzzy, industrial-chic room celebrating the briny, cucumber-fresh oysters of the cold Washington waters.
Hog Island Oyster Co. · San Francisco, USA
Sustainably farmed oysters shucked to order in the Ferry Building, with the Bay glittering beyond. Order a dozen, a glass of Californian fizz, and settle in.
Asia-Pacific & Africa
Sydney Cove Oyster Bar · Sydney, Australia
A little white pavilion on the harbour’s edge with the Opera House in view, and the star of the show the plump, sweet Sydney rock oyster — arguably the best waterside dozen in the Southern Hemisphere.
Saxon & Parole · Auckland, New Zealand
Overlooking the Waitematā Harbour, and the place to seek out New Zealand’s legendary Bluff oysters — intensely briny, wildly seasonal, and worshipped by those in the know.
The Tsukiji Outer Market · Tokyo, Japan
For oysters with a Japanese accent, the stalls of Tsukiji shuck fat, creamy Miyagi oysters to order amid a wonderland of the freshest seafood on earth.
34 South · Knysna, South Africa
A waterfront warehouse on the Garden Route famed for its nutty, creamy native Knysna oysters, best washed down with a glass of local Cap Classique sparkling.
