Midtown East @ Grand Central Oyster Bar

An oldie but goodie, this establishment has been located in Grand Central for 97 years.  I recommend heading to the back of the establishment through the saloon doors, it screams typical old New York with a super long bar to saddle up at, every inch of the room is decked out in old wood with even older bartenders there to serve you.

The number one attraction for me to the Oyster Bar is the variety - anywhere from 20 to 40 different types of oysters available for the tasting every day.  This picture is just their average daily offering, with types ranging from common to the NYC area, like Bluepoints from Long Island, to more rare types such as Yaquina from Oregon.  The restaurant has been using the same tried and true oyster farm suppliers for over 60 years - some of them since the shop originally opened.  The Oyster Bar also goes through over 5,000 pounds of oysters per week so you can bet whatever you order is the freshest selection in all of NYC.

For my most recent trip, I opted to order my favorite variety (Kumamoto from Cali) plus three new varieties - Bras D'Or (Nova Scotia), Shigoku (Washington), and Ninigret (Rhode Island).  The Shigoku is only available at the Oyster Bar for the next two weeks and I highly recommend it.  It was clean with a light creamy taste and was more on the petit size, which is what I personally prefer.  Both the Bras D'Or (pronounced bra door) and the Ninigret tasted much more like salt water, since it was from the east coast is to be expected.  Cocktail sauce is on the spicy side (which I love) and they serve you a whole jar of horseradish on the side, if you're so inclined to make it even spicier.  They also load you up with oyster crackers.

This place gets pretty busy immediately after work as commuters cruise in to kill a little time before they hop on Metro North to head home.  I recommend going on a weekend or after 8p on a weekday to avoid any crowds and get a seat at the bar.  I'm a fan of sitting at a restaurant's bar since it gives you the ability to settle in without any pressure from a waiter to leave.  And, if you plan on having a few rounds of oysters then you want to take time to really enjoy them.  Besides, then the bartenders will take care of refilling your drinks without any delay which scores extra points in my book.

They also have a decent new england clam chowder that I find to be a great primer before settling into having oysters.

Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant
Grand Central Terminal
89 East 42nd Street
(212) 490-6650

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