Four stuffed oysters with crumb stuffing. — Wood-oven-roasted oysters with merguez at Victor.

A Dozen Oyster Dishes to Try Around New York

Go beyond the raw bar for po’boys, Rockefeller, omelets, and more

by Robert Sietsema Sep 11, 2023, 1:11pm EDT

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Wood-oven-roasted oysters with merguez at Victor.

| Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

by Robert Sietsema Sep 11, 2023, 1:11pm EDT

As anyone who’s been to an oyster roast can attest, cooked oysters can rival raw ones, though you’re more likely to find a classic roast — with the burlap and the steam that emanates from a fire, as oysters steep in their own juices before they pop — at one of the area’s fall festivals.

Yet smaller-scale cooked oysters are just as delicious, whether we’re talking about oysters Rockefeller, the oyster omelet found in many East and Southeast Asian restaurants, and a New Orleans oyster po’boy, for starters.

Consider this lineup for some of our favorite oyster dishes just as memorable as bivalves on ice. (If you’re still hankering for a raw bar, here are some favorite spots for those, too.)

Dark Bullet Sake & Oyster Bar

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Dark Bullet is a Japanese gastropub that doubles as a sports bar — with big screen TVs and a pool table to prove it. The menu offers many dishes feature oysters, raw and cooked. Among the cooked, oysters are broiled on the half shell, fritters drizzled with soy and hot sauce, and even a pancake in an okonomiyaki vein served with ponzu.

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154 W 72nd St, New York, NY 10023

(212) 235-6788

Fritters tightly packed in a bowl with two sauces. — Oyster kaki at Dark Bullet.

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Grand Central Oyster Bar

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This grand eatery located under a railroad station is the city’s foremost espouser of oysterdom, not only via its many raw and cooked oysters. Consider the oyster pan roast, laced with tomato sauce, as well as the creamy and spinach-laden version of oysters Rockefeller.

89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

(212) 490-6650

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A half dozen oysters with creamy topping laced with spinach. — Grand Central Oyster Bar’s take on oysters Rockefeller.

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Taiwanese Gourmet

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Here’s a particularly lush version of the traditional Taiwanese oyster omelet. This one omits the greens and adds a thick pink sauce, sticky and sweet, multiplying the wonderful textures of this dish, showcasing the slippery demeanor of the oysters.

8402 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

(718) 429-4818

A flat omelet flooding with pinky orangish sauce on a blue delft plate. — The oyster omelet at Taiwanese Gourmet.

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Anton's

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Chef Nick Anderer’s Anton’s, named for his great-great-grandfather, opened in the Village in 2019, makes a splendid but atypical version of Oysters Rockefeller delivered on black beans, each oyster dressed in shallots, bread crumbs, parsley, and plenty of butter.

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570 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

(212) 924-0818

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Baked oysters on a metal tray with browned bread crumbs on top. — Oysters Rockefeller at Anton’s.

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Da Toscano

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The possibilities for toppings for roasted oysters are seemingly endless, whether powerfully flavored or subtle. The bivalves at Da Toscano, a restaurant tucked away on a less traveled thoroughfare in the Village, fall into the former category, deploying crab butter and chile vinegar for a snappy flavor; and no, that’s not tomato sauce.

24 Minetta Ln, New York, NY 10012

(212) 606-4054

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Oysters on the half shell with a red sauce. — Roast oysters at Da Toscano.

Sidney’s Five

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Sidney’s Five features roasted oysters with a variety of toppings, including garlic herb, nori mayo, and chile butter. Chile butter is a favorite, which leaves a burn on the lips while not interfering with the fundamental flavor of the oysters.

103 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003

(917) 409-3368

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Three oysters on the half shell with various colorful toppings. — Roast oysters at Sidney’s Five.

Canary Club

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This cocktail lounge, jazz venue, and restaurant brings a little bit of New Orleans to the Lower East Side. The setting is elegant in a museum sort of way, and the menu successfully channels the food of the Big Easy with such dishes as roast oysters in chile garlic butter that spills over the shells onto the bright white rock salt at the bottom of the serving tray.

303 Broome St, New York, NY 10002

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A half dozen oysters with red seasoning on a bed of rock salt. — The roast oysters are big at the Canary Club.

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Filé Gumbo Bar

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There’s no finer use of oysters — especially, the big Gulf Coast ones — than the New Orleans style po’ boy sandwich. This plebian delight features oysters breaded and fried crisp on an elongated roll slathered with remoulade. The squish of the bread matched with the crunch of the oyster is divine.

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275 Church St, New York, NY 10013

(646) 851-0810

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A roll split open with five browned oysters inside. — The oyster po’ boy at File Gumbo Bar.

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West New Malaysia

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The egg mixture here is thickened and made wobbly with added tapioca starch for a great Malaysian rendition of the oyster omelet, a dish that’s one of the most common sold at hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore.

69 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013

(212) 964-0284

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A round brown omelet. — The Malaysian version of the oyster omelet at West New Malaysia.

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Taiwan Pork Chop House

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Many East Asian countries serve some version of the oyster omelet, wherein bivalves are cooked with eggs and seasonings like fish sauce and green onions, At the classic Taiwan Pork Chop House the luscious oyster omelet also contains greens, making it a full meal, and is served in chopped up form for easy sharing.

3 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013

(212) 791-7007

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A black plastic carryout container with eggs and greens visible. — The oyster omelet at Taiwan Pork Chop House.

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Victor

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Roasting oysters in a wood-burning oven enhances their flavor by about 100 percent. And at Victor on the edge of the Gowanus Canal, bread crumbs and merguez sausage send the flavor spinning in a North African direction, and the red oil that seeps out is perfect to dip bread in.

285 Nevins St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

(347) 889-6588

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Four roast oysters with crumbs and lemon on the side. — Roast oysters at Victor.

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Lowerline

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Lowerline in Prospect Heights is one of the city’s most faithful renditions of a New Orleans dive, where one might dash in for a po’boy that reproduces the sandwich perfectly with the roll and a thick mayo, or linger for a bowl of crawfish etouffee, or a plate of ham, rice, and red beans. The fried oyster po’boy is a thing of beauty, a memorable meal in itself.

794 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

(347) 533-7110

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