Whether it’s Hama Hamas harvested from the Puget Sound or Belons imported from France, there’s nothing like a spread of freshly shucked oysters chilling on a bed of crushed ice. And in the Pacific Northwest, a few miles from places like Willapa Bay and Netarts, finding fresh ones isn’t a particularly challenging feat. Some are served in a purist manner to let the merroir shine through, while many are presented with the classic accoutrements like mignonette (a combo of vinegar infused with minced shallots), lemon, and grated horseradish for bite. Others take more creative license with added herbs and oils, while forgoing the store-bought Tabasco for house-made hot sauces.
Where to Find Fresh, Briny Oysters on the Half Shell in Portland
Freshly shucked bivalves around town, served with everything from nuoc cham to green apple granita
It’s a safe bet that many of the restaurants featured on our seafood map will also serve oysters in some form, but this map exclusively features oysters on the half shell, which aren’t exclusively served at seafood specialists. If you’re in search of raw fish, check out our sushi map, and for fried fish, our fish and chips map is a good option.
Where to Find Fresh, Briny Oysters on the Half Shell in Portland
Freshly shucked bivalves around town, served with everything from nuoc cham to green apple granita
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Whether it’s Hama Hamas harvested from the Puget Sound or Belons imported from France, there’s nothing like a spread of freshly shucked oysters chilling on a bed of crushed ice. And in the Pacific Northwest, a few miles from places like Willapa Bay and Netarts, finding fresh ones isn’t a particularly challenging feat. Some are served in a purist manner to let the merroir shine through, while many are presented with the classic accoutrements like mignonette (a combo of vinegar infused with minced shallots), lemon, and grated horseradish for bite. Others take more creative license with added herbs and oils, while forgoing the store-bought Tabasco for house-made hot sauces.
It’s a safe bet that many of the restaurants featured on our seafood map will also serve oysters in some form, but this map exclusively features oysters on the half shell, which aren’t exclusively served at seafood specialists. If you’re in search of raw fish, check out our sushi map, and for fried fish, our fish and chips map is a good option.
Tidal Boar Foods: The Shuck Truck
A brewery in East Portland might not be an obvious choice for oysters, but the Tidal Boar cart a.k.a. The Shuck Truck, one of Level Beer’s three onsite food options, delivers the briny goods. Raw oysters are shucked to order and served with mignonette and lemons. For a well-rounded experience, try the oyster flight, showcasing three different styles: classic, grilled with hot sauce and compound butter, and raw, dressed with smoked trout roe and Choi’s Kimchi gochugang sauce.
Interurban
Sitting out on the patio at Interurban, it’s easy to kill a few hours over whiskey cocktails and a pile of curly fries. However, not many know that Interurban is also a nice spot to knock back oysters, served with cocktail-themed granitas, lemon, and hot sauce. The current menu pairs Hama Hamas with a tequila-strawberry-cucumber-rose granita, plus the customary green chile hot sauce.
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Eat: An Oyster Bar
Eat, an oyster bar along North Williams, has a menu that nods to New Orleans, and is a bonanza for everything bivalve: baked oysters, fried oysters (a la carte or stuffed into po boys), oyster shooters, and of course, oysters on the half shell, served with classic grated horseradish and mignonette. The fun, though, is livening up the seafood by trying out the handful of fermented hot sauces, made from locally grown chiles.
Cabezon Restaurant
This Rose City Park seafood restaurant flies under the radar, despite serving some of the city’s finest cioppino in an intimate, date-friendly space. Oysters here arrive with Champagne mignonette. These little gems always hit the table fresh and are a strong starter ahead of the restaurant’s sturgeon or ono.
Phuket Cafe
This stylish Northwest Portland restaurant often turns heads for dishes like Thai paella with manila clams or albacore with peanut brittle and mint, but the restaurant’s simple oysters on the half shell are a worthy beginning to any meal here. Oysters arrive with a chile-laden nam jim and fried shallots, plus a touch of lime for acidity. They’re available by the dozen and half-dozen.
St. Jack
Despite some international flourishes, Northwest’s St. Jack is classically French down to its fruits de mer selections. Order oysters by the dozen or half-dozen, and they’ll come on crushed ice with traditional accompaniments like acidic mignonette and lemon wedges. Savor the plump oysters in their briny liquor as-is, or order the baguette with cultured butter and savor the two together.
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Janken
Yes, Janken’s glitz and elaborate cocktails might signal special occasion dining. Luckily, the 4 p.m. to 5 p.m, weekday happy hour offers some of the same drinks and dishes the restaurant is known for — plus oysters on the half shell, which aren’t even on the dinner menu. Available by the dozen, these freshly shucked beauties come with sinus-clearing wasabi cocktail sauce and tart green apple mignonette. Add some truffle fries and yellowtail handrolls for a well-rounded meal on the (relatively) cheap, or treat yourself to one of the $12 caviar latkes with creme fraiche and a swipe of chutney.
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Canard
Lower Burnside favorite Canard currently serves oysters on the half shell with fennel apple mignonette and fennel nigella salt for a briny treat hit with an anise motif. Even better, the shellfish are just $2 a pop during the Monday through Thursday happy hour. Oysters also appear on the menu at the Oregon City location, more simply adorned with house-made hot sauce and lemon.
Flying Fish Company LLC
This restaurant and market is the spot for sampling fresh oysters from both coasts, shucked by knowledgeable staff, including owner Lyf Gildeersleeve. The selection is heavily weighted to Pacific Northwest varieties like Kokus from Washington or Kusshi from British Columbia, though there are often specimens from Maine, as well. While they’re not always on the menu, Flying Fish is also one of the few places where diners can get a taste of hyper-local Netarts oysters from Oregon. All oysters come with mignonette and lemon.
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Dan & Louis Oyster Bar
Considering this Portland institution has been shucking oysters near the waterfront since 1907, it’s fair to say they know what they’re doing. The family-owned landmark is an ideal spot for sampling oysters, often from Washington state like the sweet and tiny Kumamotos and meaty Hammersleys. Oysters are also available in baked preparations like classic oysters Rockefeller and the oyster stew in a milky broth. As an added bonus, oysters are happy hour-priced all day Mondays.
Normandie
In addition to the creative French-inflected menu, this sprawling Buckman bistro also offers Pacific Northwest oysters served with lemon wedges, mignonette, and an icy granita spiked with horseradish. Oysters are also available broiled, with miso butter and tobiko.
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Câche Câche
This semi-hidden restaurant next to Fracture Brewing has garnered attention for its showy lobster roll, but the raw seafood offerings are reason enough to pay a visit to this inner Southeast spot. Order the bivalves accompanied by the classic trio — lemon, mignonette, and hot sauce — to devour on their own or build a seafood platter with the addition of poached shrimp, scallop crudo served on the half-shell, and other marine delicacies. Don’t miss the late night happy hour, starting at 9 p.m. where oysters go for $2 each.
Southpark Seafood
Downtown’s Southpark prides itself on local, sustainable seafood, which extends to the briny Pacific Northwestern oysters included in the chilled seafood feast, nestled alongside Dungeness crab meat, salmon poke, and wild jumbo shrimp. Oysters on the half shell are also available with horseradish and mignonette, anytime or part of the happy hour for a reduced price.
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King Tide Fish and Shell
King Tide Fish and Shell, on Portland’s waterfront, has a robust raw bar menu, including oysters on the half shell, served with cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish, yuzu mignonette, and lemon. Enjoy them as part of a seafood tower or at happy hour, daily 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the bar, when a half-dozen goes for $12.
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Jacqueline
Jacqueline may be one of the city’s most popular spots for oysters, thanks to its methodical selection of fresh seasonal bivalves, array of interesting accoutrement, and $1 oyster happy hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The oysters on offer vary, sourced from places like Hama Hama Oyster Co., Netarts Bay Oyster Company, and Baywater Sweets; offerings are always local to the Pacific Northwest, however, and are served they day they’re harvested.
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Quaintrelle
Oyster preparations at this Southeast Clinton restaurant are often aesthetically beautiful and intricate, whether they’re dotted with trout roe or watermelon granita. A recent preparation complemented the oysters with celeriac, sumac, and porcini, available on their own or in a tasting menu.
Street Disco
This Foster-Powell French-ish restaurant hit the ground running, serving dishes like albacore tuna tartare and buffalo’d sweetbreads. The oysters hew far simpler here, joined by a bottle of house hot sauce and lemon; varieties rotate, of course, with eye-droppers for the hot sauce to apply judiciously.
