The Oyster Shack in Half Moon Bay
It's a shack. I want to be clear about that up front — picnic tables, paper trays, a bucket for shells, a line that forms at 11:45. But the oysters come out of water you can see from the table, and there is no version of that I am ever going to be normal about.
The Oysters
Two farms supply the place and they'll tell you which is which if you ask. The smaller ones are sweeter and the larger ones are more mineral — I get half and half and pretend I can tell the difference more reliably than I can. Mignonette is on the table; the hot sauce is unnecessary.
The Setup
Order at the window, take a number, find a table. Weekends are chaos from noon to three. Go at 11:45 on a weekday and you will have the whole place, the fog will still be burning off, and it will feel like a secret even though it isn't.
What to Bring
It's BYO for wine and there's no corkage. Bring something cold, crisp and unserious — Muscadet, Vinho Verde, Txakoli. Also a jacket. It is always fifteen degrees colder than you planned for.
What I ate, dish by dish
Scored the same way as everything else on this site — honestly, and with the understanding that not every plate deserves your money.
- Raw Oysters (dozen)$289.6
Cold, briny, shucked clean with no grit. Ask what came in that morning and order that.
- Grilled Oysters, garlic butter (dozen)$329.5
Butter, garlic, a snow of parmesan. Ordering both dozen is the correct amount of excess.
- Dungeness Crab Roll$269.2
Buttered split-top, barely any mayo, crab in big sweet pieces. Split it — it's rich.
- Clam Chowder$118.7
Not gluey, which already puts it ahead of 90% of the coast. Sourdough on the side.
- Grilled Artichoke$148.9
Coastside classic. Charred, garlicky aioli, worth the mess.
- Fish & Chips$227.8
The one weak spot. Batter was heavy the day I went. Spend it on more oysters.
