No trip to Victoria is ever complete without having some seafood! On our way back to Vancouver, InsecureGirl, FragileBoy and I really wanted some oysters and The Oyster was really calling out to us! Even the “Buck-a-Shuck” sign in the front tempted us to have oysters for $1 a piece.
We took so long contemplating the decision that the “buck-a-shuck” deal ended at 5:30pm. But nonetheless we went anyways because we are whores for oysters.
We walked in and the place seemed very lively with a majority of the seats full and the vibrant red walls screaming excitement. Soon enough, we found out this place was not so exciting after all.
We looked at the menu and it seemed really limited so we stuck to the steamed mussels and clams in garlic butter, as well as 3 types of oysters. It took the waitress awhile to get our order…even though she was a few steps away from us at the bar. All the food came fairly slowly and made us super hungry. ( you can click on the photos to see larger versions).
First up was the bread. Like all restaurants they bring bread. Nothing super special but free bread is always nice…since asians love free stuff!
Next the pound of steamed mussels and clams arrive in its delicious garlic butter. It was very good and even M said so himself….and he doesn’t really like seafood. I thought the garlic butter was just fantastic…I even dipped the bread into the sauce.
The 3 types of oysters that we chose were – kusshi, satori, and Fanny Bay. All oysters were served with 4 sauces: classic mignonette, cucumber mignonette, hot pepper sauce, house cocktail sauce and freshly grated horseradish.
My favorite was the Kusshi oyster. It has a very buttery texture, rich and salty with a sweet mildly fruity finish to it. Even The Oyster’s website said it is one of the oysters that beginners should eat. It’s small and not too intimidating for people starting out to eat raw oysters.
Satori was a bit salty but no distinguishing taste that I could get out of it.
Fanny Bay was very salty and sweet with a cucumber or melon finish.
One thing we didn’t like about the oysters is how there were still bits of shell near the meat of the oyster, so when you ate it, you would need to spit out pieces of the shell.
Also at the end, the service was still pretty bad….
If you are looking for a wide selection of oysters and other types of seafood, check out The Oyster! Just watch out for the service cause it’s bad!
We rate The Oyster:
Visit them at their website: http://theoysterbar.ca/
