Grand Central Oyster Bar

While HB and I were in Boston, we were talking about bucket lists.  Actually, neither of us are very much “Before I die, I’d like to —” people – we’re more “I want to do this” and it gets done fairly quickly, depending on the item.  Surprisingly, though, we discovered a few things we’d both like to do and haven’t yet, for various reasons (specifically, two restaurants we wanted to try, and two musicals we’d yet to see), one of which included Grand Central Oyster Bar.  So we set a date, and shortly after, I took her there for her birthday. 

Grand Central Oyster Bar is an institution; this word, describing any restaurant, immediately makes me both curious and wary.  It generally denotes a place that is legendary in its own right, its own time, but sometimes that doesn’t translate well over the years.  Some places continue to thrive on name alone, tourist business, people who think they have to dine there simply because of the reputation, but not because the food has withstood the test of time.  Unfortunate, but true; my fears about GCOB were even greater due to its supreme location as a tourist trap, directly inside Grand Central Terminal. 

When we walked in, greeted by an effusive and happy maitre’d who hit on us in a friendly. older man way, we were both surprised by the sheer size of the place.  I’d genuinely expected a much smaller, almost hole in the wall type place, but wow, this place is huge.  High ceilings and lots of space – the place was bustling, but still only half full.  The maitre’d told us he was leading us two beautiful ladies to the best seats in the house, then promptly took us to the side dining room that felt more like a restaurant, less like eating in the terminal (with the high ceilings in the two main rooms, I’d easily remember I was in Grand Central Terminal; in the side dining room, no smaller but with normal height ceilings, it felt more restaurant-like). 

After our disappointing oysters at Union Oyster House, we were eager to try some more, especially given that we were at hello, an oyster bar.  We decided to start with a small order, half a dozen, just to whet our appetites, as we weren’t very hungry at the moment, and just to test the waters.  You can always order more, right?

Our first order consisted of “Tried & True” – oysters we’d had before, knew we liked, and knew what to expect.  It’s hard to see, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that we ordered 2 Malpeques (which I’ve had good experiences with), 2 Kumamotos, and 2 Blue Points.  They were all super fresh, tasting lightly of the ocean, and well, everything that makes a raw oyster good.  Though our waiter warned there might be a short wait for any oysters ordered, we really didn’t wait long at all. 

Off to a good start, I chose to have the New England clam chowder because, well, I really like clam chowder.  This was thick enough without being too heavy, and I enjoyed my bowl very much, though I can’t say it was absolutely outstanding (I do enjoy that hint of smokiness imparted in chowder by a bit of bacon).  It didn’t lack for stuff, either, which was nice.

I also ordered the whole Ipswich fried clams with tartar sauce, feeling in the mood for some good ol’ fried clams.  At $12.45 for the above platter – yes, that’s before I began eating – I was a little annoyed at the price.  Maybe that’s how it always is; I haven’t ordered Ipswich belly clams that often (if ever?) in restaurants, but it seemed a bit disproportionate for what I received.  Otherwise, these were tasty, but again, nothing super special, and definitely not worth the high price.  (Considering that once upon a time, I would, without fail, order fried clams from White Castle every time I ate there – which at one point, topped once a week… I’m not going to front.) 

HB opted to go with the lobster roll.  She was generous enough to share it with me, and though the fries were good fries, the lobster roll was sadly lacking.  The roll it lay on was gummy and mushy, and the lobster lacked any flavor.  A disappointment to be sure. 

After all that, we decided the best choice there were oysters, so we opted to order some more oysters… this time, try some new types.

This time, we stuck to one region – Long Island – and ordered what we thought were the remainder of their LI choices (we actually missed two): Shinnecock, Widows Hole, and Pipes Cove.  Unfortunately, though they remained fresh – and this time, the wait to have them shucked was substantially longer – we just did not like the taste of these as much.  Not the fault of the establishment, though!

Yvo says: The entire lunch came out to around $70 or 80 total for the two of us, not that bad.  I would recommend sticking to the raw oysters though, as mostly the other items we tried weren’t that great for what they are or the price paid.  I wouldn’t be against going back – especially with its proximity to Grand Central Market, where I did a bunch of shopping after lunch…
recommended for raw oysters