Oyster Week
Best oyster experiences, Oyster Shack & Seafood Bar, restaurant & raw bar recommendations from a Chiltern Firehouse shucker, The Sportsman, MORE
ABOUT FOUND • Oyster Week
Oysters have come a long way. Once abundant and accessible, they were traditionally peasant food – street snacks for the working class or extra protein to bulk out pies. But from the early 20th century to now, dwindling supplies and a successful rebrand have seen them become a permanent fine-dining fixture.
Of course, oysters pop up on menus everywhere, from huts to pubs to supper clubs, as snacks, starters and specials. They’re most often served with lemon, Tabasco and mignonette, but there are innovatively dressed and decadently deep-fried variations, too. They’re enjoyed with pints and martinis, as a standing-up £1 snack, and as the jumping-off point on a 12-course tasting menu.
British seafood doesn’t get more local than the humble oyster, harvested off our coasts from September to April, farmed year-round. Native species grow in Essex, Kent, Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, the west coast of Scotland and in Irish waters. There are different varieties for different tastes, from creamy and succulent Whitstable Natives to meaty and briny Maldon Rocks to rich, highly prized Colchester Natives. You don’t have to look hard to find exquisite French species like Louët-Feisser, Boudeuse and Gillardeau here either.
Spring feels like an excellent time to bring you FOUND’s first-ever Oyster Week, celebrating the humble mollusc in all its shapes and settings. These days in London, it feels like you’re never more than 10 metres from an oyster. Long may it continue. –David Bard
WORK • Oyster Routine
All shuck up
BOBBY GROVES • head of oysters • Chiltern Firehouse
Neighbourhood you work in: Marylebone
Neighbourhood you live in: Felsted, Essex
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
There’s no typical day at Chiltern Firehouse (currently closed for renovations after its fire), but after coffee and breakfast with the chefs, I’d typically start a court bouillon to poach fresh seafood for the day. Then I check the oyster, scallop and langoustine delivery and move to the courtyard to set up the raw bar for service with the oyster team. Once set, I cook the crustacea, prep scallop, peel shrimp and finish the check sheets before heading to housekeeping to get into my oil skins – it’s wet business shucking on the cobbles. Ordinarily, I shuck English, Irish and French oysters through lunch and dinner whatever the weather. I can’t wait to get back to it when we reopen.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I recently became the first ambassador for the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, which involves lobbying MPs and promoting UK shellfish. Did you know France produces 10 times the shellfish we do in the UK, but with one-fifth of the coastline? We need to eat a lot more shellfish, like we did in the late 1800s.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Round the corner from Chiltern Firehouse is La Fromagerie, or The Ginger Pig on Moxon St. for a snack or grocery shop, plus Daunt Book Shop on Marylebone High Street. Restaurant-wise, I’m a fan of Notting Hill legend Chris D’Sylva’s spots: Eel Sushi, Tuna Fight Club and Dorian. I love Jackson Boxer’s Brunswick House in Vauxhall. In east London, there’s Sebastian Myer’s Planque or Galvin La Chapelle by the Galvin bros. In Soho, I recommend Quo Vadis, Andrew Edmunds or Suvlaki.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I give lectures on my book, Oyster Isles, spreading the gospel all over the UK and beyond, most recently for the Barcelona Seafood Expo and the Houses of Parliament.
Any weekend getaways?
I highly recommend a trip to the White Horse in Brancaster, Norfolk. The GM, Rob, is a wonderful character and Fran, the chef, makes tasty food from produce so local you can see it being harvested and prepared while you eat – oysters, mussels, smoked fish, lobster and crab. The hotel rooms are cosy and modern and the views across the Brancaster marsh to Holkham are stunning.
What was your last great holiday?
Last summer, I spent two months on Long Island, New York, with my wife and son, staying at Chiltern’s sister property Sunset Beach Resort on Shelter Island. It was a beachy, subtropical, oyster-fuelled escape where we explored everywhere from the old whaling towns of Greenport and Sag Harbor to Montauk and Manhattan. We enjoyed beautiful Atlantic sunrises, world-class seafood from the Peconic Bay and fireflies at twilight.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A second-hand Globetrotter trunk from a thrift store in Greenport, Long Island, for $200.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Arthur Beale in Covent Garden.
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Woodland oysters
The Backstory: Tucked into the marvellous ancient woodland of Epping Forest on the fringes of London, the semi-legendary Oyster Shack & Seafood Bar is essentially a lean-to, propped up between the grand King’s Oak Hotel pub and its carpark. But don’t let the endearingly tumbledown nature fool you. The dedicated and wonderfully chatty team serves up the finest and freshest seafood for miles.
The Experience: On a sunny day, the queue might be an hour long for the shiny silver platters of oysters ferried to al fresco picnic benches and tables under the shack’s well-loved tarp. I like to visit on a bleaker, chillier day, when instant oyster gratification is guaranteed. Either way, the oysters are served simply – tangy pink mignonette, a wedge of lemon and a bottle of Tabasco – and are half the price of any Mayfair raw bar, with the cheapest half dozen going for a mere £12.
There’s lots more on the menu, from cold seafood platters brimming with whelks, cockles, prawns and crab, to a massive scallop and bacon roll, cooked to order and inspired by the ones you’ll find fishmongers scoffing at the Billingsgate workers’ caff when they come off their shift at 6a. Add fried wedges of black pudding and the whole thing will still only set you back £8. But we’re here for the oysters, which are either Scottish, Irish, Maldon or Jersey, depending on what’s available that morning at the market.
Why it’s FOUND: A wondrous woodland seafood counter serving some of London’s tastiest (and most affordable) oysters. –Leonie Cooper
→ Oyster Shack & Seafood Bar (Loughton) • High Beech, IG10 4AE • Thu-Sun 11a-5p.
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Female-focused wine bar & restaurant opening at Menier Chocolate Factory • Café Jikoni sets April opening date at V&A East • Mayfair restaurant Little Social closing after 14 years.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Object
Everything but the pearl
Having not grown up in an oyster-loving family, it was a great pleasure to marry into one. Not just for the chance to learn how they grow or to taste them fresh off a dock, but because an obsession with oysters opens up a world of easy gift-giving opportunities.
For example, we all spent one summer experimenting with oysters on the grill. It’s a great way to prepare them, because a) there’s no need to shuck the oysters, as they pop open over the hot flame, and b) you can melt butter as they lightly cook, creating a more novice-friendly texture than a raw slurp. The following Christmas, my in-laws were delighted to receive a cast iron oyster grill pan, which cuts down on the mess (and loss of precious oyster juice).
Now, I see oyster-themed gifts everywhere. Inside a French antiques store in Upstate New York, I discovered an array of antique silver oyster trays, which sent me down a rabbit hole. They’ve become an increasingly popular product in the last few years, especially amongst ceramicists. They’re a little kitsch and a fun addition to the slurpable treat. I’m particularly fond of Michelle Morton’s ocean-inspired rendition, and the freeform variety from Gloob Ceramics in Brooklyn. While the tray from Virginia Sin is simple, that also means it’s a safe gift for any home. I wish I had friends getting married on the beach this summer so I could get a custom oyster platter from Chell Fish (above), an acceptable off-registry gift.
The other day, I found out that JLD, a brilliant knife maker who makes pieces for restaurants and sells a select few during occasional online drops, makes a small, stainless steel oyster knife with a walnut handle. It’s a major upgrade from the plastic variety that comes with fish market oysters – and a thoughtful present for the oyster-lover in your life. –Sylvie Florman
INTEL • Oyster Week
What’s your go-to spot for oysters and seafood?
→ MAX VENNING • co-founder of Three Sheets (Dalston & Soho): Bentley’s is such a classic. You can really feel the history, plus there’s a great Champagne list. Otherwise, I head to Brat or Mountain – they always have amazing native oysters on and, of course, whole fish cooked over the grill in a touch of butter.
→ ROBERTA HALL MCCARRON • owner of The Little Chartroom, Ardfern & Eleanore (Edinburgh): Newhaven Fishmarket on a warm summer evening, overlooking the water and enjoying some of the most delicious seafood in Edinburgh.
→ MADINA KAZHIMOVA • co-owner of Noisy Oyster (Shoreditch): For raw oysters, Parsons in Covent Garden. For dressed ones, Planque in Haggerston. For everything else, Borough Market.
→ MASAKI SUGISAKI • executive chef of Dinings SW3 (Chelsea): Furness Fish Market, a fishmonger in Borough Market. It’s one of the few places in London where you can have fresh sea urchin shucked right in front of you.
What’s the coolest oyster experience you’ve ever had?
→ MAX VENNING: Fresh oysters in Port Talbot, right by the beach, lingers long in the memory. But my absolute favourite is mid-September in Cap Ferret, cycling between the oyster cabins with my fiancée, drinking some amazing wines overlooking Le Bassin. It’s an experience that’s hard to beat for anyone really into oysters.
→ ROBERTA HALL MCCARRON: The Louët-Feisser oyster dish at Moor Hall was very cool. It was served with white beetroot, dill and buttermilk, and was absolutely delicious.
→ MADINA KAZHIMOVA: Oyster flambadou at Ekstedt at The Yard. Beef fat is melted in a red-hot cone and dripped over the oysters, gently cooking them in seconds. They were served with a butter sauce, Swedish vinegar, juniper-smoked apple, and spinach oil – a rich and beautifully balanced combination. What made it even more special was the dish was presented directly in the kitchen by a member of the team.
→ MASAKI SUGISAKI: Having a native oyster on a traditional oyster sailing boat, straight out of the water. There was no special seasoning – just seawater – and it was insanely good.
GETAWAYS • Kent
Seabed
Walk along the north Kent coast towards Whitstable from either direction and you’ll notice the washed-up oyster shells becoming more abundant the closer you get to town. The prized bivalves tempt many visitors to the area – and keep them coming back. For the most upmarket oysters, head to a place once described by owner Stephen Harris as “a grotty rundown pub sandwiched between the salt marshes and the sea”. Open almost three decades, The Sportsman has transformed into a destination restaurant that’s led the reinvigoration of the area’s food and drink scene.
Technically, the pub sits a few minutes upwind of Whitstable on a stretch of seafront known as Seasalter, on the edge of the Thames Estuary. I booked a table after buying a property a few miles south. A decade on, the anticipation of a reservation here hits just as sweetly every time. Far from grotty, the stripped floorboards, country kitchen-style wooden tables and mismatched chairs provide a relaxed welcome, underscoring Harris’s ethos that food and hospitality come first. There’s some space for drinkers, but the indoor seating is mostly for diners.
Harris’s signature oyster is poached with pickled cucumber and Avruga caviar. Soft, sea-infused flesh bathes in creamy beurre blanc, topped with tangy pickle and cushioned in a wash of the fatty, briny fish eggs. Another Sportsman classic is a simple chorizo oyster: Charred coins of scarlet sausage crown the raw shellfish, the ruby oil mixing with the oyster’s liquor.
The other dishes continue the story of the surrounding land and sea, from slipsole with seaweed butter to chalk stream trout, and cold roast pork with parsley, red onion and capers. It’s proper gastropub stuff (love or hate the label). Self-taught chef Harris, who was in a punk band before ploughing his ambition into food, has also built a clutch of beach huts for diners who need a bed for the night.
FOUND Pro: As one of the UK’s prime oyster-eating spots and host to an annual festival, Whitstable even has its own oyster, the Whitstable Native, farmed here since Roman times and resembling a rounded fan. They’re off the menu from April to September, but the rock oysters are good all year round. Also of note in the area: BYOB Wheeler’s (the oldest restaurant in town), the Whitstable Oyster Company and waterside shack The Forge. –Sophie Morris
→ The Sportsman (Whitstable) • Faversham Rd, Seasalter • Tue-Sat 12-145p & 630-830p, Sun 1230-245p & bar service 1230-9p.
RESTAURANTS & BARS • The Nines
Oyster experiences
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in London and further afield. Paid subscribers have access to the complete Nines archive.
Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill (Mayfair, above), buzzing marble-topped oyster bar, chat w/ master shuckers while you sample, or take masterclass to shuck your own