Description
The walls are covered with seagrass at BP Oysterette; a discreet flatscreen shows vintage big-wave surfing videos; the seaside kitsch is both understated and half a century old. The restaurant is small and doesn't take reservations - there are often more people waiting outside than eating at one of the scant few banquette tables or sitting at the seafood bar. An oyster bar lives and dies with its oysters, of course, and here they are quite good, impeccably fresh creatures from New England, Puget Sound and British Columbia for the most part but including delicious Bahia Falsas from near Ensenada and Luna oysters from Carlsbad, quivering and cold, expertly opened, served on big platters of ice. A blackboard lists the half-dozen species available each day, most of them from the sustainable side of the spectrum. Raw littleneck clams? Great. Raw oyster "ceviche'' drizzled with a little lime and chile? Wonderful. The oysters Rockefeller may not be to your taste unless you like your bivalves interred in middens of cream, cheese and spinach, but the raw shellfish is worth a trip. See full review.
