Grand Central Oyster Bar

The Grand Central Oyster Bar is located in the beautiful Grand Central train station on East 42nd Street. The station is a restored early 1900's building, seemingly packed with as many places to eat as trains, but the famous one is the Oyster Bar with its long counter where you can watch the oyster shuckers do their thang. Unfortunately, as you come into the restaurant, it is so overwhelmingly enormous, that we somehow ended up being seated in the main restaurant section and missed out on the oyster bar.

The main restaurant was packed and loud on a Wednesday evening, with people around us tucking into huge plates of oysters, lobsters and crabs. It still strikes me as a little unusual going to a train station for your special seafood meal!

We were there primarily for one reason - the New England Clam Chowder. But first, we decided to try some oysters . . . we were in an oyster bar, after all. There were some 30 different types of oysters on the menu, which is updated daily according to what is available. The oysters all came from North America, with quite a few from the New York area. Unfortunately, we didn't recognise any, so just had to pick randomly. We chose two Plymouth Rocks (Massachussets), two East End (Long Island, NY) and two Wellfleet (Massachussets).

They arrived quickly (before our drinks even) and were nicely presented on a bed of ice, with lemon wedges and little tubs of ketchup and vinegar. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of oysters. I tend to find they are best eaten quickly without concentrating too much, particularly on the texture. For that reason, I usually prefer smaller oysters and the Plymouth Rock ones were pretty huge, so definitely not my favourite. The other two were smaller and were really fresh tasting and not unpleasant at all.

But as I mentioned, it was all about the Clam Chowder. When it first arrived, I was a bit concerned - it didn't really look that exciting, but luckily, tasted delicious. Thick, rich and creamy with chunks of clam thoughout. Although this wasn't the best example I've ever had, clam chowder is a strong contender for the best type of soup, I think.

We weren't at the Grand Central Oyster Bar for long (we had had a huge lunch at Gramercy Tavern earlier, so weren't particularly hungry), but it was one of those NY foodie adventures that are fun to experience.

Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant
Lower Level, Grand Central Station
East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017