Most believe that oysters are an expensive and tasteless delicacy, the love for which risks leading to protein poisoning.
I am a seafood fan and know from experience that there are different types of oysters. For example, the Black Pearl oyster from New Zealand has a vegetal, fresh taste, the Pink Jolie oyster from Namibia has a sweet-salty taste, and the Japanese Murotsu has an umami, high-protein taste.
This difference is influenced by factors that are usually associated with the specific merroir – the place of origin. The locations where oysters are harvested and grown have several characteristics: tide patterns, water temperature, bottom composition and other variables.
The only way to appreciate the beauty of oysters is through tasting. But it’s important to remember: shellfish are pure protein, so you shouldn’t overuse them. To avoid discomfort, start with three or four pieces at a time. I chose 10 proven places in Moscow that serve oysters for any budget. Marked everything on the map:
Short: Fishing place in the backyard of Patrick’s
Address: Trekhprudny Lane, 5
Price: 470—900 RUR a piece
More details: Online
Source: social networks “Rybtorg”
“Rybtorg” is a tiny establishment behind a fish shop on the “second line” of the Patriarch’s Ponds. For more than five years, it has been gathering fish and seafood lovers around a long communal table with a glacier in the middle.
There are no more tables in the establishment, and the menu is written on a chalk board – the atmosphere is as relaxed and democratic as possible. Mostly regulars come here, and owner Maxim Polzikov can often be found in the hall.
Oysters are the calling card of Rybtorg; there are six types on the menu. For 470 ₽ you can try the Far Eastern wild Khasan oyster. Casablanca from Morocco with a rich taste of iodine and salt is a little more expensive, Fin de clair from France and Pink Jolie from Namibia.
The most expensive, for 900 ₽, are premium French Gilardot oysters with notes of sweetness, minerality and creaminess.
Short: chain of intimate fish restaurants
Address: 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya, 21; Tsvetnoy Boulevard, 2; Slavyanskaya Square, 2; Lev Tolstoy, 18B
Price: 550—780 ₽ a piece
More details: Online
Vladimir Perelman’s small chain of fish restaurants consists of four locations – on Kitay-Gorod, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Tverskaya and Park Kultury.
All of them have a comfortable, non-binding atmosphere, which is why you can come here to try oysters, even if you don’t understand anything about them.
True, you will only have to choose between three options or order everything at once and compare.
Salty and sweet on the menu Dibba Bay from the UAE, Irish oyster St. Patrick with the aroma of sea and nuts and delicate Japanese Murotsu. They are all served with sauce, lemon and a slice of bread and butter.
Short: premium restaurant with a beautiful view
Address: Smolenskaya, 8
Price: 880—880 ₽ a piece
More details: Online
In the White Rabbit Family restaurant with a view on the top floor of the Azimut Hotel, you need to book a table in advance.
As a rule, people come here on a special occasion for fish and seafood in all their forms: from rolls and tartars to risotto and whole fish. The menu also includes oysters.
All options are approximately in the same price category: sweet New Zealand White Pearl and Jolie from Namibia cost 880 rubles, Japanese Yamato and Murotsu – 920 and 950 rubles.
They are served with sandwiches made from Borodino bread and butter and a choice of sauce – wine vinegar, ponzu or shiso.
Short: seafood in a minimalist setting
Address: 3rd street Yamsky Polya, 9; Pyatnitskaya, 2/38
Price: 290—505 RUR a piece
More details: Online
Source: Lure social networks
Lure restaurants position themselves as oyster bars and demonstrate a modern style of shellfish consumption: little light, a lot of neon. At the establishment on Pyatnitskaya, employees also teach guests how to open clam shells.
Oysters here almost the number of species is not a record for Moscow – eight. The most inexpensive, Crimean for 290 ₽, is suitable for beginners, because it has a fairly simple and understandable taste. Another Russian one is the sweetish Lumiere No. 5 for 315 ₽, which is grown in the Amur Bay.
Other types were brought from different countries: Lüderitz and Pink Jolie for 340 ₽ – from Namibia, small Fin de clair for 480 ₽ – from France, Shigoku for 309 ₽ and Uramura for 480 ₽ came from Japan, and the most expensive option, St. Patrick for 505 ₽, came from Ireland.
Source: Lure social networks
The Old Man and the Sea
Short: fish canteen
Address: Chistoprudny Boulevard, 12A, building 1
Price: 195—330 RUR a piece
More details: on Yandex Maps
Source: social networks The Old Man and the Sea
The legendary establishment on Chistye Prudy has been operating for five years, and all these years there have been queues lined up here on weekends.
You shouldn’t expect a decorous atmosphere: you’ll have to eat oysters while the names of people whose orders are ready to be picked up are shouted out. But the seafood is downright cheap.
Source: social networks The Old Man and the Sea
The selection is decent – there are four different varieties of oysters. For 180 ₽ you can try the “Imperial”, for 195 ₽ – the Far Eastern Khasan.
Imported shellfish cost a little over three hundred. The list includes African Pink Jolie and French Black Pearl for 330 ₽.
Short: time-tested restaurants of Arkady Novikov
Address: Petrovka, 27; Khodynsky Boulevard, 4; Usacheva, 26; Vavilova, 64/1, building 1
Price: 380—1200 ₽ a piece
More details: Online
Source: social networks Cool
An old-timer of the Moscow restaurant market, Klevo, managed to become a small chain of four establishments – on Petrovka, Usachevsky market, in the Aviapark shopping center, as well as in a bistro format in the Academichesky district.
The colorful interior and all the techniques typical of Arkady Novikov are in place: from a large display case with fresh fish to pleasant service.
Source: social networks Cool
There are five types of oysters on the menu, and three of them are Russian. In addition to the budget Crimean one, there are two options from Sakhalin: Spizula for 950 ₽ and Anadara for 1200 ₽.
The delicate, restrained taste, given the island’s proximity to Japan, is reminiscent of Asian shellfish.
Short: seafood at reasonable prices
Address: Kutuzovsky prospect, 36A
Price: 290—550 RUR a piece
More details: Online
The restaurant on Kutuzovsky Prospekt offers fish and seafood, if not at cost, then with a very small markup.
Therefore, the place is ideally suited for gastronomic experiments with different types of oysters.
Moreover, there are already ten types of them here. On Fridays from 16:00 to 23:00 When you order six or more oysters, they cost no more than 300 rubles.
Among the already familiar names, affordable Russian oysters from the Sea of Japan, three variants from Morocco and New Zealand Moana stand out.
Short: budget fish restaurants
Address: New Arbat, 17; Pokrovka, 21-23/25, page 1
Price: 100—310 ₽ a piece
More details: Online
If your goal is simply to try different oysters without overpaying and without paying attention to the surroundings of the establishment, then “Fish Culture” is the right place. Here, perhaps, the lowest prices for oysters in the city.
The location on Arbat is quite small, the tables are close to each other, and in the evening it can be noisy. A larger restaurant was opened on Pokrovka, with a more modern interior.
There are five varieties of oysters to choose from, each of which has an explanatory note on the menu about the nuances of taste.
Khasanskaya will cost only 100 ₽, Dibba Bay – 190 ₽. An interesting specimen that I have not encountered before is the Chinese oyster Maaka from the Yellow Sea for 150 rubles with a fairly neutral taste, without obvious saltiness.
In case you’re worried about a stomach ache from raw oysters, any can be baked and served with herbs and sauce.
Erwin. River-sea-ocean
Short: on board a luxury yacht
Address: Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 2/1, building 6
Price: 350—1070 ₽ a piece
More details: Online
A large-scale fish restaurant by Alexander Rappoport with a rich interior in a nautical chic style – as if you had climbed aboard a high-class yacht.
The menu, naturally, is replete with seafood. Among the hits are home-made cold-smoked Baikal omul and Arkhangelsk toothfish with Altai honey.
Source: Erwin social networks
In the hall, crabs, urchins and oysters are displayed on an ice pedestal. There are eight types of the latter on the menu: French and Japanese cost 830 ₽ each, the rest are cheaper.
The exception is the traditional dish of oysters baked with herbs and butter – “Rockefeller”, it will cost 1070 ₽.
Short: dinner parties in an old mansion
Address: Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 5
Price: 790 ₽ per piece
More details: Online
Source: social networks “Guidon”
At the luxurious Guidon, oysters are not at all the central dish on the menu. But here you will definitely be able to mentally transport yourself to the times of Tsarist Russia, where the nobility loved and ate them. Back then, oysters were exclusively French, now the geography has become much wider.
The price is the same – each type costs 790 ₽. There are only three options: Fin de clairJolie and Dibba Bay. Oysters would be appropriate as an appetizer, after which you can move on to dishes from the main menu: for example, snails in Lyonnaismini squid with artichokes or baked scallops with black chanterelles and spinach.
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