Providence's Oyster Bar
I love seafood! Eating seafood reminds me of summer weekend days with my family walking around Newport all afternoon and then eating a delicious seafood dinner at one of the nice restaurants. It also reminds me of going to Flo’s Shack in Newport for seafood with all the beachgoers…. and my dad in his dress pants, shirt, and fancy shoes.
Oyster Bar is a restaurant on Federal Hill that I have recently been enjoying thoroughly. It seems as though every time I head up to Providence my dad wants to eat there, and I happily oblige. The seafood is fresh, the atmosphere warm and inviting, and the location perfect- It is right across the street from my dad’s gallery, Royal Gallery of RI.
On Saturday night my brother, sister in law, dad and I headed to Oyster Bar to feast. My dad always talks about how amazing Brian’s sushi is, so we all went in with the intention of ordering sushi or something from the raw bar. When we arrived our table wasn’t ready, but 4 seats right next to the sushi bar opened up, and we decided to sit there. It was absolutely perfect because not only did we get to watch Chef Brian in action, we got to chat with him about everything food.
The restaurant just started a new menu this weekend!
We were all super hungry and rushed to decide what to order. As we were waiting for our appetizers Brian sent over an amuse bouche. It was a beautiful small hand roll, seaweed salad, and squid. (Please keep in mind that I am still learning to use my new camera, and photos in dark places don’t come out quite right yet!)
This was such a wonderful way to start the meal.
Then, first course.
I ordered the shrimp cocktail. I am not exaggerating when I say it was the best shrimp I have ever tasted in my life. It is so easy to overcook or under cook shrimp. These were cooked and chilled perfectly.
My sister in law ordered a dozen and a half oysters and shared with the rest of us (but not me- I don’t do oysters yet). She was eating them so slowly to enjoy every one and claimed they were so fresh and tasty.
She also ordered the lump crab cocktail:
My dad had the seared tuna appetizer. It is his favorite!
Second course.
Apparently we had not had enough seafood or raw fish.
I ordered a dish I had tried there once before. I don’t think it is on the menu, and if it isn’t, it should be. This dish was fresh tuna and avocado lightly dressed and laced with a few strands of seaweed. It is so fresh and simple, yet filling. I ate about 75% of this.
My brother had the seared tuna entree, and my sister in law had the seared tuna appetizer (the same one my dad had as his first course). My bro and SIL loved the lobster wontons that came with his entree!
My dad had the sushi roll that he talks about all the time: the Mexican roll! This is by far his favorite sushi roll.
Dinner, while unconventional, was so perfect. I love seafood so much and was missing delicious Rhode Island seafood! If you, however, don’t like fish, you can always head next door to Oyster Bar’s other restaurant, Prime!
I have been eating out so much while in Rhode Island this week that tonight I finally decided to cook dinner! It was a simple but nice meal to be shared soon!
17 Responses to “Providence's Oyster Bar”
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All of that food looks so good! But I am definitely with you when you say, “I don’t do oysters yet.” I don’t either! They kind of freak me out.
But my husband swears they are delicious!
All of the food looks delicious! I am a seared tuna addict and would have very much enjoyed all of the food. I live outside of San Francisco and we have lots of seafood, but oysters are tough for me!
That looks fabulous! I have hardly been back to Providence in the last few years but I might have to make a trip just to go there!
I love oysters! I can do a few raw, but I really love oysters rockafeller. My hubby eats like 3 dozen…its a little gross.
I’ll have to check that out soon, but I’m not sure if I can talk my boyfriend out of getting Italian in the hill 🙂
All of that looks fantastic! I love, love, LOVE seafood in all forms, especially raw.
I love Flo’s Clam Shack. Nothing beats a RI style clam cake.
Even though I’m from MA, I grew up 5 minutes from Woonsocket and went to private school in RI. I feel more at home in the Ocean State.
Wow- that looked AMAZING! I’m originally from Mystic, CT, so I am of course a seafood lover! This meal really really makes me want to splurge on an expensive dinner out of oysters, shrimp cocktail, and crab!
All of that seafood looked amazing. When seafood is fresh is really is amazing. Yum!
I’m from RI originally, too, and I never realized Oyster Bar had such good sushi! I’ll have to try the next time I’m home everything looks so good!
Looks awesome!!
Mmmmm I may have to make a trip down to RI to try this place out!!
Seafood is the BEST!
Like a bunch of the girls on here, I’m also from RI–Westerly to be exact. I never knew about the Oyster Bar but it looks totally delicious. I’m headed there this weekend, so I’ll have to try it out!! Congrats on getting married (and making the big move out of RI–it’s hard to do!) I’m headed down the aisle in September. Any words of advice?
Can’t wait to keep reading!!
Thanks for reading!!!
My advice for at the wedding: Take a moment with your spouse to step away from everyone. You will be newly married and a moment alone to cherish that is a moment you will never forget. The night can escape you quickly and you might not have a special moment like that again until the end of the night!
My advice for after the wedding, especially if you are like me and did not live together before the wedding: Take it easy in those first few months. I was very intense and it was such a hard adjustment to be living with PB. I could have made the transition much easier if I had just relaxed a little! Oh, also, try and do something nice every day, even if it is something little. PB and I both do this and it is so sweet. He will leave me a little note or clean up the dishes while I am cooking, and those little details make me smile the whole day.
Good luck and congratulations!
Wow! All the food looks totally delicious! There’s nothing like fresh seafood which has been well prepared. Hope you’ve enjoyed catching up with your family.
this place looks amazing – at first I was excited because I thought it was in Philly – every course looks delicious. I love seafood, but I’m definitely not a big fan of oysters.