Vancouver's Pacific oysters come from Fanny Bay, Read Island, Kusshi, Royal Miyagi and a dozen other BC growers. Served raw on the half shell, mignonette and lemon, the city's reference seafood plate.
Where to eat it: 7 restaurants across 2 cities.
Pacific oysters have been farmed on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast since the 1920s, when Japanese-Canadian oyster farmers introduced the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) to BC waters. Fanny Bay Oysters on Vancouver Island, founded in the 1980s, became the city's reference grower. Joe Fortes Seafood opened 1985 as Vancouver's first upmarket oyster bar, the rooftop summer raw bar a city calendar.
Common allergens: Shellfish
Tip from the editors. Buy oysters from a reputable fishmonger the day you plan to eat. Store on ice, cup-side down. Never eat an oyster that doesn't close when tapped.
The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle's Ballard is Renee Erickson's 2010 oyster room, a wood and marble bar, a chalkboard of 14 oysters. Priced at $$$.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Steak tartare, Fried oysters
Order: A flight of Hood Canal and Samish Bay oysters with the steak tartare and rye toast.
Tip: Walk-ins from 17:00 on Tuesday to Thursday; Friday and Saturday line up by 16:45 or take Resy at 16:30.
Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar in Seattle's Pioneer Square is the on-counter outpost of the 135-year Samish Bay farm: half-shells, geoduck crudo, manila clams.
Signature: Half-shell oysters, Geoduck crudo, Manila clams
Order: A dozen Olympias and Kumamotos from the farm, with a glass of grower's Champagne.
Tip: Happy hour 16:00-17:00 drops the oysters to $1.75 each; the Occidental location is the largest and quietest of the three.
Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar Melrose in Seattle's Capitol Hill is the Capitol Hill outpost inside Melrose Market: a marble bar, Samish Bay oysters.
Signature: Half-shell oysters, Steamer clams, Shucked geoduck
Order: Half-shell oyster flight with the steamed manilas in white wine, butter and parsley.
Tip: Walk in for the marble bar; the back room books on Tock and turns slower.
Shaker + Spear in Seattle's Belltown is the Kimpton Palladian seafood room: a kitchen working off the Pike Place fishmongers and Hood Canal growers down.
Signature: Whole rockfish, Dungeness crab, Oysters Rockefeller
Order: The whole roasted rockfish with brown butter and capers, deboned tableside.
Tip: The two top by the kitchen pass is the best seat for solos; happy hour 16:00-18:00 with $2 oysters.
Joe Fortes on Thurlow is Vancouver's long-running upmarket seafood house since 1985, named for Vancouver's first lifeguard, plus a rooftop oyster bar.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Cedar plank salmon, Crab cakes
Order: A dozen Read Island oysters with a glass of BC sparkling, plus the cedar plank salmon.
Tip: The rooftop oyster bar walks in for sundowner oysters from 16:00 May to September; the dining room books on OpenTable.
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar at the Sutton Place Hotel under executive chef Roger Ma runs Vancouver's reference oyster bar plus a wood-fired Pacific menu.
Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown under chef Frank Pabst since 2000 is Vancouver's reference seafood room, Ocean Wise certified and the Unsung Heroes host annual.
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