The Oystermen is the restaurant in Covent Garden to enjoy the best seafood culinary experience in London in an easy and relaxed environment. Simply decorated with lots of wood, white paint and checkboard tablecloths covered with paper, the place reminds me of my favourite seafood joints in the coast of Norfolk and Cornwall, down to the blackboards on which the specials are scribbled in chalk.
The warm atmosphere is a reflection of the personality of its founders, Matt Lovell and Rob Hampton, who love “old school hospitality” of the kind that avoids the artifice and stiffness often found in top seafood restaurants.
Raw or cooked, The Oystermen offers seven different ways to have your oysters. Here featured from the left: tempura, pickleback and XO sauce oysters. Photos © Miles Worsfold.
What Matt and Rob are stiff about is the provenance of the produce they serve to their patrons. They go all around the British Isles to find the best and most sustainable seafood, which often means that the menu changes even from one week to the next. When I visited, they had six different kinds of oysters announced on the board, and big fat king crabs and glossy large prawns tempting me from the counter.
Unable to decide, my companion and I opted for an Oystermen seafood platter, which comprised that day a whole undressed crab weighing a kilogram, six rock oysters, six jumbo prawns, mussels and steamed clams from Portland Shellfish, a third-generation family-owned shellfish merchant from Dorset that regularly supplies Matt and Rob.
“The Oystermen is built on three core pillars of provenance, sustainability and old school hospitality.”
– Matt Lovell and Rob Hampton
To drink, my friend chose Ramos Pinto – Rabigato/Viosinho 2022, from the Duoro Valley, in Portugal; and me, as the diehard champagne fanatic I am, picked Louis Roederer Collection 244. In my modest opinion, the citrus and crispy profile of this wine enhances the briny flavour of the oysters while its creamy texture complements the sweet meat of prawns and king crab really well.
And this is seafood that really deserves to be properly paired. The brown crab meat was rich, almost paté-like in texture and exploding with flavour, and the white meat was delicate and sweet. Mixed together, you get a deep layered taste experience. The succulent jumbo prawns were deliciously firm and sweet, with just the right hint of brine, a perfect bridge to the deep and rich flavour of the rock oysters, which I prefer with just a squeeze of fresh lemon.
For those who find mussels and clams a bit “beige”, I would recommend you try them at The Oystermen. The impeccable provenance shows in how good both molluscs were, the mussels velvety rather than chewy and the clams refreshing as a spring day by the ocean.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the space to try any of the other amazing dishes in the menu, such as the lemon sole with samphire and brown butter or the skate wing with sherry vinegar, capers and chicken jus. I saw them in the table next to ours and they looked utterly appetising. I am booking again for next week.
You can do the same and secure your table HERE.
More about British oysters HERE; about oysters and champagne pairings HERE, and about oyster bars and restaurants in London HERE.
Bon appetit!
Author: Julia Pasarón
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