Anchor Oyster Bar
| Address: | 579 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-431-3990 |
| Site: | anchoroysterbar.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 4–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
MI
Michelle Leung
My party came at 7:30pm for a table of 6... WORST IDEA EVER! The restaurant is super small - has a bar that can accommodate 8 -10 people and 5 smaller tables that can accommodate 5 max per table. We ended up waiting for about 1.5 hours for 6 seats at the bar cause otherwise, we would have to be split up into two separate tables. However, it was very nice of them to bring us clam chowder while we were waiting in the cold! The food was pretty awesome, but after a while, everything will start to taste the same as its all shellfish, with the only difference in the broth its in. Overall, I really enjoyed my time there since I love seafood. Everything was super flavorful and cooked to perfection! 1. Garlic Bread Cheesy, not too garlicky, and just enough crunch! I mean, the garlic bread was good, but I dont think its out-of-the-world good as some reviews have described them to be. 2. Kumamoto Oysters Some of the best oysters my bf has had. 3. Clam Chowder Loaded with potatoes, just the way I like it! Its creamy and flavorful. Not overpoweringly rich. I wish the bread its served with was more hearty and dense so that it can really soak up the chowder. The bread kind of just shrivels up and dissolves when its dipped in the chowder. But I wouldnt mind having this chowder everyday :) 3.Steamed Clams Ooops.. my party ate all the clams they had! Clams were fresh, and I really enjoyed the sweetness and freshness of the broth. 4. Combination Steamed Shellfish Loaded with seafood - prawns, clams, and mussels! This broth was more tangy, not as good as the steamed clams broth, but I still enjoyed it! 5. Cioppino Noms! Again, loaded with seafood in a tomato based soup. Seafood was very fresh and the soup was very flavorful. Generous portions! Would definitely come again, but either at 6pm or after 9pm, and with a party of 4 or less! You have been warned.
FR
Franco Folini
Overall a very disappointing experience. We waited inline for about one hour and a half. When finally we got inside we were seated to a table on the side of the entrance. Immediately we noticed that one of the glasses with the water had a very bad smell, something chemical. We complained and the waiter immediately replaced the glass without providing any explanation on how a dirty glass managed to reach a customers table. On one plate the roasted potatoes were not really roasted, they were just steamed, while the steamed broccoli and carrots were simply raw. In the middle of our dinner a group of customers came in. On the other plate the roasted potatoes were extremely hot, the typical high temperature of food straight out of the microwave. While we were trying to enjoy our dinner, a group of 4 or 5 customers came inside trying to avoid the cold wind outside. While they were waiting for their table they started to lean on our table shaking it in a very annoying way. Two girls were actually sitting on our small table making us very uncomfortable. Nobody asked them to wait outside or to be more considerate toward the seated customers (us). Overall a very bad experience when considering the average price for this restaurant. This is the kind of place were you dont want to go back. Ever.
GI
Gianluca Novi
Abbiamo cenato in questa piccola pescheria dopo aver letto le recensioni positive e non possiamo che confermare lottimo pesce (consigli il "Cioppino" smaller a circa 38$ -il bigger è impossibile da mangiare da soli- una specie di cacciucco alla livornese). Noi siamo arrivati tardi, alle 21.00, quando il locale chiude alle 22.00 ed abbiamo atteso solo pochi minuti fuori dopo aver segnato il nostro nome, il numero di persone e lorario darrivo sulla lavagnetta posta fuori. Vino al bicchiere 6,50$, secondi piatti con vongole, gamberi (enormi!) o cozze sui 20-25$. Spesa totale sui 35$ a testa ma li vale tutti!
TA
Tamara Farhat
Came here last Saturday at around 7:00 and waited for an hour for a table for 2,but totally worth it. We had a wine tasting flight in the wine shop right across while waiting which was nice. Everything was amazing! We had the half sampler and the "smaller" cioppino and we couldnt finish it (the rest of cioppino made a great pasta left over the next night). The oysters were some of the best Ive had. As the steamed clams, oh god that sauce! we couldve drank it with a straw. It was absolutely delicious! We couldnt stop dipping the bread in it! As for the cioppino, it was perfection! The smaller size is good enough for two trust me! Huge plate, generous seafood portions and the sauce is extremely tasty! You never had seafood like this! The service was great too! our waiters Micheal, Justin and Nafeteli (sorry If I spelled this wrong) were very friendly, helpful and really made us feel pampered. Yes the place is tin and theres always a wait, but it is worth it! Hubby & I already made plans to come here every month or so! Its that good!!
PH
Phil Ye
Its 13:40 (Its 1:40PM for American readers) Saturday afternoon, and there was a short line outside the entrance already. Its a small place with couple of tables and a bar stand. Service was efficient and order was quick since the menu wass straightforward and staff knew what they were doing. Even if its very crowded inside, we were not forced to share a table with others so that we could really enjoy our own conversations. We ordered Anchor Special which came with 12 Oysters on the Half Shell, 8 Steamed Clams, 4 Chilled Prawns, a $38.95 treat good for two protein chasing and carb-avoiding guys. We could see they were prepared in a kitchen just feet away. Also served is Steamed Black Mussels ($17.95). Both the mussels and clams are cook with abundance of white wine, making your mouth watering. I hate the granular sands in clam dishes sometimes end up between your teeth. None I found here. Safe to chew. Definitely a good place to visit again.
ST
Steven Baker
Besides the excellent fresh seafood (several varieties of oysters, mussels, crab, etc.), they usually have fantastic fresh pasta. My wife often gets the seafood salad with garlic white sauce. It comes with so much crab meat she cant eat it all. Last night we had ravioli stuffed with pumpkin + crab meat, which sounds weird but was really tasty. The restaurant itself is quite cute -- its small and probably only seats less than 20 people, including the seats at the bar. (This is one downside to the place, as we usually end up having to wait 30m for a table.) From most parts of the restaurant, you can see into the tiny kitchen to watch them make your food. The dishwashing is done right behind the oyster bar, so you can tell the place is clean. The staff oozes friendliness. Anchor Oyster bar is fairly pricey, although I usually expect that for really fresh tasty seafood.
WA
waylan choy
A lady friend requested Chowder, and I couldnt disappoint. So away I went to consult my local Chowder Snob. The recommendations were: Anchor, Woodhouse, and surprisingly, Whole Foods hot bar on the lowkey takeout tip. After waiting outside in the Winter chill for 50minutes, you may as well enjoy your meal. The Clam chowder is legit. If its your first time, do yourself a favor and get a Bowl. Im used to chunkier chowdas but the Clams were plenty. Tune Poke+Tangerine-ish+aioli special was really good. Sesame could be dialed down just a tad. Garlic Bread was toasted to perfection. Be careful of a Full order though, unless youre getting cioppino, or have 3+ ppl. I didnt have the cioppino, but for damn sure thats the FIRST THING Im getting next time.
