Oysters in Newburyport MA: Raw Bars and Oyster Plates

Oysters in Newburyport MA are easy to find in a small waterfront city: An oyster bar, a downtown oyster bar and an Italian grille are the places North Shore Magazine, Boston Magazine and the North of Boston tourism board tie to oysters and raw seafood. Each does it differently, so a first dozen is also a small comparison.

Menus and seasons change, so check before you go, and ask what is in the shell today.

Where can you eat oysters in Newburyport MA?

Three places come up in the guides, and each has a different setting:

• An oyster bar and seafood spot is known for a raw bar platter and for adding a fried fish menu, according to North Shore Magazine and Boston Magazine's roundup.
• A downtown oyster bar sits near the Firehouse Center for the Arts, with a back deck over the river, according to the tourism board.
• An Italian grille has a seafood and raw bar, with indoor seating and outdoor seats overlooking the waterfront, according to the tourism board.

What is a Newburyport raw bar like?

Small, simple and cold. A raw bar is a counter or a station where shellfish is opened to order and served on ice, usually with lemon and a sharp sauce. Expect oysters, often clams or shrimp, and sometimes a tiered platter for a group, which North Shore Magazine describes at the first oyster bar.

Sit where you can see the shucker if you can. A fast, clean opener is a good sign. Oysters should arrive cold, wet and still held in their liquor, not dry on the shell.

How is a Newburyport oyster bar different from a restaurant with oysters?

An oyster bar builds the room around the shellfish, and the staff can usually tell you where each oyster was grown. The downtown oyster bar carries the name in the tourism board's guide, and North Shore Magazine calls the other an oyster bar. The Italian grille is a wider seafood and Italian menu with a raw bar as one part.

For a first visit to the city, the oyster bars are the better teachers. At a bigger menu, order oysters first and the pasta or pizza after, so the oysters stay cold.

What are North Shore oysters?

Oysters from the cold, salty waters off Massachusetts, farmed and wild. Regional names are usually printed on the menu or chalked on a board, and the staff will explain how each tastes: briny, sweet, mild or mineral. A mixed half dozen is the easiest way to learn your taste.

Ask for the list and order two or three varieties rather than twelve of the same. Then rate each oyster by name, so you can find it again.

How do you judge oyster freshness?

By look, smell and taste. A fresh oyster smells like clean seawater, sits plump in its liquor and tastes of the sea, not of anything sour or flat. If the shell is broken, the oyster is dry or the smell is off, say so politely and ask for a replacement.

A small crack of black pepper or a squeeze of lemon is optional. The point of a good raw oyster is the oyster, so taste one plain before adding anything. If you eat shellfish rarely, ask the staff about any health advice for your group.

What else is on a Newburyport seafood plate?

Fried and cooked seafood sit alongside the raw bar. North Shore Magazine mentions a fried fish menu at the first oyster bar, popcorn shrimp and stuffed lobster at the downtown one, and linguini with clams at the Italian grille. The fried combo of oysters and clams is described in Boston Magazine's clam shack list.

For the wider coast, the Newburyport restaurants guide covers decks and other cuisines, the fried clams in Ipswich and Essex guide goes south, and Cape Cod has its own oyster town in the Wellfleet oysters guide.

How do you plan an oyster night in Newburyport?

Start with the raw bar while you are hungry and the shellfish is coldest, then move on to cooked plates. If you want to compare two places, eat a half dozen at the first and a half dozen at the second, rather than a full dozen at one. That keeps each plate fresh and gives you something to rate.

Walk between stops. The waterfront and downtown are close, and the stroll along the river clears the palate. Share a platter with friends, order a different variety each, and swap. In cold months, choose a room with indoor seating and warm lighting, because raw oysters feel better when you are not shivering. Ask the staff about a vegetarian or cooked option for anyone in the group who does not eat shellfish.

How can Mosey help you remember your oysters?

Mosey is a food app for keeping track of dishes and rating them, which suits a flight of oysters. Rate each variety, add a tag such as Fresh Seafood, and tag the friends who shared the plate. Followers can see what you rated, and the Friends' picks layer on the map shows places the people you follow rated or saved.

Make a list called Oyster crawl and add each bar with a note on the variety you liked. Places new to Mosey are added when you rate them.

More towns are in the US food guides.

Eating your way across Massachusetts? The Food in Massachusetts page links every town we cover.

When the shells are empty, open the Mosey app, rate the oyster you would order again in Newburyport and add the bar you missed to your list.