Ignore the Views, the REAL Stars are the Oysters!
Written: Aug 04 '09
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Pros: * Amazing food
* Gorgeous views of waterfront
Cons: * Expensive
The Bottom Line: Hog Island is too expensive for weekly visits unless you hit during Happy Hour, but it's perfect for special trips when an oyster craving hits.
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Tourist trap restaurants are notorious for a few things:
1) Centrally located right in prime tourist areas (i.e., right on the waterfront with gorgeous views to distract you from the food)
2) Prices are outrageously high compared to places catering to locals
3) Food is usually atrocious (i.e., oversalted, pale imitations of the real thing)
Yet lo and behold, San Francisco's Ferry Building only meets the first two of those three criteria! This hugely successful tourist destination (in a charming historic building to boot, too!) has become a favorite of locals and offers a tantalizing array of gourmet foods, wines, oils, desserts, and other food-related goods. There are also several restaurants, including my favorite oyster bar, Hog Island Oyster Company.
About the Restaurant
First things first, Hog Island is a venerable company that sustainably raises oysters in the Tomales Bay about 50 miles north of San Francisco. If you're willing to make a trek up to their farm there, there are picnic grounds and you can buy oysters just a few minutes removed from the ocean. For the rest of us, we pay for the convenience of eating them closer to home and in a lovely setting.
The oyster bar also offers cooked food, but fairly simple food so it's not really a Saturday dinner destination. I think it's great for brunch, lunch or a pre-dinner snack.
The oyster bar is a fairly small space. There's a wrap-around bar surrounding the cooktop and prep area in the middle. Fortunately, the clean-up area is in the back so this is really just an open exhibition kitchen. Then, there are also a dozen or so tables, including a number set up outside directly on the pier.
There are usually at least 3 waiters/waitresses and 2 busboys. Even when the entire restaurant is full and there are guests waiting, we have received good service, with regular refills of our drinks and prompt removal of finished plates. Given the crowds on all of our visits, we almost always end up sitting indoors at the bar or if we're lucky, at a table. It's not the most kid-friendly place given cramped conditions and the crowd that is mostly eating oysters and drinking alcohol. Still, we've brought our baby daughter here on our most recent trip and saw some older pre-teen kids, so it's not stopping the tourists from bringing their kids by.
I should also note it's not really vegetarian-friendly unless you count the salads and the grilled cheese sandwich option. This is an oyster bar intended for folks who like seafood.
Back to my original observation regarding tourist trap restaurants. This oyster bar is in a prime location. The Hog Island Oyster Bar is located at the rear of the Ferry Building with gorgeous views of the San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge (the less famous neighbor southeast of the Golden Gate Bridge, which connects to Oakland). On nice days, it really is a postcard-perfect view as you relax with a glass of champagne and a dozen raw oysters.
Second, prices are more expensive than other places like Swan Oyster Depot and much more than what you'd pay at Hog Island's farm. Yet I think it's partially justified by the prime location, as it's still a tourist draw and you do get those jaw-dropping views. See below for more details about specific pricing.
The hours are fairly convenient to accommodate tourists and commuters who take one of the ferries to go home to other parts of the Bay.
Monday - Friday 11:30-8
Saturday - Sunday 11-6
There are also Happy Hour specials on Mondays & Thursdays, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. They have $1 oysters and $3.50 pints of beer.
About the Food
When we head to the Ferry Building, we make it a day trip and always start with an early lunch at Hog Island before shopping for cheese, meat, seafood, and other goodies from their Ferry Building neighbors. It's never good to shop on an empty stomach.
Once seated, the busboy will bring you some Acme bread rolls. Acme is an artisan bakery based in Berkeley with a bakery/retail outlet further down a few spaces in the Ferry Building. Hog Island utilizes products from at least two of its neighbors, as they also offer a grilled cheese sandwich made with Cowgirl Creamery cheese. More on that shortly....
Oysters are the star at an oyster bar. On my first visit several years ago, I opted for a sampler. Since then, I usually stick to Hog Island's Kumamoto oysters, farmed in Tomales Bay. They are plump little morsels (sometimes tiny even!) that aren't as briny and meaty as other varieties. The oysters come on a bed of ice with Hog Wash mignonette (vinegar, shallots, jalapeno, and cilantro) and lemon wedges. Prices are fairly high, as the sample menu on their website says Kumamotos are $17 for 6, $30 for a dozen, and $56 for 2 dozen. That's more than double the price of the Kumamotos as Swan Oyster Depot but I think it's worth it if it's not a monthly expense. We head up maybe once per quarter.
We often share a bowl of their Clam Chowder ($14), which is the gourmet version and shares almost nothing in common with the typical clam chowder from other restaurants or even the Boudin Bakery with its hearty clam chowder in a bread bowl. Hog Island's version includes live Manila clams in the shell, as opposed to canned clams. In addition, the chowder has aromatic vegetables, bacon, potatoes and cream. It's more of a creamy broth with its heartiness coming from the clams, potato chunks, and bacon.
As a cheese lover, I always order the Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($12), which features Cowgirl Creamery's Mezzo Secco, cave-aged Gruyere and Fromage Blanc served with house made pickled vegetables. Erase from your mind the image of the cafeteria-style grilled cheese sandwich. This version has the perfect grilled sandwich roll (from Acme as well!) that matches the gooey, oozing cheese very well. The sandwich comes with some pickled vegetables, which add a nice balance of tartness to the buttery/salty cheesiness. Best of all, it's a pretty good-sized portion (even when sliced into 4 sections). With my huge appetite, I always polish it off myself, but I'm sure most folks would be happy with a half portion, especially if you're indulging in oysters and the chowder, too.
My husband, who is not an oyster lover or a cheese lover, tends to go for the Manila Clams ($14), which is steamed with garlic, butter, chili flake and white wine broth. They're always delicious!
Final Thoughts
We don't normally indulge in $90+ lunches, but it's a nice treat a few times a year. I think it's a lovely family tradition now when making the trek to the Ferry Building.
Special thanks to lyagushka for adding this to the database for me!
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Kumamoto oysters, clam chowder and grilled cheese
Best Suited For: Friends
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