Here are the first details and menus for the brand-new and expanded HOG ISLAND OYSTER BAR at the Ferry Building Marketplace, although the opening date is still a bit up in the air due to a snag with the ventilation system (it’s “early May” for now). As we previously mentioned, the popular oyster bar took over the Ferry Plaza Seafood space and has therefore doubled in size, and now has a full bar, with executive chef Christopher Laramie leading the kitchen (prior to this, he was chef and owner of Brasa and eVe in Berkeley, and his cooking background includes Blue Door in South Beach’s Delano Hotel, Everest in Chicago, and 1515 restaurant in Denver).
The menu will continue to have cult classics like the clam chowder and the grilled cheese sandwich, with new additions like an oyster po’boy on a special baguette-style roll developed with Acme Bread (a good neighbor to have), plus a spin on a Caesar salad with crispy white anchovy “croutons” and a creamy oyster-based dressing. There will even be steak frites! You’ll be able to enjoy the bay view while noshing on the house-smoked potted sturgeon and fried smelts, and of course there will be plenty of oysters (here’s an initial oyster list, plus some specials). All the seafood is sustainably raised and harvested, with many small fish that are low on the food chain, and even the produce and herbs come from their own gardener near the oyster farm in Marshall.
Designed by Cass Calder Smith Architecture, the expanded space now has 65 seats inside and 65 outside. There are three bars: a 16-seat oyster bar facing the bay, an 8-seat cocktail bar, and an 8-seat chef’s counter with mirror-reflected bay views (ooh, trippy), plus communal tables too. You’ll see lots of recycled materials, with oyster shells in the concrete and an oyster bar top by Bohemian Stoneworks, and the shelves at the cocktail bar are from an original 1880s redwood foundation at the Hog Island farm in Marshall. Nautical elements include a hull-shaped ceiling of wood and rope and kelp sculptures woven by Lina Prairie (an Inverness artist).
The cocktail list is by Scott Beattie and Michael Jack Pazdon of St. Helena’s Goose & Gander. Look for spirits from Bay Area small-batch producers and lots of fresh produce; drinks range from $10-$12. There are also West Coast wines, including a couple of custom collaborations, plus five microbrews on tap, a cider, and Boylan natural sodas (also on tap)—check out the wine and cocktail list here.
We’ll keep you posted on the actual opening date and will hopefully have some images to run next week. Happy hour will continue on Mon and Thu from 5pm-6pm, with chef’s choice of half-price oysters on the half shell (selection changes weekly), plus beer and wine specials. Hours will be Mon-Thu 11:30am-9pm, Fri 11:30am-10pm, Sat 11am-10pm, and Sun 11am-9pm. 1 Ferry Building, 415-391-7117.
The (often crowded) patio at Hog Island Oyster Bar. Photo by Ed Anderson Photography, courtesy Hog Island Oyster Co.
