Little Shucker

Little Shucker is shellfish wonderland. Stress from the real world dissolves during a meal at this Pacific Heights seafood and wine bar. That overdue oil change or passive-aggressive text thread you were thinking about seven seconds before walking in? Status: irrelevant. The only thing to worry about is how many oysters to order. (The answer is a lot.) This excellent seafood will make you want to stay for hours.

If you’re convinced you were an anthropomorphic sea creature from The Little Mermaid in a past life, the dishes at Little Shucker (by the people behind The Snug ) are contenders for your last meal on earth: Silky crudo, briny raw and grilled oysters galore, and mussels adorned with thick swaths of crème fraîche. Swirl around a white wine spritz and channel your inner socialite in the breezy, light-filled space.

While meaty mussels in white wine jus and smoked trout salads are great for sharing, the MVP is the raw bar. The menu of plump local and Maine oysters are punched up with a few shakes of tongue-curling house fermented serrano hot sauce. But the first class ticket to Crustacean Land is going for the Big Shucker. This accurately named behemoth of a seafood tower is full of a dozen glistening oysters, prawns, mussels, and more. Its arrival on your table will spark an unshakeable desire to say goodbye to life on solid ground, buy a three-story yacht, and spend eternity perfecting your free dive.

The one dish that’s impossible to leave without ordering is the lobster roll, cold. It’s the best version on this side of the Mississippi, or, at least, in the city. This caviar-optional butter-fest is absolutely overflowing with precious, tender meat (in contrast to this town's many minuscule versions). By all means, abandon the table manners you learned in kindergarten to eat this, and inhale every perfect bite like it’s your last.

If yacht ownership isn’t something you can pull off in this lifetime, be grateful that Little Shucker is within reach. It’s Pacific Heights’ new escape to the seaside, minus the windchill. Settle into a wooden table, the bar, or a sidewalk chair (and ignore the $3,000 dog that might lick oyster juice remnants off the ground as it passes by), and let incredible seafood come to you. Those texts can wait.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Lobster Roll (Cold)

Yes, the hot, butter-drenched version is fantastic. But Little Shucker’s cold, creamy lobster roll is more deserving of the spotlight. This is the lobster roll blueprint for all lobster rolls.

Dungeness Crab Roll

If the lobster roll is sold out or off the menu, this is usually the substitute—and it's a fantastic (and slightly cheaper) alternative. It’s got the same buttery griddled roll, plus chilled crab that gushes out of the top like a creamy crustacean volcano.

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Big Shucker

Your eyes will magnetize toward this seafood tower every time it parades through the dining room like a championship trophy. Pay your respects to the icy, two-tiered stunner. It’s loaded with a dozen oysters, chili crisp-topped mussels, halibut crudo, lobster, and prawns—get this if you’re willing to throw down $98.

Chips & Dip

A solid sour cream and onion dip—nothing more, nothing less. Skip this to focus your attention on the raw bar, which rules the menu, anyway.

Garlic Butter Baked Oysters

Like your oysters hot? These bivalves, finished off with garlicky beurre blanc, are for you.

photo credit: Carly Hackbarth

Bangs Island Mussels

These mussels hail from Maine, and they’re meaty as hell. Order a side of fries to soak up the velvety white wine jus they sit in.

Steak & Fries

This is fine, but you’re at Little Shucker for the seafood. Stick with from-the-ocean dishes instead.