Some foods have an extraordinary ability to transport you back to a place, and for me, oysters are one of them.
I have eaten oysters in very different settings around the world: overlooking the sea, in bustling cities, and in restaurants where chefs have completely transformed the way they are prepared and served. Sometimes they arrive with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon. At other times, they become one of the most creative dishes of an entire meal.
What I find fascinating is that the oyster itself may be the common thread, but the experience is never quite the same.
It is something that perfectly captures one of the ideas behind Travelling Cooks: Savour More. Taking the time to taste a place, discover how people eat there and remember a destination through food.
Here are some of the oyster experiences that have stayed with me.
Whitstable, England: Where Oysters Are Part of the Place
Whitstable, England: Where Oysters Are Part of the Place
There are destinations where a particular food feels inseparable from the place itself, and Whitstable is one of them. During our weekend in Whitstable, oysters seemed to follow us everywhere, which was exactly how I wanted it.
We started with native Whitstable oysters straight from the shell on the pier, eaten standing in the sea air with just a squeeze of lemon. Over the next couple of days, we discovered just how many different ways there are to enjoy them. At Lazy Lobster, we tried a Maldon oyster with strawberry hot sauce as well as a fried version with seaweed aioli. At the wonderfully characterful Wheeler’s Oyster Bar, they came with a delicate granita and classic shallot vinegar. We even had oysters back at The Marine Hotel, where we were staying overlooking the sea.
What I loved most was that oysters in Whitstable didn’t feel like something reserved for a special occasion. You could eat them at a restaurant, pick them up from a stall on the seafront, or simply order a few while looking out towards the water.
And then, just along the coast in Seasalter, we discovered a completely different interpretation at The Sportsman.
The Sportsman: Three Poached Rock Oysters
At Michelin-starred The Sportsman, our meal began with three poached rock oysters served with pickled cucumber and Avruga caviar. After eating oysters so simply on the seafront, it was fascinating to see the same ingredient transformed into something so refined.
Chef Stephen Harris’s cooking is deeply connected to the surrounding Kent landscape, from the salt made using seawater from the beach to produce grown in the restaurant’s own kitchen garden. The oyster dish captured that philosophy beautifully: elegant and carefully considered, but still very much rooted in where we were.
It was the perfect contrast to those oysters eaten standing beside the sea, and perhaps the best example of why I love discovering a destination through its food.
London: An Oyster, a Fire and a Flambadou
One of the most unusual oysters I have eaten was at Ekstedt at the Yard at the Great Scotland Yard hotel in London.
The restaurant is known for cooking almost entirely with fire, and its oyster is prepared using a flambadou, a cast-iron funnel that is heated until it is red hot.
Animal fat is placed inside the flambadou and melts through it onto the raw oyster below. As the hot fat hits the oyster, it sears and caramelises the surface while leaving the inside fresh.
There is smoke, heat and theatre, but it isn’t simply about creating a spectacle.
It changes the flavour and texture of the oyster while still allowing the ingredient itself to remain at the centre of the dish.
Having visited Ekstedt at the Yard several times, it is one of those dishes I continue to associate immediately with the restaurant.
Normandy, France: Oysters by the Sea
If Whitstable showed me how closely oysters can be woven into the identity of a seaside town, our trip along the Normandy coast was another reminder that sometimes the simplest food experiences are the ones you remember most.
Oysters seemed to be everywhere as we travelled along the Alabaster Coast, from Étretat to Fécamp and Veules-les-Roses. We ate them at market stalls, in restaurants and beside the water, often served simply on ice with lemon. Each tasted slightly different, some more mineral, others a little sweeter, but always incredibly fresh.
One of my favourite memories was in Fécamp, where we stopped at a seafood shack near the port. The oysters were shucked in front of us and needed little more than a squeeze of lemon. Standing there with that first briny mouthful, surrounded by the sights and smells of a working fishing port, was one of those moments when what you are eating and where you are eating it become inseparable.
In Étretat, oysters were just as much a part of the experience. After walking along the famous white cliffs and taking in those extraordinary views over the English Channel, sitting down to fresh seafood felt exactly right. We particularly enjoyed La Flottille, a relaxed restaurant where the oysters were served without fuss, alongside other Norman seafood.
It is something I talk about more in my Normandy travel guide, where I share our route along the coast, where we stayed, the restaurants we discovered and some of my favourite places between Étretat, Fécamp and Veules-les-Roses.
There was nothing particularly elaborate about these oysters, and perhaps that is precisely why I remember them.
Sometimes Savour More simply means sitting by the sea, ordering what comes from nearby and taking the time to enjoy it.Then there are the oysters that need almost nothing at all.
New York: An Oyster Tradition at Grand Central
Some food memories are about discovering something new. Others become traditions, and that is exactly what the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant has become for us.
We always sit at the circular tables on the right, and, remarkably, over the years we have often found ourselves being served by the same waitress.
The oysters are served in the classic New York way, with simple accompaniments that let you taste the differences between the varieties. But for me, eating oysters here has become about much more than what is on the plate. It is the familiarity of returning to the same place in a city that is constantly changing.
There is another little tradition attached to our visits. We ask for a copy of the menu to take home, which we then frame and hang on our kitchen wall. Our first Grand Central Oyster Bar menu dates back to 22 November 1999, and we have since started collecting restaurant menus from memorable meals around the world.
I love that something as simple as an oyster can become part of a travel ritual spanning more than twenty-five years.
Every time we return to Manhattan, we try to stop for a bite at this New York institution, tucked beneath the magnificent vaulted ceilings of Grand Central Terminal. If you’re planning your own visit, you can find more of our favourite places and experiences in my New York guide.
And while you are at Grand Central, don’t rush away. Look up at the famous celestial ceiling and, right at the entrance to the Oyster Bar, try the Whispering Gallery, where you can stand in opposite corners of the tiled arches and hear each other whisper.
Lisbon: Sea Buckthorn, Coriander and an Unexpected Oyster
Lisbon was one of those cities where food became an important part of the whole trip. During our five days in Lisbon, we moved between traditional Portuguese restaurants, relaxed brunch cafés and a new generation of restaurants experimenting with seasonal ingredients and unexpected flavour combinations.
One of our favourite evenings was at Familjen, an intimate, candlelit restaurant with a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic and a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. The menu changes regularly, and among the dishes we tried was an oyster served with sea buckthorn and coriander.
I loved the combination. The sharp, fruity acidity of the sea buckthorn worked beautifully with the brininess of the oyster, while the coriander added freshness. It was creative without becoming complicated, and completely different from the oysters we had eaten simply with lemon beside the sea in Normandy or Whitstable.
And Lisbon gave us another oyster experience altogether at Oyster & Margarita, where fresh oysters came with spicy margaritas, lively music and a buzzing atmosphere. It could hardly have been more different from the quiet intimacy of Familjen, but that was part of the fun.
You can find Familjen, Oyster & Margarita and all the other places we discovered in my guide to where to eat in Lisbon, while my 5-day Lisbon itinerary brings together the food with the neighbourhoods, art, beaches, shopping and slow moments that made us fall for the city.
For me, these two very different oyster experiences captured something I loved about Lisbon itself: a city where food can be creative and contemporary without losing that wonderfully relaxed feeling.
Japan: Oysters at the Source
Japan gave us yet another completely different oyster experience. During our time in Hiroshima and Miyajima, food became part of discovering this fascinating corner of the country, and oysters were impossible to miss.
Hiroshima is famous for its oysters, and on Miyajima Island we found them being prepared and sold all around us. Eating oysters here felt very different from sitting down to an elaborate restaurant dish. They were part of the everyday food culture of the island, something to stop and enjoy as we explored.
What I particularly loved was the connection between the food and our surroundings. We were on an island in Hiroshima Bay, surrounded by water, eating something so closely associated with the region. It was another of those moments when what was on the plate, or in this case in the shell, made us feel more connected to the place we were visiting.
You can read more about this part of our journey in my Hiroshima and Miyajima guide, which covers our visit to Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park before continuing to Miyajima and its famous floating torii gate.
From Hiroshima, our journey continued through the islands of the Seto Inland Sea to Naoshima, where food gave way to another of my great travel pleasures: art. We spent the night at Benesse House and explored an island where contemporary art, architecture and nature seem to merge into one. You can read about that experience in my guide to Naoshima, Japan’s Art Island.
It is one of the things I loved most about travelling through Japan. One day we were tasting oysters on an island, the next we were surrounded by contemporary art on another. Savour More and Reconnect, without really having to think about either.knowing where something comes from makes you appreciate it differently.
Washington DC: Oysters on the Deck
Not every memorable oyster experience needs to be about an unusual preparation.
Sometimes it is the setting you remember.
Eating oysters outside on a deck in Washington DC was one of those moments. Relaxed, convivial and unfussy, it was as much about where we were and who we were with as what was on the plate.
And perhaps that is one of the reasons certain meals remain with us long after others have been forgotten. If you’re planning a visit, you can discover more of the places we enjoyed in my 4-day Washington DC itinerary.
One Ingredient, Many Memories
Looking back at these experiences, what strikes me most is how different they all were.
A simple oyster beside the sea in Normandy. A flambadou glowing red over an oyster in London. A Michelin-starred interpretation in Whitstable. Sea buckthorn in Lisbon. A classic oyster bar in New York. Oysters connected to their source in Japan.
There isn’t one “best” way to eat an oyster.
Taste is personal, and so is travel.
For me, Savour More isn’t necessarily about eating more or seeking out the most elaborate restaurants. It is about paying attention to what you are eating, understanding its connection to a place and giving yourself the time to enjoy the experience.
Because sometimes one small bite can become one of the things you remember most about a journey.
Slow down. Savour more. Reconnect.
