Found Oyster

How do the lyrics go again? ‘I was once lost, but now I’m at Found Oyster’? Something like that. In this narrow and tall East-Coast inspired seafood shack which used to be a church, chef and co-owner Ari Kolender (Providence, Red Medicine, Hayden) dazzles with a short and impeccable menu. Two types of oysters rotate on the chalkboard—one of which comes from GM Joe Laraja’s own family farm—and they are served splayed over ice with lemon, tartar sauce and an incredible mignonette. The albacore crudo is an homage to Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco, and is best enjoyed with a plate (or two!) of Bub and Grandma’s spelt and polenta bread, seared to perfection, and Echiré butter with smoked Maldon salt. Intoxicated with the rhythm of Found Oyster’s excellent playlists, you’ll end up ordering another one of those scallop tostadas with yuzu kosho. Speaking of which, the wine list is curated by Molly Kelley (Trois Mec, Chateau Marmont) and offers excellent wines by the glass at bargain prices, like a Domaine Denizot Sancerre and a Muscadet whose saline, marine quality pairs perfectly with oysters. There are only 26 seats at Found Oyster, usually packed on any given night around 8PM, but the bar is where you’ll want to be: to see Ari and Joe shuck oysters or ladle clam chowdaaa, mouthing lyrics while the speakers blast Solomon Burke’s Cry to Me.