Oyster Oyster in Washington

Where to start? I just had an exceptionally incredible experience beyond my expectations at Oyster Oyster. Few things can enliven you when you’re fatigued and drowsy after a red-eye flight and a long day. The dinner here did that and more for me! Me and my wife are vegetarians and made a reservation quite in advance for our first ever trip to DC. The restaurant was quite charming with elegantly compartmentalized seating options - the kitchen, booths and chairs and tables. We got the booth. Before going further - I’ve dined at restaurants recognized by World’s 50 best, multiple Michelin 2 star restaurants, fine dining restaurants with vegetarian degustation menus in multiple countries. By far, this stands as the best experience I had. We got the Harvest menu. The experience started with a refreshing warm and umami drink to cleanse our palates. - The first course was bites and finger food. It was “game-on” statement displaying the variety of flavors and textures. With an Indian background, I was delighted to see the novel usage of some of our native spices / ingredients in new flavors - fermented coriander seeds with turnips, sesame with tomato. - The second was salad with potatoes and greens. Absolutely refreshing. - We then had Old Bread New Bread with butter made from sunflower seeds along with Squash and mushrooms. The bread and butter was so addicting that we had to request our hostess not to take that away and we are holding on that to not get stuffy in stomach. - The next course with “meatless” balls was so comforting. I just couldn’t comprehend how they could do that with eggplant! - It was followed by desserts which were ok (not exceptional to me at least). We also took a wine and juice pairing along with this. I’m no wine connoisseur and cannot speak with authority on them, but as a diner, I was thrilled by the juice pairing. The juices were totally crafted by the team with unused ingredients from the kitchen. They just complemented with the dishes as a pair quite well. Definitely recommend their juice pairing. Lastly, the service was top-notch. Our hostess Izzy (apologies if I got this wrong) was quite enthusiastic to share the details of each dish along with the story behind it. My wife once had to leave the table to use the restroom. The hostess took the napkin she put aside and folded it placed it back in this time. Everyone was so genuine and greeted us on our anniversary. Upon leaving my wife commented that the menu they gave us has details about food, but not the drinks. Guess what, the next day I had the drinks menu (both wines and juices) in my email. I haven’t even asked. All-in-all phenomenal. Highly recommended this to anyone.

Love love loved it! At least among the Michelin-1 star restaurants in DC, this was the best place to me, even though I'm not a vegetarian or vegan and I love proteins. First and foremost, all the foods were top-notch. Mouth-watering and also visually satisfying. Wine was great, too. Secondly, service was impeccable - some friendliness + some professionalism + and some humor. What impressed me and my company the most, however, was how the restaurant was dedicated to their values. From every bits of the food and the way they operate showed how they wanted to run this business and interact with the local community. All the food ingredients locally sourced, the plates they use were made out of used wine bottles, even the menu paper was completely decomposable so we can just give it to our plants at home. Very impressive, and highly satisfied. One small hope, tho : Would love to see the course menu before getting the foods instead of afterwards.

Absolutely out of this world! Hands down the best vegetarian, local, and sustainable fine dining experience in the U.S. The welcome broth was bursting with flavor, and the beet pastrami kohlrabi was exquisite— even the meat lovers in our group were amazed by how rich and satisfying it was. Every course, from the smoked new potato salad to the grandmama zucchini bread, corn froyo, and spicebush porcini shortbread, was incredible. The staff were warm, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Truly an unforgettable dining experience!