Alexis B.
Yelp
We live less than 500 feet from Dylan's Oyster Cellar, so I couldn't be more glad that we LOVE it. Even if we didn't live a one-minute walk from their front door, I would love it (but I love it just a little extra because we do).
I've been to Dylan's at least four or five times now, and I've always had a great time, great food, and great drinks - every single time. Dylan's is so consistently wonderful.
First, the food. I love that Dylan's menu is constantly changing - with the seasons, seasonal product, seasonally available seafood, etc. - because I've been able to try such a range of dishes. I've had a variety of starters: roasted oysters, coddie (cod cake), fish pate with house-made potato chips and crostini, house-cured sardine on buttered baguette... I've had salads: beets and ricotta, a simple green salad, a Caesar salad... I've had several main courses they've offered: fish and chips; scarlet runner beans; monkfish with sunchokes and arugula; monkfish tail with butter, capers, and green salad; whole black sea bass with an herb/espelette chimichurri; mackerel over curry rice with an herb salad... And - of course - I've had oysters! They usually have 5-8 varieties to choose from, and they offer them by the half dozen. And dessert - that Basque cheesecake!!! I've never had a bad bite of food at Dylan's. More often than not, I've had one or more dishes where I thought: "oh wow!" or "how did they do that?" or "I'm never cooking seafood at home again since Dylan's is just down the street and they can do it 1000x better than I ever will!"
And then I've also had my fair share of drinks: wine, cocktails, beers. Dylan's has it all, and good options for each.
The service is excellent. The owners - Dylan and Irene Salmon - are in the restaurant all the time. You can tell the restaurant is a labor of love, and it couldn't be more local! And the restaurant just feels homey and comfortable. It feels like a great European bistro or a neighborhood pub. I always feel at home when I eat at Dylan's.
My only slight, tiny, insignificant qualm with Dylan's? They only take reservations over the phone, so you have to call when they're open to make a reservation (and they're only open for dinner five nights a week). It's a little more difficult to make a reservation here because they don't use any online system for reservations. And I do recommend reservations if you're trying to eat at Dylan's on a weekend night at a busy hour. We can almost always get in without a reservation since we eat a little early (we'll sometimes go around 5:30 just so we can get a table), but better safe than sorry if you're looking forward to a meal at Dylan's!
So - to summarize - I LOVE DYLAN'S. Great, fresh seafood and oysters. A creative menu that is always changing. Great drinks. Great service. And you feel like you're at home. Couldn't be happier to be able to walk down the street and have dinner at Dylan's anytime we want. They might see us once a week. I'm serious.