Eventide Oyster Co.
Oyster bar restaurant · Portland
86 Middle St, Portland, ME 04101
Highlights
Eventide Oyster Co. serves inventive New England seafood with standout brown butter lobster rolls, fresh oysters, and a killer cocktail menu.
Eventide Oyster Co. serves inventive New England seafood with standout brown butter lobster rolls, fresh oysters, and a killer cocktail menu.
"Though it’s been around more than a decade, this James Beard Award-winning raw bar and restaurant still draws lines out the door before it even opens each day in the summer. But the food is absolutely worth the wait. Start with some raw seafood like halibut ceviche or bluefin tuna crudo, then get to the main event: the Eventide Brown Butter Lobster Roll. The meat is bathed in a cooked-down blend of powdered milk and unsalted butter and served on a steamy house-made Chinese-style bao bun. It is so popular that other places in town have tried to replicate it, but nothing else comes close." - ByBriana Bononcini
"Eventide Oyster Co is a seafood go-to in Portland, where you can spend an evening trying more than a dozen different local bivalves with accoutrements like kimchi and horseradish ice. You might raise an eyebrow at Eventide’s non-traditional brown butter preparation and steamed bun, but sometimes innovation is a path to greatness. The steamed bun feels like a happy marriage between the New England hot dog roll and a bao, the sprinkled chives add some brightness, and the pillowy soft dough absorbs the extra moisture from the browned butter without leaving it a soggy mess. It also doesn’t hurt that you can also order a few dozen excellent fresh oysters and a bottle of Italian sauv blanc while you’re people-watching at the bar. " - anne cruz
"When you’re in Portland, there are two things you have to do: theorize about Stephen King’s childhood and attempt to eat your body weight in lobster and oysters. For the latter, head to Eventide Oyster Company, which serves some of the best seafood in the city. This small oyster bar near the East End carries 20 different types of bivalves, along with one of the best lobster rolls in town, which is served with brown butter in a steamed bun rather than the typical hot dog bun. Other dishes have twists with a similar spirit: the lobster stew involves green curry and the bluefin tuna tartare comes doused in nước chấm. This should be one of your first stops in town—there’s always a wait, but it’ll be worth it once you’re sitting outside with a cocktail in front of you." - Alana Dao
"A large granite nest of ice and East Coast oysters takes center stage in this small venue, where fresh bivalves and brown butter lobster rolls mingle happily with celery gimlets and doubly dirty martinis, awash in both olive and oyster brine. Of course, if you’ve already been to the Fenway location of this nationally acclaimed restaurant, consider a stop at Eventide’s sibling noodle bar next door, The Honey Paw, a delightful destination in its own right." - Stasia Brewczynski
"When you’re in Portland, there are two things you have to do: theorize about Stephen King’s childhood and attempt to eat your body weight in lobster and oysters. For the latter, head to Eventide Oyster Company, which serves some of the best seafood in the city. This small oyster bar near the East End carries 20 different types of bivalves, along with one of the best lobster rolls in town, which is served with brown butter in a steamed bun rather than the typical hot dog bun. Other dishes have twists with a similar spirit: the lobster stew involves green curry and the bluefin tuna tartare comes doused in nước chấm. This should be your first stop in town—there’s always a wait, but it’ll be worth it once you’re sitting outside with a cocktail in front of you." - Alana Dao 2, Team Infatuation
