I had a late lunch on Sunday at Anchor Oyster Bar, a popular seafood restaurant in the Castro founded back in 1977. I could have sworn there was a topic for Anchor already, I guess not! Anchor doesn’t accept reservations and instead has a white board outside as a waiting list. It’s pretty small inside but they have a parklet with tables now. At around 4 in the afternoon it was already pretty full but I managed to get a seat at the bar without waiting.
Daily Specials
Menu
I had a Drake’s IPA to drink.
I had a half dozen of some East Coast oysters - Summer Loves from PEI, Canada ($3.50 each). The oysters were expertly shucked with not even a hint of shell bits, and they had lots of liqour. Delicious! There was cocktail sauce, mignonette, and lemon wedges.
Next I had one of the specials - a Danish Cold-Smoked Trout Appetizer with Crostini and Chives ($19.95). This was great! It was a bit like a smoked whitefish salad but with smoked trout, and not overly mayo laden. The plentiful crostini that came with were brushed with olive oil and toasted crispy.
And then another of the specials - an Open-Faced Crab and Shrimp Cheese Melt ($19.95). You have a choice of a cup of chowder or a side green salad. I got the chowder, which was very nice - very rich and creamy with potatoes and clams. I added some black pepper using the grinder at the bar. I opened up a packet of oyster crackers from a container on the bar to eat with the chowder.
The sandwich arrived shortly after. It was a slice of toasted bread covered with a copious amount of a cheesy and saucy mixture of crab and shrimp pieces, toasted until browned and crispy on spots. It came with a simple green salad with olives and tomato. This was very good. A squirt of lemon helped cut through the richness.
