Spend a Moment at … Matunuck Oyster Bar

Matunuck Oyster Bar

629 Succotash Road, Wakefield, Rhode Island

Before deciding on an oyster bar for this piece, I initiated a causal poll among my social media followers: “What’s your favorite oyster bar?” The almost unanimous answer? Matunuck Oyster Bar. And after visiting, I can see why.

A winding oceanside road leads up to a VIP parking lot where you can drop your keys and head inside. Even on a Wednesday afternoon, everyone’s dressed up — and the place is absolutely humming with patrons. A very good sign, indeed.

Just a quick glance at their menu stretches the imagination as well as the palate with innovative renditions on old favorites such as quinoa crab salad, oyster po boys, jambalaya, passionfruit oysters and clam chowder, among many other tempting choices.

What exactly makes the food here so good? It’s likely the restaurant’s steadfast commitment to both farm-to-table and pond-to-plate sourcing concepts for all their ingredients. Along with a certified-organic vegetable farm that produces vegetables, herbs and microgreens, owner Perry Raso also purchased an oyster farm in 2002 where every Matunuck oyster you enjoy at the restaurant was grown and ethically farmed. All other ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, from places like Watch Hill or Narragansett, Rhode Island. For those interested in the farming process, tours of the oyster farm are available.

Not a Rhode Islander? You can still get a variety of shellfish shipped fresh right to your doorstep!

Our suggestion: Before your main course, order the oyster sampler to get a perfect variety of 12 local oysters.

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Do you pile on the cocktail sauce with your oysters or just enjoy the plain briny goodness? Let us know in the comments!