Anchor Oyster Bar
Cioppino in bowls the Infatuation calls Olympic swimming pool-sized, oysters off a list that changes daily, and a whiteboard by the door you write your name on. Trading on Castro Street since 1977.
Why go
Julia Chen scored it 8.0 and gave the queue mechanics straight: When Anchor Oyster Bar is busy, you'll have to scrawl your name on the whiteboard and wander around Castro Street before a table is ready, but service inside and on the parklet is efficient and things move quickly.
1 The room is small, decorated with light-up anchors and life preservers, and the menu does not stray: prawn salad, a daily oyster selection, cioppino, clam chowder. Chen singles out something more specific than the famous bowl: Everything is excellent across the board, especially the delicate and crispy crab cakes.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the cioppino if you have the time and the appetite, the crab cakes if you want the thing the critic actually singled out.
- Avoid: turning up with a group on a tight schedule. There are no bookings.
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation SF (Julia Chen, 8 November 2022), 8.0:
If you've ever had a sudden midday craving for a couple of oysters and a bowl of clam chowder, Anchor Oyster Bar is here for you.
1 - On the ownership: the room's long single-family run is part of every mention of it, and no page we read at source names the owner, so this entry does not.
Good to know
- Timing: lunch and dinner. Solo at the bar is the easy version.
- Booking: none taken. Whiteboard, then a walk.
- Getting there: Castro Street between 18th and 19th.
Verdict
should-visit — A scored 8.0 from the Infatuation with a specific line behind it about the crab cakes rather than a general nod at the cioppino, on a counter that has been doing one thing on Castro Street since 1977. The room is small, takes no bookings and runs a whiteboard by the door, and the kitchen has never had to become something else. Held below must-visit because one bylined voice is all this page carries.