Gourmet Au Bay
Hog Island Sweetwaters, raw or wood-fired with garlic butter, and a smoked clam pizza for $25 off the same oven. You sit on the water and nobody takes a booking.1
Why go
This is a wine shop with a kitchen in it, and the shop is organised by variety, from Cabernet and Bordeaux blends through Rhone, Spanish and Italian reds to a full set of whites.1 The seating is indoor and outdoor and it faces the water.1 The oysters are named rather than generic, which on this coast is the difference between a seafood menu and a seafood claim.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the smoked clam pizza, $25. Clams, bacon, garlic, olive oil, parsley, pecorino romano and parmesan on a hand-tossed base.1
- Order: the wood-fired Miyagi oysters with garlic butter, dine-in only.1
- Order: the local halibut at $34, with roasted garlic aioli and a salade nicoise.1
- Avoid: counting on the same hours every day. Monday runs 11:30 to 3, and the rest of the week does not match it.1
Good to know
- First come, first served. No reservations, indoors or on the water.1
- The chowder is house-made New England, chopped clams with bacon, potato, onion and celery, $15 for fourteen ounces.1
- There is a Science Uncorked speaker series, which is not a thing most bottle shops run.1
Verdict
could-visit — A wine shop on Bay Flat Road runs a wood oven and puts its tables on the water. The oysters are named on the menu as Hog Island Sweetwaters, raw or fired with garlic butter, which is more than most of this coast will tell you. The dish to order is the smoked clam pizza at $25, clams with bacon, garlic, parsley and two cheeses off the same oven, and the local halibut is $34 with a salade nicoise. First come, first served, indoors or on the water. Held here because the venue is the only source and I could not find anyone writing about the cooking.