Oyster Bible

Hood Canal photo credit

Premier Oysters and where to find them

• Cliff Point Petit- medium, briny- SO GOOD. The perfect oyster. 1/2026 @ Matt's Oyster Lounge 

• Fjord Luxe: from Hamma Hamma. So good. Buttery, briny, sweet and light. Excellent.

• Virginica sweet, mild/ very salty, can be very big. Really good.

• Pacific/a: Puget Sound: big, very salty, briny, meaty, really good. 

• Sun Seeker: Puget Sound, big, briny. Very good. Not sweet. 

• Kumamoto: medium, salty, slightly sweet, very good. A favorite!

• Dabob: from Hood Canal, medium size, briny, good, solid choice. 

Pretty Darn Good Oysters

• Blue Pool: from Hamma Hamma, higher end. Briney, medium sized.

• Shigoku: medium, sweet, very good, less salty. 

• ​Fat Bastard is a larger Shigoku

I'd rather have oysters than not have oysters

• Miyagi Pacific- New Zealand, small, grown in Tacoma, WA

• Olympia: looks like a nickel, tastes like a penny, small, not briny, kind of boring. 

• Seacow: simple, mild, not that briny, small/medium size

• ​Shinsei: small, light, briny, pretty good

• Baywater Sweet, Hood Canal, WA

Leave them in the ocean

• Dana’s Passage: Mild, briny, creamy

• Blue Point: east coast, big, not briny, meaty, gross

• Any oysters that took a 747 to get onto your plate

To avoid watery shellfish and food poisoning, fresh oysters should be enjoyed during months ending with the letter “r,” so September- April.
​Here are a few of my favorite places to get oysters. Check websites before you go, to get reservations if needed, or to make sure they have your favorite. 

Hamma Hamma Oyster Saloon
Lilliwaup, WA

With this in mind, I've been documenting my preferences for easy referral in a pinch. 

To me, the perfect Pacific Northwest oyster is medium-sized, briny, firm, chilled and served raw, in the shell. 
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While I love mignonette and the occasional topping, the perfect oyster should stand alone.