Island Creek Oyster Bar

Samantha Lee
Feb 6, 2015
3 min read

Boston, MA - Island Creek Oyster Bar is located at 500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. It is next to Hotel Commonwealth near Kenmore Square. With four feet of snow, parallel parking can be difficult at times. However, the restaurant offers valet parking for $16. Despite the snow accumulations, the restaurant was fully booked and there was a line to check in. After checking in with the hostess, they pointed us to our table (which was literally a high top table next to the hostess stand. This restaurant offers seating at the bar, high top tables and chairs near the bar, and regular table and chairs in the back. Every table had a tealight candle on it. The candlelit dining gave the restaurant an intimate and romantic vibe. The bathrooms are located in the hotel which is partly under construction at the moment. The restaurant offers a farm-to-table dining experience. They offer diners the opportunity to get to know their oyster grower, harvester, winemaker, distiller, brewer, and fisherman. Island Creek Oyster Bar has hands down the best raw oysters in town! The service was excellent. The dishes were well presented. The portion size was just right. The food came out in a timely manner. The meal was well-paced.

Our server Jillian was warm and knowledgeable about the different kinds of oysters on the menu. She asked whether we liked salty or sweet oysters. After we ordered, she brought us a basket of sourdough bread with sweet butter on the side. For drinks, I'd recommend the Reissdorf Kolsch Ale and the Arnold Palmer. This was not your typical Arnold Palmer with the half black iced tea and half lemonade. At Island Creek Oyster Bar, they make their Arnold Palmer with the half green menthos tea and half lemonade. We started our meal with the oysters from the raw bar. We got the Island Creek oysters from Duxbury, MA which were buttery as well as sweet and salty at the same time. We also got the Hama Hama oysters from Lilliwaup, WA which were creamy, cucumber, and had a grassy taste. The oysters were very well shucked clean, served on a shell, on a silver platter of crushed ice. These oysters were served with course salt, cocktail sauce, white vinegar, and other bottled condiments (e.g., malted vinegar, ketchup, mustard, sriracha, tabasco, etc). After the oysters, we shared the followed dishes: (1) No Shell Prince Edward Island Mussels in White Wine Cream and Parsley, (2) Maine Lobster Pappardelle, and (3) Grilled Steelhead Trout. The Mussels appetizers consisted of petite sized mussels and pearl pasta cooked in a white wine cream, garnished with grated parsley, and served with a grilled toast. The dish was quite flavorful - creamy, milky, and rich. The pearl pasta added character to the dish. The Lobster pasta consisted of pappardelle, chopped lobster meat, shiitake mushrooms, and rapini tossed in miso butter, sprinkled with hint of cayenne pepper, and garnished with toasted almonds. It was phenomenal. The dish had the right touch of butter! The trout was served with red bliss potatoes, artichoke, nicoise olives in walnut cream. In terms of fullness, it was as heavy as salmon. It was cooked to medium and had a smooth texture. We ended our meal with a Banoffee Pie aka a Banana Cream Pie. This slice of pie consisted of a thick graham cracker crust, dulce de leche between the crust and the cream, whipped cream, and banana bits. It was topped with toasted / caramelized bananas. It was a sinful dessert!