I have no idea how I haven't reviewed Pearl Oyster Bar yet because I've definitely been here many times before but after culling my site, I can't seem to find an entry for it. So here it is. I mean this place is legendary - it is one of the original lobster roll joints in the city. It used to be impossible to get a table here - you would have to wait hours for a seat, but strangely enough Holly and I were able to get a table on a Saturday night in under 25 minutes around 7pm and when we left around 8:30ish, the place strangely was half empty. I guess there's a ton of competition these days for good lobster rolls (ie. Red Hook Lobster Pound, Mary's Fish Camp, and Mermaid Inn just to name a few).
Pearl has a very solid line up of classic seafood dishes, so it's not necessary to get the lobster roll but they are famous for it. I started with the chilled littleneck clams (6 for $8) and obviously I got the lobster roll ($30) as did Holly. The littleneck clams were small and sweet - they were good but I still prefer the large meaty cherrystone ones at Maison Premiere instead. As for the lobster roll, I feel like this was one of the original places that launched the roll into fame back in the day. There is a TON of meat which is great but it is very heavily covered in mayo - so if you're not into that or prefer a Connecticut style roll, you might not like this version. I like that it's pretty simple - lobster, mayo and some chives. No celery or extra filler in there. It's served on a very very buttery bun but it's pretty messy to pick up, so I used a fork and knife. Holly's roll was so overflowing that she couldn't even find the bun to pick up. But the meat was sweet, delicious and plentiful. My only complaint is the shoe string fries - I'm personally not a fan of shoe string fries, although Holly and I had discussed that they are good for portion control because you can feel like your'e eating a lot of them but because they are so skinny, you're not consuming as much as many. I just feel like you're eating air, there's not enough actual potato in each bite. But overall, it's a great seafood experience here. You can tell that the waitstaff has worked here for a while and it's kind of got this old school, family vibe to it. It's as close to a New England seafood restaurant as you can get without leaving the city. Total bill: $72/pp with tax, tip and wine
Photo Credit: Yelp
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