Wonderful food. Cheerful atmosphere. Service and food prep time are really slow: Walked in at 8 PM and didn’t have our food until 9:30 PM.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Kayla Wood
10/10 would come back again and again!!! Emma, our server, was great and management was awesome too! Food tasted amazing!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alan \u0026 Rachel Bayliss
This place was absolutely amazing! Our server was the best we've ever had (and we are both former servers)!! The oysters were out of this world!! Our meal was superb!!! We were a bit crowded in for a Wednesday night but it's a great problem to have!! Can't wait to go back again!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Janice Leahy
First timers. Scotty was sooo helpful. We had bouillabaisse, scallops and clam chowder. Topped it off for our grandson’s belated birthday dinner with the cheesecake which we shared! Scotty remembered O’s birthday and wrote that on the dessert plate. Excellent meal in a wonderful atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erica Antonelli
Came here tonight with my family for the first time and we thought it was great! Food was excellent. Great seafood dishes. I think my scallops were some of the best cooked and quality scallops ive had in a long time. Oysters were so good and very fresh. We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stephanie Rose
Oysters are always delicious, and the crème brûlée and Basque cheesecake are soooo decadent. Great place for dinner after a movie at the Amherst cinema house! I make sure to eat here every time I’m in this state.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alejandro Sanchez
All food is fresh and awwsome! Worth the drive from Boston
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
zhee singer
Review: A Raw Bar That Forgot the Raw Truth
Who would invest hundreds of thousands—maybe even north of a million—into an oyster bar and not know how to craft a proper mignonette? Answer: this place would.
Someone clearly signed the lease, hired the architect, curated the playlist, and sourced the reclaimed wood. They nailed the moodboard. But they forgot to taste the mignonette. The sauce, if you can call it that, was a confused splash of vinegar with all the finesse of a cafeteria salad bar. No shallots. No pepper. No balance. Just acid—like the chef was trying to pickle the oysters instead of complement them.
And that’s the thing: when a place charges $4 per oyster and serves them on a bed of crushed ice that looks like it was flown in from a glacier—on a plate so pinched it feels like the oysters are being punished—you expect the details to be dialed in. You expect the mignonette to whisper sophistication, not scream neglect.
The vibe? Impeccable. The lighting? Instagram-perfect. The clientele? Dressed like they just stepped out of a curated lifestyle ad. But the sauce? It betrayed the whole illusion. It was the culinary equivalent of showing up to a black-tie gala in flip-flops.
The oysters themselves were fine—briny, fresh, and well-shucked. But oysters are only half the story. The other half is the ritual: the chill of the ice, the clink of the shell, the drizzle of sauce that elevates the experience. And here, that ritual was broken.
The staff? Polished and pleasant. The cocktails? Clever and overpriced. The ambiance? Designed to seduce. But the kitchen? It missed the mark. And when the food fails, the rest is just theater.
❌ Verdict: I won’t be back.
Prologue: Someone should tell the chef they have only one job—and it’s not designing the playlist or arranging the ice. It’s making the food taste good. And if you can’t get the mignonette right, maybe oysters aren’t your calling.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
B Waite
Meh. So much potential, good atmosphere, great service, good location. The food and the presentation are confusing, the price says quality, the presentation and quality says roadside clam shack 100 miles inland.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Jennifer McPherson
Fresh, flavorful seafood. Imaginative flavor combinations. Lively atmosphere. Great service. You can review the flavor profiles of the different oyster types before ordering, which we found helpful in making selections. We had both poppy and Cadillac, which were great. The scallop dinner was outstanding.
Fantastic and knowledgeable staff, fresh delicious oysters...a great addition to downtown Amherst!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Five College Movers LLC
Amherst Oyster Bar was a huge help and an absolute HIT at our event last Monday. They set up a beautiful station on one of the golf holes during our tournament and served fresh-shucked oysters to all the golfers. It was amazing — run so smoothly and professionally that they created a ton of new fans and future customers that day. Big thanks to Alex and the entire team for making it such a standout experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Marceline
This place is pretty good, but not really good enough to bring me back at these prices.
Lobster roll was nice but was 100% claw meat, which is very disappointing; I like some tail meat.
Calamari was tender, nicely cooked, and a generous portion, but half of the rings were cut a bit too wide for my liking.
Fish & Chips had a very small portion of fish.
Service was fine, nothing to write home about.
Overall, a meh, but not bad.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
DIANA TINDALL
The oysters were good. I sent the crabcakes back. The clam chowder was unremarkable.
Wonderful food. Cheerful atmosphere. Service and food prep time are really slow: Walked in at 8 PM and didn’t have our food until 9:30 PM.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
10/10 would come back again and again!!! Emma, our server, was great and management was awesome too! Food tasted amazing!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place was absolutely amazing! Our server was the best we've ever had (and we are both former servers)!! The oysters were out of this world!! Our meal was superb!!! We were a bit crowded in for a Wednesday night but it's a great problem to have!! Can't wait to go back again!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
First timers. Scotty was sooo helpful. We had bouillabaisse, scallops and clam chowder. Topped it off for our grandson’s belated birthday dinner with the cheesecake which we shared! Scotty remembered O’s birthday and wrote that on the dessert plate. Excellent meal in a wonderful atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here tonight with my family for the first time and we thought it was great! Food was excellent. Great seafood dishes. I think my scallops were some of the best cooked and quality scallops ive had in a long time. Oysters were so good and very fresh. We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Oysters are always delicious, and the crème brûlée and Basque cheesecake are soooo decadent. Great place for dinner after a movie at the Amherst cinema house! I make sure to eat here every time I’m in this state.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
All food is fresh and awwsome! Worth the drive from Boston
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Review: A Raw Bar That Forgot the Raw Truth Who would invest hundreds of thousands—maybe even north of a million—into an oyster bar and not know how to craft a proper mignonette? Answer: this place would. Someone clearly signed the lease, hired the architect, curated the playlist, and sourced the reclaimed wood. They nailed the moodboard. But they forgot to taste the mignonette. The sauce, if you can call it that, was a confused splash of vinegar with all the finesse of a cafeteria salad bar. No shallots. No pepper. No balance. Just acid—like the chef was trying to pickle the oysters instead of complement them. And that’s the thing: when a place charges $4 per oyster and serves them on a bed of crushed ice that looks like it was flown in from a glacier—on a plate so pinched it feels like the oysters are being punished—you expect the details to be dialed in. You expect the mignonette to whisper sophistication, not scream neglect. The vibe? Impeccable. The lighting? Instagram-perfect. The clientele? Dressed like they just stepped out of a curated lifestyle ad. But the sauce? It betrayed the whole illusion. It was the culinary equivalent of showing up to a black-tie gala in flip-flops. The oysters themselves were fine—briny, fresh, and well-shucked. But oysters are only half the story. The other half is the ritual: the chill of the ice, the clink of the shell, the drizzle of sauce that elevates the experience. And here, that ritual was broken. The staff? Polished and pleasant. The cocktails? Clever and overpriced. The ambiance? Designed to seduce. But the kitchen? It missed the mark. And when the food fails, the rest is just theater. ❌ Verdict: I won’t be back. Prologue: Someone should tell the chef they have only one job—and it’s not designing the playlist or arranging the ice. It’s making the food taste good. And if you can’t get the mignonette right, maybe oysters aren’t your calling.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Meh. So much potential, good atmosphere, great service, good location. The food and the presentation are confusing, the price says quality, the presentation and quality says roadside clam shack 100 miles inland.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Fresh, flavorful seafood. Imaginative flavor combinations. Lively atmosphere. Great service. You can review the flavor profiles of the different oyster types before ordering, which we found helpful in making selections. We had both poppy and Cadillac, which were great. The scallop dinner was outstanding.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Fantastic and knowledgeable staff, fresh delicious oysters...a great addition to downtown Amherst!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amherst Oyster Bar was a huge help and an absolute HIT at our event last Monday. They set up a beautiful station on one of the golf holes during our tournament and served fresh-shucked oysters to all the golfers. It was amazing — run so smoothly and professionally that they created a ton of new fans and future customers that day. Big thanks to Alex and the entire team for making it such a standout experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is pretty good, but not really good enough to bring me back at these prices.
Lobster roll was nice but was 100% claw meat, which is very disappointing; I like some tail meat.
Calamari was tender, nicely cooked, and a generous portion, but half of the rings were cut a bit too wide for my liking.
Fish & Chips had a very small portion of fish.
Service was fine, nothing to write home about.
Overall, a meh, but not bad.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The oysters were good. I sent the crabcakes back. The clam chowder was unremarkable.
Really good first dinner. We’ll be back!
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