Always a favorite stop when I'm in NYC - usually try to go twice each visit. I sit at the small bar in the main room and trust the bartenders recommendations!
Never miss this restaurant when in NY. Love oysters and clams. Love the building. The the vaulted ceilings. I love the huge hard to read menu as well. Always sit at the cold bar or diner section in the same room. We have never been disappointed. There next May after several years away and hope it’s still the same. Seafood is expensive now thanks to over fishing.
I was just there. Didn't go in to eat unfortunately because my traveling companions don't like oysters. I got a few shots of Grand Central anyways, though security wouldn't allow me to use my tripod so I had to use a stabilized lens. We did get some of the cheesecake downstairs, even though they were sold out of half the options, the ones they did have were very good.
That Bowie t-shirt... Matt, I'm loving this channel because it really shows me the non-photographer side of you. Love your work as a photographer AND as a seafood lover. Keep up the amazing work!
It might have taken a million years to get there because he ordered every single oyster on the menu and they obviously took great care to ensure that all the oysters were arranged in order...most people come in and get two or three varieties.
He specifically said service was slow BEFORE ORDERING. I mean yeah, maybe you're right. The guy who travels the world to try restaurants and puts his money where his mouth is, has no idea about how long it should take for a server to arrive at a table, or maybe you're just whining. I'm also sure he is completely without even basic level observation skills and unlike the rest of us, can't tell when tables are getting food faster than him. In case you don't understand, IT WAS SLOW FOR ALL THE TABLES NOT JUST HIM BECAUSE THEY HATE HIM FOR GIVING THEM BUSINESS.
I would never pay those prices ! I can get fantastic fresh oysters at my local Whole Foods for $1 a piece. They usually have 4 or 5 varieties to choose from. I typically buy two dozen at a time and keep them in my fridge to eat a few every day. Oysters are best eaten fresh shucked with a squeeze of lime juice standing at the kitchen sink . Delicious !
Go to the Saloon area and you might get better service. Also...the Manhattan Clam Chowder is AWESOME!!! All in all I liked your video. I just hope you did it over a few days...if not...that is why you thought the Lobster was average. You were already full when you tried it.
The Oyster Bar has never been a 'fancy' place. It's just a casual cafe or raw bar, really. But, it has fresh raw oysters of good variety. For a couple hundred years NYC used to have dozens of oyster bars (a leg up on the rail and a beer & oysters after work) and the harbor was so choked with them in colonial times that Hudson and others complained of the harbor being choked by their reef beds. We drink 'beeah' with oysters and sit at the bar, itself.As a central transpo hub, its also a great location to meet with folks for lunch or the end of the day. It is very loud due to the tiled, domed ceiling. Oyster Bar selection is great for tasting the differences of origin. There is only one specie of eastern oyster but like coffee or wine you can taste a big difference between each "meroir". I grew up digging those little necks and we raise oysters on bays just south of Chelsea & Tony.
I ate there. It was really good. The restaurant has an "80s" feel to it. I love New York. Btw, I really liked "The Boil" (Lower East Side/Bowery) and "Lukes Lobster" (East Village, and other locations in Manhattan) for seafood.
This is a CLASSIC NYC restaurant. It is over 100 years old. So I wouldn't call it "80's", it's just not a trendy hipster place catering to only millennials and younger. It is wonderful old school NYC (which is getting harder and harder to find these days). I am so grateful that they have kept to tradition, and not tried to pander to the mood/menu/decor of the moment. That would ruin the GCOB. The the vaulted Guastavino tiled ceilings are a masterpiece, and a part of NYC history.
Matt, You have to visit the 'Ironbound', across the river From Manhattan. There's a Street named Ferry with very good restaurants. From Sushi, Brazilian Rodizio, Portuguese food, to great seafood, there's plenty to enjoy.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar is GREAT! It is a New York institution, and I am SO grateful it is still there! The the vaulted, Guastavino tiled ceilings are a masterpiece, and a part of NYC history. This is a CLASSIC NYC restaurant, so it's supposed to be loud. Matt is not from NYC, and he clearly doesn't get it. From his description of the GCOB, I don't think he would get many REAL NYC restaurants (not the new hipster NYC stuff that has been created by people who are not from NYC). The GCOB has some of the freshest seafood in NYC (flown in every day). It is not a cheap place to go, so if anyone thinks because it is in the train station that it would be cheap, guess again. The Pan Roasts are AMAZING (AND AFFORDABLE)! I think Matt would have had a better, and more authentic, experience if he had sat at the U shaped counters.
I always look forward to these videos. Keep them coming! I hope one day that you make it over here to DC or at least Baltimore. Have some real crab cakes with your other seafood. Tons of great places to try between the two cities. We get a ton of fresh seafood from the Chesapeake Bay.
Magazine came out years ago called. Inc. if you are an oyster bar fan get the very first issue and read a great story about GCT Oyster Bar ... and as a added treat talk to Mario the bartender in the main entrance bar he worked at Playboy Club in the 50's he s a great guy and one of the few professional bartenders left ...
Bro, you have great videos but whenever you go to a restaurant and you show the damage you should rate the restaurant from 1 to 5 stars, just your personal opinion, that will give us a better idea of how good the food actually was.
Might the service have improved if you wore a tie or jacket like the rest of the diners? I'm not saying that was the reason but oy, look at how the others were dressed as opposed to your brown tshirt. And the preparer certainly did his due diligence by creating a spiral of oysters to match the order so you'd know what you were eating. That takes time and effort. Why punish the server for the long prep? That wasn't a high bill. You ate enough for 4 people.
+fattymoko dude they destroyed the oyster list, this wasn't fine dining. the low price reflects the service, not that he got great service and they liked him so much they gave hime $100 off his bill, no this was just average food with average service although expensive type food. He didn't get mediocre service because he was dressed in a T-shirt
That's a big tip for the louzy service you told us you got... I always tip only if I think they deserve it (never in Japan though, it's rude to tip them there).
Danny B Like I said, tipping is rude and is genuinely considered an insult. Outside of Japan, why the hell would I tip if they don't deserve it? Also, I should assume my tip reaches the person who has served me. So "the other restaurant workers" are not my concern at that point. Also, I'm not fucking over anyone. Tipping isn't mandatory. They still get their paycheck. If that's too low for them, they should find a job that pays better. That's how life works, generally. Not much I can do about that.
thany3 Their "paycheck" is usually around $5 an hour. This mostly goes to taxes. In a place like this, the tips are pooled and distributed amongst the workers in the restaurant (back waiters, food runners, bar staff, etc)...these workers should be your concern. I really don't care about the tipping customs in Japan or any other place...when you are here in the US, tipping is a part of the culture.
Danny B And my point was the staff should get what tehy deserve. If I'm paying more than the bill tells me to, they better damn well deserve it. I don't really care if it's part of any country's culture, no matter how yound that culture still is. If I think it's undeserved, then that's my decision to make. If tipping is mandatory, put it on the bill.
Matt, all this seafood looks so good! I love seafood. I have to say though, I'm not trying to be a nutritionist here but while your videos are eye candy for all us viewers, too much shellfish isn't good for the body based on the cholesterol. I can only recommend to eat in moderation.
The two gay guy admiring his oyster platter when the server brought it over lol and the white guy tries to cover his face, maybe they are both married but are having a secret affair.
I wouldn't go anywhere near a seafood restaurant with a menu like a roll of wallpaper with all those 'fresh' shellfish..............'Looked Gross!.........
