Beautiful views, well run picnic area, and delicious fresh oysters but the drive is killer! We came from Cupertino for a 2PM reservation thinking that two hours was enough time to get there. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until a bit after 3PM so we kind of had to rush to finish before 5PM :/. When I make it out here again, I'll definitely try getting an earlier reservation and leaving with ample time to enjoy the food and scenery!
Review Source:Pros: Wonderful and relaxing, great atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff behind the bar, clean toilet facilities, easy and friendly valet parking.
Cons: A little expensive (but that's just how it is).
Details : Wanted to go for oysters with the wife to celebrate her birthday. After checking out several reviews on places in the Bodega and Tamales area, The decision was Hog Island Oyster Company. Great decision.
I called two weeks ago for reservation but the mechanical voice said it was fully booked, so we took the advise of several reviewers to try it anyway. We just might luck out with someone's cancellation or at least get a table for shucked oysters. As Plan-B we had Tamale Bay Oyster Company's address just in case.
The three of us (including a college son) brought with us a bottle of white wine with opener and disposal wine glasses, bread, lemons, hot sauce and shucking tools in case we need them, and our winter jackets just in case, filled up the gas tank and turned on the GPS and we were on our way.
I remember years ago going to Bodega Bay from San Francisco and had to drive along the dreadfully slow and tortuous and winding Rt-1 near Point Reyes. This time going there from Fairfield, CA. we did not know what to expect but anticipating some punishment regardless. It turned out to be a pleasant 70-minute drive without any pain or suffering. For those of you from San Francisco who might want a easier drive to Marshall or Bodega Bay without suffering through the section of Rt-1 near Point Reyes you might want to consider taking 101 and cut across from Petaluma instead.
The weather was absolutely perfect (early October). We didn't need the jackets. We arrived at the place and the valet immediately took over and told us where to go. It was around 11 am Saturday morning and there were a couple of tables available but we had to buy the shucked oysters due to not having a reservation. That was totally fine for us. Now that we know the next time we will do it differently. Fortunately we arrived a little early because the place filled up pretty fast.
We had a total of 48 raw oysters and 14 grilled ones. That was just about the right amount for the three of us. We didn't need to bring the shucking utensils and condiments. The Robert Mondavi 2010 Chardonnay was just perfect with the oysters. One bottle was just right so we didn't need a DD.
Afterward we took a ride up to Bodega Bay, which is a left turn at the parking lot and straight for about 15 minutes. What a wonderful time.
For those who want to know, the oysters cost $145, the tips $12, the parking valet $5.
HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of Hog Island Oyster Picnic at the farm!!!! This was my second time here and it just gets better each time. Make reservations at least 2 months in advance for a picnic if you want to guarantee a spot. Here's how to make it a really successful trip. Give each person in your party an item to bring.
1. Charcoal, lighter, grilling supplies, cutting board, knife
2. Utensils, plates, paper towels, a towel
3. Corn, artichokes, veggie skewers different sauces, butters, hot sauces, etc for the oysters
4. Bread, cheeses, finger appetizers etc.
5. Protein (tri-tip, carne asada, chicken, etc)
6. Salad and/or fruit
7. Water, soda, foil, aluminum serving trays
8. EVERYONE bring their own beer, wine, champagne, cocktails (no hard alcohol allowed)
Get there, fire up the grill, order oysters, and start shucking! They'll provide you with a shucker and teach you how if you've never shucked your own oysters. Throw some on the grill with your favorite sauce, and designate a grill master to put on and take off everything. OR, you can shoot them raw... just as good! BIG fan of the "Atlantics" if you're looking to shoot them raw. Easy to open, very clean, and tastes soooo sweet and salty! YUM!
BTW, they offer FREE VALET service!
A fantastic experience if you're a seafood fan, or even just for families. As others have said, you can bring your own goodies to picnic with a view of the bay - but there is a $5 "picnic fee" to use their tables/benches/trash. Dogs are welcome, too!
We just got oysters and clams to go, since they charge an arm and a leg for the shucking knife, and it would have been more comfortable to shuck back at our rental in Dillon Beach. I never would have thought that they would be sold out of some of their stock by midday, but they were out of the "large" oysters. Sucked it up and bought 50 of the "small" ($48) anyways, and was super pleasantly surprised to find they were twice the size of the Drakes Bay ones I had gotten the night before from Nick's (for $2 each, eugh)! Â Inside they were plump and sweet, and I couldn't have been happier. I didn't think I would be able to eat twenty of them, but they were so good I did anyways.
There's free valet parking since their lot is small. If you park on the side of the road and walk up like we did, be careful because there are lots of discarded shells that could wreck your tires.
Fantastic way to spend an afternoon on Tomales Bay! Â Wish we would've visited sooner - IMHO completely worth the gorgeous 1.5-2 hour drive from San Mateo!
There are two options if you wish to eat here during your visit (as opposed to buying oysters to go):
1) Reserve one of the 6 picnic table/grills by the water in advance ($5/person) and shuck your own oysters.
2) Order raw or cooked oysters and accompanying snacks/drinks/alcohol at the bar. Â If you choose this option, there are maybe six large communal tables to enjoy your food. Â
We chose to reserve a picnic table/grill - easily done online via SeatMe for either the 10:30a-1:30pm or 2-5pm time slots. Â Rumor is weekend reservations are grabbed 3-4 months in advance. Â My husband and I grabbed a Monday 2-5pm reservation for just the two of us about a month prior. Â We read the yelp reviews and came prepared with:
- Charcoal
- Lighter
- Aluminum foil (dirty grill grates)
- Tongs, basting brush
- Champagne
- Glasses/plates/utensils
- Cheese and crackers
- Corn & asparagus to grill, with accompanying butter and marinade
- Lemon herb butter (recipe courtesy of Emeril) and Parmesan cheese to top grilled oysters
- Salt/pepper/tobasco sauce
They provide you shucking gloves, shucking knives, lemon, ice, and mignonette sauce. Â We asked for a quick lesson on shucking, ordered four dozen, and had an awesome time! Â The oysters were cheaper by the bag of 50 but we wanted to try all the different types. Â $16/dozen for the atlantis, $13/dozen for the small sweetwaters, and $11/dozen for the x-small sweetwaters. Â So between the two of us, we had four dozen - 1 of x-small sweetwater (good for grilling), 2 of small sweetwater, and 1 of Atlantis oysters. Â
I would guess I never eat 24 oysters in a year, but I had 24 in a single day and loved every bite! Â So delicious! Â And you can watch them prepping, cleaning, and sorting the freshly caught oysters as you dine!
Don't forget a jacket/layers and your sunblock!
the classy counterpart of tomales bay oyster co. Â and by classy i mean no loud music, no crazy loud drunks, and no trash errwhere. Â you're able to access hog island oyster co. via 2 ways:
"shuck your own" picnic: Â reservations needed. Â these picnic tables book up super early in advance, so if you have a large party, i suggest you plan ahead and make a reservation or else you are s.o.l (s*** out of luck). Â we witnessed a family of 8 try to "drop in" without a reservation and was quickly turned away.
"oyster bar" picnic: Â no reservations needed, on a first come first serve basis. Â great for smaller parties (suggest smaller than 4). Â you place your order at the "boat house" and once your oysters (raw or bbq) are ready, they call your name for pick up. Â you won't get to shuck your own oysters sitting at these tables. Â really takes the fun out of it, but nevertheless the oysters are still as delicious as ever. Â
tips:
1. Â b.y.o.b. Â yes. Â bring your own booze. Â we failed to stop by a winery along the way so had to purchase a bottle of white.
2. Â b.y.o.f. Â yes. Â bring your own food, and that includes anything you'd like to eat along with the oysters. Â we stuck with cheese & crackers. Â stick to picnic style food items.
3. Â b.y.o.d. Â yes. Â bring your own dog. Â dog friendly :) Â but be prepared for them to get a bit dusty. Â
4. Â b.y.o.c. Â yes. Â bring your own condiments. Â if you're shucking your own oysters they don't provide you condiments for the oysters. Â
5. Â sunscreen/hat. Â you will be outdoors the whole time, so be prepared to bake.
6. Â arrive before 4 pm. Â h.i.o.c. closes at 5 pm, last call happens about 1 hour before closing, so if you're interested in getting seated and get your oyster slurping on, i suggest you arrive early.
7. Â reservations, reservations, reservations. Â for those who wants to shuck oysters. Â
great ambiance, great atmosphere, great everything, even free valet parking up front.
This place is SO much fun. My friends and I (8 of us total) just came here for 4th of July since most of us hadn't been oyster shucking before and wanted to try it out. Hog Island has two reservation slots: 10:30 am and 2:00 pm. We luckily got the last table for the 2pm slot for the 4th, and let me just say, I HIGHLY recommend reserving a table. You'll save yourself the hassle and long hours of waiting a table if you just book in advance - otherwise, people say you should get there at 10am if you want a spot!!
Also, when you book a table, you can't just show up without stuff. Pretend you're going to a picnic, basically. You'll need everything!: coal, utensils, hotdogs, burgers, beer, wine, fruit, the whole works. They provide the oysters (obviously), and the oyster knife along with gloves (luckily!) Oh, also remember to make your own hogwash (whatever you want to use as a topping for the oysters, basically.) The fee per person when you book a table is only $5/person, no big deal at all. Also, we were able to buy 50 oysters for less than $50 total, and this was totally enough for the 8 of us.
Hog Island is GORGEOUS. The view is stunning with the grass and ocean, and we got very very lucky with a beautiful day of weather. We had our table from 2pm-5pm and enjoyed every minute of it. We spent time shucking oysters and we barbecued a good amount of them too! Both bbq and non-bbq are very yummy. If you find any oysters that can't be shucked, put them to the side and they'll switch them out for you. The staff is so so so nice and very helpful. They're extremely organized and you can ask them for any help!
They also have a bar/to-go type of thing set up so you can directly order beer/wine/oysters from them which is really convenient. While we were waiting for our own beer/wine to chill in our cooler, we ordered drinks from them to get our party started.
Three other pluses include: you can bring dogs, free valet service, and clean bathroom. I will definitely be coming back here. It's just such a stunning place and I have nothing negative to say - I had one of my best 4th of July's ever!
Whether you enjoy oysters or not (I don't), this place is great fun. Like most folks here, our group picnicked, with several in our party downing six-dozen oysters between them. The rest of us dined on less exotic fare while taking in the fascinating scene around us - celebratory, self-procured, self-prepared feasts of salads, Hibachi-grilled chicken, bags and bags of chips, loaves of bread, wine and beer, and, of course, farm-purchased oysters, which you can shuck yourself or not.
The vibe is definitely farm-simple, as most people crowd around rustic old picnic tables with breathtaking views of Tomales Bay.
We were here on a Tuesday afternoon so business was a bit slower. Â We came to try the oysters on the recommendation of a local. Â Oh my........best oysters ever! Â We could not believe the flavor of the vinegar based "dip" for the raw oysters or the flavor of the barbecued oysters. Â We had both, and they were AMAZING! Â Be careful as you are driving not to miss the place....you actually eat a ways back from the road...right on the water! Â You can also buy the oysters by the bag and cook them right there - a picnic! Â We may try that next time!
Review Source:Been hearing a lot about this place. We drove down on a Saturday morning and arrived just a little after opening (~9:30). Parking is pretty cramped all along the coast highway, but there was complimentary valet.
Line wasn't long. We were outta there as soon as we could decide what we wanted to buy. We bought 50 x-small Sweetwaters and two dozen Kamamotos. Threw them in a cooler on ice and drove to Drake's Beach.
We shucked and ate all of the Kamamotos raw while we waited for the charcoal. Delicious as expected. No additional sauce needed.
I usually don't do a lot of raw oysters, but we ate about half the Sweetwaters raw also. Surprisingly, they were almost as good as the Kamamotos! Straight up or with a little Hmong pepper sauce. Grilled, they were good as expected.
Glad the oysters lived up to the hype.
I was expecting someone to come out to the picnic table area to teach us how to shuck the oysters. I was holding our picnic table and watching our things and my bf went to purchase the oysters and that's where they show you. I wanted to learn from the professional.
Cool experience if you go prepared. And I don't travel light! Picnic basket with place settings, napkins, glasses, table cloth, aluminum foil, tongs, charcoal, lighter fluid, BBQ lighter, serving utensils, parring knife, small cutting board (unless you brought pre cut slices of lemon).
We also brought pasta salad, garlic bread to grill and pre-seasoned and foil wrapped corn on the cob. Also sparkling water and our own champagne.
The weather was a lot colder than the forecast said. You're right on the coast so bundle up in layers!
Overrated and definitely overpriced. We didn't make reservations because we wanted to try the cooked oysters with their special sauce here then sit at the cafe area. Got here at around 3:30, 4? Don't remember, but my BF was standing in line for nearly an hour and the line wasn't even that long! I had to sit by myself at some plant ledge (the tables were filled) in boredom just to save a seating area. But guess what? THEY SOLD OUT OF COOKED OYSTERS! But they had raw oysters available? I don't understand why they can't just toss it on the grill and make us pay a few bucks more for it. Easy money? Anyways, my BF ended up just getting some OUSTANDINGLY overpriced crackers, organic cheese, salami, a dozen raw oysters, and their special stout.
Guess what? I got food poisoning from the oysters. And the stout was so nasty, it gave me a horrible stomache. My bf even agreed the stout was terrible, he couldn't drink it. Had to toss half of it away. The vinegar sauce that came with the oysters were pretty darn good, but the oysters were okay... thinking about it makes me nauseous and I LOVED oysters. I think this place traumatized me. =[.
Anyways, this seems like a cool place to grab a few of your friends/family, reserve a picnic table with grill, and cook/shuck the oysters yourself. Bring charcoal, sauces, lemon, napkins, wetnap, plates, beer, food, etc if that is going to happen. Unfortunately we passed that opportunity up and risked it to try Hog's cooked oysters. Did not happen.
I've been to Hog Island twice, and your experience there depends a lot on when you go and whether you're picnicking or buying at the bar. The first time we went, we stopped by to eat at the bar on a weekend. It was super crowded and we waited a long time. The food was delicious (but comparable in price to eating at the Ferry Building branch), and we left as soon as we were done eating, to get out of the crowd (and to leave our table free for some other person who'd been waiting a long time). The food was great, but it felt too crazy to be truly fun. (The seating area's roughly half reserved picnic tables, so that doesn't leave much room for people who just show up.)
The second time we went was on a Monday morning, and we reserved the 10 AM slot for our picnic. We had a FABULOUS time. When we got there at 10 AM, it was empty and peaceful and the bay was gorgeous. We bought a $40 bag of 50 extra small sweetwaters to shuck ourselves. They poured them out on a couple trays, tossed and replaced a few that they didn't like the look of, and piled ice on them, gave us shucking knives and gloves, and showed us how to shuck (a couple times, since we were *not* pro and it showed). We bought charcoal there, and a nice staff member started up the grill for us, and we grilled some oysters and ate others raw. We'd also put together a batch of their chipotle bourbon butter (recipe on their site) since we'd really liked them grilled with the butter the last time we were there. It was peaceful, fun, delicious, and (for that many oysters) super cheap.
If you can, definitely:
-- Reserve a picnic space (you can do it on their site). It's $5/person, but well worth it. I'm not sure how their system works, but availability for larger groups is sometimes easier than small groups.
-- Go on a weekday if you hate crowds. If you book a weekday morning, you might have it all to yourself!
-- Buy oysters by the bag and shuck them yourself (cheaper, and you can't get any more fresh than that!)
The first time was all right, but the second time was just wonderful. And the sweetwaters are delicious as well as being great "starter" oysters for people who are new to raw oysters.
We went to this place based on a recommendation from a friend on our way to Fort Bragg. Based on the positive reviews here as well we were so much looking forward to it. The price ($30 for 12 oysters!!) was already a bit "huh??", but we went ahead anyway. After placing the order, we waited well over 45 minutes for our plate to be ready, then had to eat them standing holding our tray because all the few tables in the picnic area were taken... Oysters were fresh, but not that great (fresh does not necessarily equal good quality). Maybe we got a bad batch? I don't know, but we left feeling we were ripped off. This place has become way too overrated, they know it, and charge accordingly. We will not go Hog Island ever again. Need I say more?
Review Source:I love oysters so I love this place. Â It's near Tomales Bay. Â Go with a full tank of gas because it'll be at least 30 miles before you find another one. Â The oysters are awesome...raw or BBQ'd. Â Bring wine, bring cheese, bring crackers, have a picnic and shuck your own (if that's your thing). Â It's a beautiful setting and scenic. Â When we went we saw a wedding party there enjoying the sunshine. Â
Oysters were a bit pricey but so worth it.
FOOD:
1.) Bags of oysters!
SERVICE:
Be sure to make reservations ahead of time. At the location.. not really any service, you go up and buy bags of oysters. And you gotta shuck em yourself.
ATMOSPHERE:
This is the best. Nice view on the picnic tables right by the water. A nice relaxing weekend day to nom on some oysters mmm... Great with a group of friends.. I think there's a bbq grill to should you have brought your own goodies to cook. It's some drive up from SF but it's a nice little getaway
Since I've had Hog Island bookmarked for so long now, I was super stoked to finally check them out with some friends. Â Never mind the fact that the Hog Island I had bookmarked was actually the one in the Ferry Building and not the one here by Tomales Bay. Â But hey, I'm not complaining - that just meant the oysters would be that much fresher!
Although it's about 90 minutes from SF, the drive doesn't feel that long. Â Well, assuming your navigator doesn't get you lost (ahem). Â Once you get here, parking isn't too bad either - they have a lot right in front for valet and those with reservations, as well as spaces along the side of the road (kind of cool how they line the ground with old oyster shells).
Their "picnic area" has two sections - an outer ring of tables and grills, and an inner section with tables only. Â The outer tables are where you can shuck your own oysters if you like, but are only available by reservation. Â The inner section is available for drop-ins (like us) on a "first come, first serve basis", but you can only order oysters pre-shucked from the bar (not the worst thing).
We tried a mix of the Pacific Sweetwater and Kumamoto oysters they had on hand and everything was incredibly fresh.  These aren't your tiny, happy hour sized oysters and the Hog Wash "sauce" each tray came with made the already delicious oysters that much better (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hog-island-oyster-company-marshall?select=M8HyvGs5d0VQUy_iQNVCJw#To7q18E7ziiM5gVCeRU1nA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>).  Each of us easily cleared over a dozen on our own, in addition to the snacks we brought and the Cowgirl Creamery Triple Cream cheese, Brickmaiden Bread, and Creminelli Wild Boar salami we tacked on (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hog-island-oyster-company-marshall?select=M8HyvGs5d0VQUy_iQNVCJw#iZxJLiScYrbSe7QRxBVR6Q">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>).  The cheese was terrific and oh so creamy, and the salami has given me cravings ever since.
Even though Hog Island's oysters are a little pricier than Drake's or Tomales Bay Oyster Company, I feel like it's worth the trade off. Â Table reservations here are mostly cheaper than Tomales Bay ($5 a head vs. $75 a table), and Drake's may or may not be forced to shut down (pending their appeal). Â Come early if you plan to drop-in, but reservations would probably be the way to go (especially if you have a group). Â Either way, a great way to spend a day! Â Preferably without making a wrong turn...twice.
They've got the basic covered: tables, grills, fresh oysters, condiments, tools, gloves. Problems are (on the weekend with nice weather): big crowds and messy parking. The staff remains mostly friendly, though clearly stressed under the busy workload.
My strong recommendation would be to do one of two things... make a reservation for your group or pick up oysters, throw them in a cooler, and head to a park. We got there around 11:30 with no reservation and the place was already packed. Fortunately there were a few tables left, but only one or two. We had a solid picnic and downed a couple dozen oysters, but next time I'll likely take them to go.
PS the drive from San Francisco is quite beautiful.
Such a fun group activity. Book a picnic table on the outer rim in advance and roll up with tons of friends ($5 per person for the reservation). Each picnic table has a built-in grill (you need to bring your own coal, fire, and tools). You are allowed to bring your own food and alcohol. You can purchase oysters at the farm and they give you free shucking lessons. Overall mega win!
Review Source:We've been coming to the Hog for almost 10 years and watched the simple oyster farm go from the rough no frills guy in rubber apron outfit to the gourmet 'ship' with Cowgirl Creamery cheese spread. While I don't mind most of the changes, this past Sunday's visit was a significant disappointment.
We were in the area doing brunch and decided to pick up a sack of the tasty bivalves to consume at home before dinner. Service was soooo slow - we arrived around 2pm with only 4-5 parties in front of us inline; but there was only one poor under-trained girl who was running the whole operation from taking the order to filling the order to taking payment for the order. she clearly was overwhelmed and it took half an hour to process the people in front of us. The valet (thankfully free) actually came by to check on us because he thought we were just doing a pickup and shouldn't take that long. Finally with our sack of 50 extra small sweet waters in tow, we drove home.
As we started shucking them, we were confronted with another big surprise. The oysters were of wildly different sizes - from enormous 3+" BBQ sized ones to tiny 1" minis. There were also several clusters of 2 or 3 oysters that were completely stuck together, as well as a few that were so misshapen (think Dali's melted clocks) that they were basically impossible to shuck.
The worst thing though, was the fact that 3 out of the 50 had holes in them - pencil eraser sized holes caused by someone cutting two oysters apart with a saw. In two cases the oyster inside was dry and tacky (as in 'dead') and I just threw them out; in the third one the liquid was somehow kept in so the oyster was halfway down the hatchet before I noticed that the taste was a bit stale and not fresh 'n clean like the others. Yikes!
Disappointing experience. It seems like Hog Island is putting more focus and staff on the 'extras' than oysters from the farm. Three stars for the fact that the none-damaged/deformed oysters were still delicious.
Parking: valet since they have a small lot.
I got here around 10am and bought 2 dozen oyster to share with a friend for $35. Around noon, the place was getting really packed and the workers raised the prices by $10 for the two dozen oysters. Luckily we got there early to get a table and pay the cheaper rate. Unfortunately, the tables next to the water are by reservation only and the tables in the center are first come first serve. Had I known, I would've made a reservation to be beside the ocean.
My friend and I were complete noobs at this place. We came empty handed and had to buy our sides and wine here. I saw other couples and families that brought picnic baskets with cheese, crackers, and white wine. We were forced into buying the expensive sides, but at least the cheese and crackers were delicious for the price since it came from the local shop, Cow Girl Creamery. They also provide an ice bucket for those who bring their own white wine.
Now we know to pack up before heading out. Can't wait until oyster season comes back.
Much better than Tomales Bay Oyster Co. Â They are very friendly, give you all you need to eat their oysters and have a great migonette sauce that they give you for FREE.
Tomales Bay Oyster Co. just nickel and dimes you into spending a lot for a little. Â Not here!!!
Great drinks available and a completely wonderful environment to enjoy.
Admittedly prior to my last jaunt to SF I wasn't really schooled on oysters. I'd had them maybe once or twice in my life and I wasn't sure how I felt about them. I mean, I was super into the idea and I did like the flavor but I didn't know much beyond that which always kept me from ordering them. Luckily my fella and I were with some friends who DID know and took us to Hog Island to get some shells for schuckin'.
First off, the space is hella impressive. By the water and tons of coolers (for lack of a better word) filled with oysters. Some seating if you want to eat there and then a walk up booth for to go oysters. We wanted to picnic in a park rather than there so we were getting ours to go.
They had a board out which described what all the oysters they had available were. We chose a few and asked for them (kumamotos and smalls). The gal was brisque and not the most friendly in the world. She dumped the bag of smalls on the table and said, "We don't have our own. We have these instead" (I don't remember what they were called, sorry). Which was kind of bummer since we chose and drove out to Hog Island since we wanted to try theirs instead of another place and they had the other place after all. She also didn't ask if we wanted something else instead. Just gave us the ones we didn't really ask for. We took them since we drove all the way out there but it was still a little weird.
But in the end it wasn't bad at all. The oysters? The bomb. Fresh and delicious. And the price, I thought, was pretty reasonable considering how much you can get ($40 for a bag of about 40). The negatives? The service. Just a bit too curt and not super helpful. Minus one star for that but still a fantastic spot to visit and they definitely made an oyster lover out of me.
Immediately following the most sublime drive of my life up the Pacific coast, I was treated to one of the most sublime foodie adventures possible at the Hog Island Oyster Farm.
The place is a legit working oyster farm! Â We've all enjoyed "buck a shuck" nights at our favorite oyster bars et cetera, but it was really interesting to see exactly where oysters come from and how they are fetched. Â There are giant tanks of oysters, various farming implements, and several very masculine looking individuals walking about with purpose, seemingly working very hard.
Towards the back of the property is a simple wooden bar surrounded by several picnic tables. Â From this bar comes the most fresh and amazing oysters you've ever tasted - your choice of either raw, or barbequed with a chipotle bourbon sauce. Â Both are life-changing, and you should enjoy both in as large a quantity as your income will allow. Â And they have beer.
You may also purchase your oysters in bulk and shuck them yourself on-premesis, but that seems fucking crazy to me. Â
This place is unbelievable. Â Check it out.
We spent ~150$ for 150 as-fresh-as-they-get Tomales Bay Oysters. Do i need to say anything else? 50count each of kumamotos (delicate flavor = fantastic raw, $60/50), extra smalls ($40/50), and smalls (grilled these up with my friend's delicious spicy bbq sauce, $48/50).
Pretty awesome for an average of $1/oyster, since the product here is SO GOOD.
Only one pair of gloves between the five of us - no problem, two cheap pairs purchased.
Also gave us a complimentary bag of ice since, well, we didn't bring enough.
Cashier recommended Dillon Beach, so on we continued.
Great start to a perfect day.
I guess this was my first time, maybe... Â I used to live in West Marin and I think I used to always go to Tomales Bay Oysters. Â But, coming here you could already tell the place is much much smaller but very organized at the same time. Â They also have valet!
The outer tables are the only ones that are allowed to shuck your own oysters. Â The inner communal tables are first come first serve and you must order already prepared oysters from the cafe. Â And honestly, with all that room they could have put at least another 5 tables and still be comfortable. Â If they don't want you to shuck the oysters yourself and charge you more money, make the additional tables part of the cafe too. Â I don't know; seems like maybe they're making too much money already to maximize their space. Â
I brought the wine, bread, cheese, etc so my friends ordered the oysters. Â They could not stop talking about how rude the people were behind the counter. Â This is such a shame because I prefer the quieter atmosphere and the slow pace feeling of Hog Island.
Summary: Pretty setting that is much nicer than the crowded place down the road, but there's a reason all those people are packing in the other place!
CONS:
- $60 for 24 raw oysters
- $60 for a bottle of cheap wine
- Long line to order oysters.
- Long wait for a table, forget it if you have more than 4 people. The guy told us we'll never get a table, even if we split up and sit separately.
- Unfriendly vibe. After standing in line we finally reach the order counter and the girl just walks away. She looks at us and walks away without a word! After dropping a couple hundred dollars on oysters and two rolls of bread she couldn't even crack a fake smile.
- You cannot shuck your own oysters. Sorta takes the fun out of it.
PROS:
- Valet Parking
- Real bathrooms. Line is super long though.
Came here to satisfy the gf's desire to eat some oysters. Â A bit of a trip, to be certain, but once we got here it was wonderful.
Probably couldn't have picked a better day to be out here. Â It was a nice, sunny day, cool but not COLD. Â We came to eat at The Boat (the oyster bar section) where you can get your oysters already shucked, albeit at a premium, but totally worth it for us as we are not learned in the art of shucking. Â Also have miscellaneous other snacks (bread and cheese were other things we got) as well as an array of beverages including wine and beer.
We had a couple dozen raw oysters, which they serve you shucked, on ice, with lemon and Hog Island's own mignonette. Â As noted, we also got a loaf of the bread of the day and some goat cheese. Â Everything was fantastic. Â $32/dozen shucked oysters with accoutrements, and I forget how much the bread and cheese were. Â Anyhow, a little pricey but worth it IMO.
I can see this place getting VERY busy, so you might be wise to get there early. Â We arrived around lunch time on a Sunday and there was still quite a bit of open seating available which started to fill up by the time we left an hour later. Â You may have to share a table with other folks since seating is quite limited. Â All picnic tables were taken with reservations though, so if you want to do this, plan ahead.
If you can stomach the drive, which is a bit long-ish, and windy at times, you will be rewarded with good food, at least, and if you are lucky (like us), maybe you'll even get beautiful weather and the view as well.
Came by on a beautiful weekday morning. Â The parking area is covered with crushed oyster shells. Â You walk to the right past the take out window where you can buy 50 oysters of various types and sizes - but no mixing. Â You can also get a oyster knife (a must have), and a shucking glove to protect yourself should you decide to shuck the oysters yourself in the patio area. Â
When walk in a little further past the oyster tanks, you'll see a picnic area. Â On the right is the oyster bar where you can order some oysters already shucked with lemon. Â (I find shucking oysters a difficult task.) Â You can eat them in the patio area immediately adjacent to the oyster bar. Â The patio area closer to Tomales Bay is where people can bring their oysters and shuck them themselves. Â It even has some BBQ's where you can BBQ your oysters. Â Evidently, this area gets real busy and reservations are suggested. Â And it's five bucks a person too. Â Cool piped in music to go with the great view of Tomales Bay. Â
Pretty expensive for freshly shucked oysters, so get ready for that. Â Friendly staff.
I just heard that only the Drake's Bay Oyster Farm is being shut down by the feds because the lease ended.
$38/dozen for BBQ'ed oysters? Â Â $50/two dozen raw at the oyster bar! Â WOW! Â Way to rich for my blood.
FYI the restrooms were disgusting, we were there before the lunch rush on a Saturday.
In an area that has plenty of places to get oysters; it amazes me that this one rips you off so bad. They also charge you $5/person to sit at the picnic tables.
We went to the next place south in Marshall and were able to sit on the deck above the beach, the oysters came with great bread and were $10/dozen cheaper. Plus they had beer and other food besides oysters and great clam chowder.
Awesome. BF and I stopped by on a whim. We grabbed a picnic table seat at their communal tables and grabbed a dozen oysters. The place is packed on the weekends with people who have reserved the picnic tables with the BBQ pits. Come early if you want a seat at the communal tables. Fresh, shucked oysters and awesome selection of beers and wine are available for purchase.
When parking on the side of the road, you will see oyster shells that have been recycled!
This place has super powers.
From the winding highway it seems like an unassuming place where you can only buy Oysters, but once you enter you realize (or once you read Yelp before going, you know...) that it's unfiltered magic.
It has a picnic area open during the day looking over the water. You can see where the oysters you're eating came from, along with one of the loveliest sunsets in California*.
Not only do they serve oysters, but also wine and beer and various breads and cheeses. It is a picnic ground at the heart of it all, though, so you can bring in your own snacks and alcohol, too. You can even bring your puppy.
Reservations are available, and I recommend it for parties for three or more. But if it's just two of you, you should be fine if you just pop in.
I love this place too much to end with a cutesy Pepper shout out. Â No Evelyn snark? A real first. Â
*This California fact is brought by someone who has very little knowledge of the state.
What is there not to love about this place?
We love to come here and spend the afternoon relaxing, eating, imbibing, soaking up the sun, the smell of the sea, and chatting up a good time.
I've come here for special occasions like Mother's Day, or just came to have a good time. Our last trip we came on a Tuesday. A shuck your own oyster day.
We brought wine, cheese, crackers, lemon, hot sauce, bbq sauce, chicken salad, and an apple. Just trying to keep it all rounded out! Well, they provide lemon, hot sauce, and I newly figured out ... even mignonette sauce if you want it!
We also brought coals to barbecue, but they will sell those to you too. The only thing we didn't bring (but should have been in my wine backpack) that I would have liked to have was a table cloth. It just makes everything feel nicer!
I usually like to get kumamotos but they were out, so we opted for small sweetwaters. I've been eating kumamotos for so long I forgot how good sweetwaters are too! I think I'll be getting sweetwaters for a while now. They are great on the grill with bbq sauce and great fresh with mignonette sauce too.
A few turned out to be dead, so I told the guy behind the bar area and he brought us a handful more. What's funny is some of them had clams stuck to them, we were told that's just a bonus! Those grilled up great too. You just have to be quick with them since they cook really fast.
I love the fact that when the boat (the bar) is open you can get beer, wine, crackers, cheese, and that whole lot. But it's also nice to be there when it's open because the person working there will come and chat, and check on your more frequently to see if you need or want anything.
Of course, bringing beer and wine are totally allowed too. Otherwise it's $4 a bottle for beer and a bottle of wine varies. We ordered Racer 5 IPA, though I think next time I'd bring my favorite Lagunitas.
Even though they say it is required to reserve in advance, if tables happen to be open when you arrive they'll still set you up and charge you accordingly ($5/person for the table, shucking supplies, and grill). But you do risk not getting a table if you don't make a reservation. When we showed up last time we didn't care if we got a table or not as we could have just gone down the beach with our oysters since we brought everything we needed with us.
We even shared our burning embers with a group who spontaneously showed up and had never tried grilling their oysters before. So we showed them how and all got along famously, eating and laughing. Everyone is always so friendly.
We also got to pet some cute doggies who were so desperately but politely begging for scraps.
Our total after 4 beers, the reservation fee, and our oysters came to about $60. Well worth an amazing afternoon for the two of us.
Provides delivery of oysters during the holidays. Go to their website for the order form.
I would have given Hog Island 5 stars EXCEPT for the price! I thought for sure when you are closer to the source, the price of the oysters would be cheaper, but it was just as expensive as buying oysters in SF or in the South Bay.
HOWEVER, that did not diminish the fact that I loved my experience here! The drive to Marshall was beautiful. The set up of the communal tables on the patio overlooking the water was beautiful. "The Boat" where you can purchase raw and BBQ'd oysters as well as beer, champagne and wine and cheeses was perfect. But here is where it gets expensive - it was $12 for 4 BBQ'd oysters! $3 per oyster when the same exact ones raw are $2.25/each?!? That part doesn't make sense to me. But the trick to not feeling like you are getting reamed on the prices is to bring your own beer, wine or champagne which they allow you to do.
Coming here is definitely an experience whether you just want to be romantic with one person or bring your whole group of friends or family. Make it a day and you will not regret it!
Had a surprisingly easy time reserving a table. It was so easy that I reserved two weekdays in October. The ease might have had something to do with the recent bacterial bloom in Tomales Bay. Some of their oysters were imported as a precaution. $15 for a dozen Kumamotos? Local or imported, I'm in!
From the "to go" window, we picked up our oysters and paid for our table. The $5 per person picnic fee gives you a picnic table, grill, glove, and shucking knife. We decided to leave our tab open which turned out well for us since we ordered another dozen oysters.
The Boat really helped us out! We forgot a knife for our sourdough bread but the wild boar sausage we bought from The Boat came with a cutting board and serrated blade so that worked perfectly. Also forgot to bring a corkscrew for the lambic but the folks at The Boat were super nice and let us use theirs. You can also get lemons, mignonette, and horseradish at The Boat for free but I like my oysters naked. The Boat is only open on weekends and Mondays so we better be more prepared when we're back on Wednesday!
Shucking oysters is a skill. The first one was easy so I had a false sense of success. I wanted to bash the second one into the table. I got the hang of it around #6. Angle (and persistence) is key.
The picnic area has about 10 tables with a nice view of Tomales Bay. The staff were friendly and helpful. The bathroom was clean. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
Absolutely, LOVE.
Before I get into how much I love this place, let me just say that they are not kidding about making reservations. Â I had to make reservations for a Saturday picnic 2 months in advance! Â And even then, none of the afternoon picnic times were available, so we ended up getting a picnic table reservation for 10:30 am - 1:30 pm. Â Bottom line, just make the reservation far in advance (at least 1-2 months before), and whatever date is available, just take it!
Ok, now let's talk about the farm. Â It's about an hour and a half north of San Francisco in Tomales Bay, which means for my 10:30 am picnic, I was out the door at 9:00 am. Â A little rough having to leave that early, but once I got there, I was perfectly content.
You definitely smell the oysters, and to be honest, it bothered me a little bit at first, but you get used to it, and the atmosphere is so charming that you won't even think about it afterwards. Â So we got to our picnic table right in front of the water with a cute little wooden fence...it definitely did not feel like we were in California, but obviously, we were. Â And luckily, the weather was perfect!
We paid $5 per person to reserve the table, and along with it came a grill, shucking gear, lemons, horseradish, and hot sauces. Â We also brought our own food and alcohol (only beer and wine allowed), so we had plenty of food for a picnic, and then we just had to bring our own charcoal and BBQ tools. Â We then bought the oysters in bulk which were definitely cheaper than getting them at restaurants. Â We spent approximately $75 on 2 dozen kumamoto oysters and 50 medium-sized sweetwater oysters. Â Between 9 of us, we each had plenty! Â
They taught us how to shuck the oysters so that we could do it ourselves.  The only problem is that they only gave us two sets of shucking gear, so only two people  could shuck at a time, and since it takes a while getting used to shucking, we started off very slow getting the oysters out.  But, after our first few tries, we started getting the hang of it and oysters got shucked so much faster!  We ate them raw and they were delicious!  I also made a cheesy garlic butter that we put on the oysters to grill and they were so good too!
It was definitely a fun experience for all of us, and one that I would love to do at least once a year!
Having been to different Oyster companies along this same area, I have to say Hogs Island is probably my absolute favorite.
I was invited here by a friend whose friends reserved a table at Hogs Island. Unlike other Oyster companies, you can reserve tables here and that makes planning a lot nicer. For Tomales Bay down the street, you cannot reserve and it's first come first serve. However, Hogs Island is a little smaller and has a lot less tables. But their bathrooms are NOT porta potties ... so that's nice. To have an actual bathroom is like... so needed.
The staff & hosts here are nice, pleasant, tell you what to bring and ask you what you would like. It's easy to buy oysters and even other things like wine and cheeses which is something other places don't have. There is a sort of ... come in and seat yourself at leisure where you'd have to purchase some wine and cheese, but that's really not a bad deal either.
The view is nicer than Tomales Bay ... I feel like it's cleaner here in general and the oysters all taste pretty much the same so ... why not!
When I went they also had dungness crab. What a treat!
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