Where to Get Oysters in Vancouver on Valentine’s Day
Local restaurants serving shellfish to get you in a loving mood.
Oysters at L’Abattoir. Photo by JC Madenspacher Photography
Not to kink-shame, but it’s hard to look sexy when you’re slurping out the insides of a sea creature. And yet oysters are considered a very romantic food. They’re a date-night menu staple, especially around Valentine’s Day, and Vancouver restaurateurs are well aware that lovey-dovey couples across the city will be ordering oysters on February 14.
In part, the timely popularity of this particular shellfish is likely due to rumours that it’s an aphrodisiac. Oysters have a lot of zinc, which many have believed is linked to sex drive, but in reality, there isn’t any hard proof. The lack of evidence (despite probably lots of willing study participants) suggests that oysters’ being an aphrodisiac is just a myth—albeit, one that has been around since the ancient Greeks.
But the actual aphrodisiac properties of oysters are largely irrelevant. They’re still a romantic thing to order. Maybe that’s because they’re on the pricier side, perhaps demonstrating a certain level of commitment to a partner. Maybe it’s because the tiny forks they’re served with are adorable. Or maybe it’s because eating them makes you look like a starving otter, and only your one true love could possibly stand the sight of you.
Here are the Vancouver restaurants serving oysters—don’t wait to make your reservations.
Eric Milic Photography
The menu at this French-style Gastown restaurant changes seasonally, but the oyster is one of the only menu items that’s served year-round. It’s a unique dish, designed meticulously and baked and served with whipped garlic butter and black truffle.
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It’s tough to beat a False Creek view, and at the Sandbar you’re safely sheltered from hungry Granville Island seagulls that may want to snatch the shelled delicacy straight from your hand. This restaurant offers seven kinds of oysters (including Kusshi, San Mateo, and Island Tide).
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Yaletown’s Provence has both house and premium oysters on the menu, both served with pear vinegar mignonette, lemon, and optional smoked herring roe.
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Many award-winning restaurants get their oysters from Fanny Bay, so it’s worth going straight to the source—especially if you’re looking for a more casual Valentine’s Day experience surrounded by a wall-to-wall undersea mural and real fish nets hanging from the ceiling. Oysters are front and centre here, with a handy menu guide to help out amateurs (Sunseekers are firm and sweet, Fanny Bay have a slate finish, et cetera). You can also order fresh oysters to-go and prepare them yourself at home.
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The seafood tower for two at Boulevard is a showstopper, with albacore tuna tataki, prawns, Dungeness crab, smoked steelhead, and of course, oysters. It sits impressively on the table and can encourage a lot of flirty dinner conversation. Oysters can be ordered à la carte, too, and are served with shallot mignonette, cocktail sauce, and a Thai chili espuma.
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Like Boulevard, Blue Water Café in Yaletown also offers a seafood tower—but if you’re worried about spoiling your dinner, you can order the shellfish “plateau” instead. It’s a single tier of oysters, poached mussels, prawns, clams, and more. The rotating oyster menu currently offers Kusshi, Chef Creek, Fanny Bay, and Beau Soleil on a half-shell.
