Fell in love with Connie and Ted’s first and only visit back in April.
Compared to the places in San Francisco Bay Area that offer raw oysters (any restaurant), from the seafood themed places that are casual to somewhat upscale, to the lobster or seafood shacks that also do raw oysters, I’d say Connie and Ted’s blows them all out of the water as the complete package.
It’s casual, yet upscale and vibrant, and not in a hipster DB kind of way (none of that at all).
Pricey to some, but you truly get what you pay for. I’d say it’s priced accordingly for the quality.
Why is it so great for me?
First of all the selection of raw oysters they had on my visit was extremely commendable, 18 kinds. Chatam MA, Kusshi BC, Hollywood MD, Kumiai Baja, Puffer’s Petite MA, Peter’s Point MA, Tomahawk NY, Phantom Creek BC, Hog Island Sweetwater CA, Island Creek MA, Black Duck Salt VA, Grassy Bar CA, Minter Sweet WA, Fanny Bay BC, Naked Cowboy NY, Sweet Petite MA, plus XL Naked Cowgirl and Kumamoto from WA state. Quality was stunning, and the clams (raw) were ridiculously good (I want to say they were top neck but I can’t remember). Our best in NorCal I’d say would be New England Lobster Shack (for the top necks, oysters they get in random batches from mostly WA state and one or two MA).
Way better experience than Shuck Oyster Bar in Costa Mesa (right by Taco Maria).
The beverages selection was modest during the lunch visit, but the cocktails were quite solid.
Their clam cakes were not my favorite but it was still very pleasant to try. It’s unusual enough at least for me.
Like Mark said above, they cover the lemon so when you squeeze, the seeds don’t fall onto your food. One addition detail I appreciated was that they printed out the names/types of oyster on a small piece of paper, positioned it at the top of the plate to easily identify the oysters (going clockwise). Nice touch of thoughtfulness.
Top notch Santa Barbara uni in the shell. They already removed all of the brown gunk, leaving you with just the gonads to scoop out, so you can put them on the slices of toast/crostini. Enjoyed this far more than the San Diego sea urchin from the one of the bigger farmers markets down there.
Last but not least, Hokkaido scallop hot dog. So so so damn good. Especially if you had those Japanese fish / fishcake sausage snacks as a kid, this is the uber gourmet version!