TINTIN@呑んだ暮れ
It's a lunch with my wife on a holiday. It's October, so it's almost the season for fried oysters. When I inquired at the usual restaurants, most of them said they haven't started serving them yet. I wondered if oyster growth is slow this year? I had to go to Osaka for some errands, so I searched for a place in the Umeda area where I could eat fried oysters. I found "Umeda Station OYSTER BAR" on the lunch menu at an oyster bar.
The restaurant is located in the Hankyu Grand Building's dining area, Hankyu 32nd Street, Kukotei Dining on the 31st floor. It has a stylish white-themed atmosphere with 48 table seats and offers a view of Osaka's eastern side from the window. It is a directly managed store of the General Oyster Group, which is engaged in oyster farming, wholesaling, and restaurant management. The Oyster Room and Gumbo & Oyster Bar in the same Umeda area are also in the same group.
The lunch menu at the Oyster Bar includes a variety of oyster dishes, such as oyster pair sets, oyster courses, and oyster fry lunches. The Oyster Pair Set for two people includes a seafood platter, salad, oyster soup, two appetizers, a hot oyster plate with baked oysters, grilled oysters, and fried oysters, and a choice of two main dishes from a selection. The Oyster Course includes fresh oysters, salad, oyster soup, two appetizers, grilled oysters, fried oysters, and a choice of one main dish from a selection.
There are also options for oyster pasta, carbonara with sea urchin and bacon, tomato cream pasta with oysters and crab miso, oyster and cheese cream gratin, oyster and shellfish tomato risotto, oyster and salmon meuniere, and more. The lunch sets range from 1,210 yen to 2,090 yen, with options like oyster fry lunch, carbonara, pasta, gratin, risotto, double lunch with oyster sauté and fried oysters, and more.
I chose the B set, which includes one shell oyster, a selection of appetizers, and one drink. Since it was a visit to an oyster bar, I had to try the fresh oysters! I opted for sparkling wine as my drink. The live oysters were from Hiroshima Prefecture's Itsukushima, a brand oyster produced exclusively in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is a rare variety that can be eaten raw even in summer, with a rich and flavorful taste. The appetizer included a trio of tomato, okra, and jalapeño scallops.