Overview
Oyster lovers are in for a shucking good time at Manly's latest seafood spot, a shucked-to-order oyster bar that overlooks the seaside suburb's marina.
Quietly opening in December 2017 and launching its new winter menu this week, Shucks joins The Esplanade's considerable array of eateries cooking up the ocean's finest. Here, however, diners can expect oyster shooter flights, plates of natural oysters, and grilled oysters served with bourbon and chipotle, kimchi and shallots, or herb and garlic, rather than the usual selection of fish and chips on offer elsewhere along the waterfront.
Other seafood mains, such as grilled octopus tentacle with kale crisps, mackerel steak in an escabeche sauce and Creole-spiced prawns with creamy polenta, are also available, with owner Belinda Ho sourcing everything locally where possible. Oysters come from local farmers in Moreton Bay when in season — and it's Ho's own experience in the bay that inspired her to open the restaurant. During a day at North Stradbroke Island she was eating oysters in a small tinny looking back to the mainland and knew she "needed to set up an oyster bar nearby".
With head chef Michelle Pickworth (ex-Lighthouse Cleveland, Seven Seas Yeronga) overseeing the kitchen, Shucks also serves up desserts of brandy flambéed pears, coconut creme caramel and chocolate beetroot cake — all without anything fishy, of course. Drinks-wise, the beverage selection highlights small batch and minimal intervention techniques across both its wine and beer range, with Aperol spritz, vodka soda and the good ol' G&T comprising the cocktail offering.
The restaurant is open from midday from Thursday to Saturday — however, stopping by on Sundays is particularly recommended. Welcoming patrons from 10.30am, Shucks rolls out its weekly oyster brunch until 3.30pm with all of the usual oyster options, a 'Hail Mary' oyster shooter (with an oyster, vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, and Tabasco), a Taiwanese oyster omelette, house-cured salmon gravlax and bug tacos.
Shucks is now open at 457 Esplanade, Manly. Visit the bar's website and Facebook page for further details.