Bellevue Welcomes Taylor Shellfish’s Biggest Oyster Bar

For its fourth oyster bar, opening to the public in Lincoln Square South in downtown Bellevue on Sunday, November 19, Taylor Shellfish Farms is going big.

Situated between Wild Ginger and Fogo de Chão on the first floor of the building — beneath the upcoming Lincoln Square Food Hall — Taylor’s latest restaurant space is by far its largest. Compared to 30 seats at the original Capitol Hill bar, the Bellevue location has room for 130 at a combination of community tables, banquettes, bar, and even a mezzanine that can be rented for private parties for up to 50 people.

The decor at the Bellevue bar is more upscale than the Seattle versions, too, with atmospheric feature lighting, comfortable seating, and monkeywood tables from Thailand.

Even the menu is bigger and more sophisticated, according to marketing manager Marcelle Taylor. The classics are there, including fresh oysters and Dungeness crab shucked- and cracked-to-order, as well as po’ boys, steamed Mediterranean mussels and Manila clams, and shiso geoduck sashimi. But there will also be high-end additions like wagyu beef tartare, fried whole red snapper, black sturgeon caviar, and a fresh sheet updated a couple times per week with seasonal selections and rotating specials from the open kitchen.

Copyright Mornick 2016

And, of course, this wouldn’t be a true bar without a selection of wine and spirits, also more extensive in Bellevue. A set list of cocktails will be complemented by rotating specials. What remains the same, though, is that the international wine selections are all white, sparkling, or rosé — no red to potentially clash with the seafood.

Shelton-based Taylor Shellfish is America’s largest producer of farmed shellfish, and continues to report strong sales growth, according to Undercurrent News. Bellevue’s oyster bar joins highly regarded Seattle locations in Pioneer Square, Queen Anne, and Capitol Hill. Reaffirming a Puget Sound Business Journal story from 2014, Marcelle Taylor said the company is always open to new spots, but there are no further locations in the works right now.

Anyone hoping to get first crack at Bellevue’s mountains of shellfish should email Marcelle Taylor (marcelle@taylorshellfish.com) for reservations for Saturday, November 18; otherwise, the doors open to the general public on Sunday at 11 a.m.

Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar, 504 Bellevue Way NE, website. Open daily 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.