Oysters Raw Bar & Bubbly enjoys a summer evening with seating along the Kennebec River. Derek Davis / Staff Photographer
Lauren and Sadia Crosby’s story reads like the plot of a Victorian novel.
The story begins with two sisters growing up in Georgetown, raised by a commercial lobster fisherman who insisted his children not follow in his footsteps. Lauren moved west to teach English, while Sadia stayed in Maine to become a tree surgeon. Neither sister ever got into lobster fishing, but the lure of the sea was impossible for them to escape.
“So I started working as a waitress at a seafood restaurant in Alaska, and Sadia started her own oyster farm (also called Oyster Harves) to fulfill her father’s wish. It was just a side business at first, as a way to get back to working on the waterfront in a different capacity,” co-owner Lauren Crosby said. “But by 2021, she had her first harvest and was amazed at how quickly it took off, even though she was only selling to restaurants. Then my father passed away, which was a big wake-up call for us, so we decided to move back to Bath, where my mother and grandmother went to school, and open our own restaurant.”
Seriously, George Eliot herself couldn’t have come up with a better storyline, especially when the pair purchase a former tattoo studio on the banks of the Kennebec River with a collapsing roof, holes in the walls, and no plumbing, and slowly transform it into the colorful, casual, dog-friendly Oyster’s Raw Bar & Bubbly.
True to the sisters’ vision of creating a comfortable atmosphere, there’s nothing stuffy about OystHers: The walls are covered in whimsical, saturated shades of orange, powder blue and red, and on a clear day, there are views throughout the building to the coastline outside.
Crab sliders at OystHers Raw Bar & Bubbly. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
While the furniture inside is nothing special, the combination bar-height/table-height seating is well-suited to diners who pop in for a quick and affordable glass of house prosecco (blue lobster, $5) and two surprisingly excellent, almost pure crabmeat sliders ($30), as well as customers who want to take their time enjoying a few house-made crab shells and one of OystHers’ artfully constructed charcuterie boards.
“Oysters are always the star, but they’re not the only thing,” Lauren Crosby, who manages the food and beverage program, told me. “Designing the boards was really fun; they’re full of nostalgia. The Up North board ($27) in particular reminds me of the meats and cheeses I ate when I went ice fishing with my dad, or the sharp cheeses and pepperoni I ate when I went sailing with my great-grandfather; camping and outdoors up north.”
Though I’ve never ice fished or been camped with the Crosbys, I can relate to the experience of eating Oysters charcuterie al fresco at one of the coral-colored picnic tables overlooking the water.
“Unparalleled” oysters from Oysters Sea Farm in Georgetown at Oysters Raw Bar & Bubbly. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
So, with discarded oyster shells crunching under our feet, my dinner guests and I devoured a Downeast Smokehouse platter ($34) of garlicky soppressata, smoked duck trap salmon, capers, Morse’s pickled beet slaw, and Dunstan Smokehouse’s finest mussels. Everyone at my table agreed the charcuterie was good enough that we could have ordered another plate, but we held off and saved our appetites for the oyster flight ($34 for a dozen oyster herring or $39 for a dozen mixed oysters from other local farms).
Of the variety of dishes we tried, Sadia Crosby’s oysters were second to none. Sweet, barely salty, and featuring a slowly fading watermelon-like flavor, they may be my favorite shellfish in Maine. Lauren Crosby says the melon-like flavor was a bonus from our (random) choice of aged oysters. Think of it like bottle-aging wine.
“It must have been a three or four year old oyster that had finally made it into the rotation,” explained Lauren Crosby. “I’ve heard that story before from time to time, and it’s a sign of a mature oyster.”
The other two selections were also top-notch. I sipped four elegant Aphrodites from South Thomaston, crisp and mineral, like the coppery kick you get after a sip of a Moscow Mule. I also learned about oyster farming over four giant whiskey stones from Harpswell. Standing next to Sadia Crosby’s iceberg-like shucking station, she explained how O’s Island’s beautiful oysters are tumbled over and over to grow into large, single-serving oysters.
I love OystHers’ small-batch approach to customer education: one or two facts about a dish are enough, just enough to get diners thinking while sipping or sipping a zesty, bubbly Keush “Origins” ($15) made from Areni grapes native to Armenia, a malty, low-alcohol Benjamin Bridge Pickett ($12/250ml can) brewed from recycled, surplus Chardonnay skins, or a refreshingly astringent Kuro Hirasou Rosé ($12).
A beautiful Brut Cava from OystHers. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
OystHers also serves a selection of cocktails, beers and mocktails (we recommend the aromatic Seedlip “gin substitute”-based Sasanoa Spritz ($11)). But if you get the chance, Lauren Crosby’s wine list is also worth exploring. The majority of the choices are sparkling wines, with many great value bottles available for under $40, and several under $30.
There’s little room for criticism about the Crosby sisters’ work, which involves everything from growing and harvesting the oysters to plating the charcuterie boards, sliders and simple green salads ($10). It would be nice if the duo could serve up a few homemade appetizers, mains and desserts, but with no back office space whatsoever, it’s unlikely they’ll be adding any labor-intensive dishes to the menu anytime soon. Even the blueberry tarragon and champagne mignonette is sourced from the sisters’ good friend and culinary collaborator, Aaron Barrett of nearby Black Label Catering Company.
“I’m proud to say that Sadia and I are not chefs. We don’t have a grill or a fryer. What you see is what you taste. We’re not classically trained,” says Lauren Crosby, “But we do know our seafood. We know how to massage lobster before putting it in sliders, and we have a knack for finding those little shell bits when picking crabs (apparently with a black light!). We’re farmers and fishermen, sisters who grew up on the water in Maine.”
That’s a great story.
Oysters Rawbar & Bubbly, Bath. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
evaluation: ****
Location: 97 Commercial St., Suite 101, Bath, 207-449-2999, oysthers.com
Opening hours: Daily from 11.30am to 8pm (June 15th to September 15th)
Price range: Appetizers and salads: $9-26; oysters and caviar: $17-120
Noise level: Pot transport vehicle
Vegetarian: some dishes
Reservations not accepted
Bar: beer, wine, cocktails
Wheelchair Access: Yes
Bottom line: Bath’s new raw oyster bar, OystHers, is easily mistaken for a place selling the delicate, sweet oysters that aquaculture entrepreneur (and former resident arborist) Sadia Crosby farms in her hometown of Georgetown. But she’s teamed up with her sister, Lauren Crosby, to offer a selection of drinks to go with the food, from Armenian sparkling wine to a non-alcoholic lavender-forsythia soda ($10), all at surprisingly reasonable prices overall. Plus, they’ve put together a diverse menu of fatty, loaded sliders (crab or lobster), salads, caviar, and well-crafted charcuterie boards. It’s fine to eat indoors, but if the weather’s nice, head outside and grab a picnic table overlooking Bath’s new Riverwalk along the Kennebec River. No cooking is done at OystHers, but don’t let that deter you. This female-owned and operated raw fish bar is a special place to spend an afternoon sipping a drink, so be sure to visit before the summer tourists arrive.
The ratings follow this scale and take into account food, ambiance, service, value and type of restaurant (a casual bistro is rated as a casual bistro and a fine dining restaurant is rated as fine dining).
* Poor
** fair
*** good
**** wonderful
***** Exceptional
The Maine Sunday Telegram visits each restaurant once. If the first meal is unsatisfactory, the reviewer returns for a second meal. Reviewers make every effort to dine anonymously and do not receive free food or drinks.
Andrew Ross writes about food and dining in New York and the U.K. He and his work have been featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio and in the New York Times. He is a recent seven-time recipient of the Maine Press Association Critics’ Choice Award.
Contact: andrewross.maine@gmail.com
twitter: Andrew Ross ME
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