Oystercatcher

Our first of what will surely be many at The Oyster Catcher was absolutely lovely. Chef David and Sophia were both wonderfully hospitable hosts, the atmosphere cozy, and the food superb. The wine selection is fabulous! We love knowing they source fresh ingredients, and locally to boot. The photos don’t do the food justice! Go taste for yourself!

My wife and I had the 5 course chef's tasting menu with wine pairing. It was incredible. The chef came out and served each course to us. The meal was creative and expertely executed. The service was impeccable. I can't wait to go back.

Absolutely 10/10!! The tasting menu with 5 courses and the grilled oysters are delicious 😍 The chef was very friendly and the waiters as well. We totally recommend this place! The oysters and chocolate creme brule were my favorite

The Oystercatcher puts the experience back into the term dining experience!

We were so excited to go to this restaurant, as we are new to the area. The restaurant is under new ownership by Sophia and Ben.

We were greeted with a lovely and warm welcome as we walked in the door. We had a very nice table in the corner near a gas burning fire. Sophia was also our server, and she was so knowledgeable. From locations of the locally sourced foods, libations, and all menu items. We sampled wine before ordering a bottle, in the spirit of the restaurant name we started with a half dozen grilled oysters and they were delicious!

One of our dinner mates does not eat meat and Chef Ben prepared a wonderful vegetarian entree. Other dinner selections were the pan-seared black cod which was amazing and cooked to perfection and the duck confit, also delicious.

We splurged and ordered two different desserts, and again, fantastic. A chocolate cake, and beignets with ice cream. Yum!

We enjoyed our night out from beginning to end and will we most definitely visit again!

I wish I lived closer to this wonderful restaurant! I would eat there every week and would order the Chef's Tasting Menu every time. Five courses of the most delicious food, made from locally sourced ingredients, plated beautifully and paired with excellent wines. The Chef decides the menu based on what is available, so it changes daily. Perfect for adventurous eaters. NOTE: The entire table needs to order the tasting menu as it is served family style. If you have picky eaters or dietary restrictions, choose from the many regular offerings. It will not disappoint!

If you are wondering what to order, you need to do the chef’s tasting menu! This was the best ever, most delicious meal I’ve ever had. All the flavors were so complex and unexpected, the plating was beautiful, the server was wonderful and hilarious. We were so well taken care of and the new owners were so sweet. Honestly, the whole staff was amazing. ❤

Fantastic place to eat up here on Whidbey. Everything we had was super fresh and had fantastic flavors. Duck and pork sausage with handmade gnocchi was excellent. Crab and shrimp larb was our favorite app by far; that salmon skin chicharon was amazing. Duck came to our table cold but that was quickly fixed. Great smoky flavor that went well with the fruit jam on top. Please don’t skip dessert, egg nog ice cream and cardamom cake were stunning.

Updated review to come.

Original review:

Due to high winds cancelling several ferries from Port Townsend, we arrived in Coupeville much later than we'd planned. By the time we had checked in to our hotel and made it over to the area around Front Street, it was a few minutes shy of 8:00pm.

Oystercatcher ended up being immediately adjacent to where we'd parked, and it looked open, so we wandered up and inquired about a table. I noticed, as we entered, that they closed at 8:00pm, and that it was already 8:01, but they seated us anyway, without saying a word about being closed. I felt a little bad about it, but nothing in our entire experience made us feel like we were being a burden to them by showing up late; in fact, quite to the contrary!

First up: our server, Aaron, is among the best servers I have ever had the pleasure of being catered by! From start to finish, he was professional, knowledgeable, personable, and went the extra mile for us at every turn. We walked us through the various specials, recommendations, and helped us settle on an array of dishes which we would share between my wife and I, including my first *ever* oyster. For someone who generally abstains from seafood in almost all forms, this was a big deal for me!

We settled on the aforementioned half-dozen, half-shell oysters, Galeux squash and parsnip soup, Nicola potato gnocchi, fried green tomatoes & pickled okra, and to drink, an Old Fashioned with brandy (a current special), and a gin and soda. In between the various courses of our meal, we were served a few bonus, non-advertised dishes (an amuse bouche and an intermezzo), at the whim of either Aaron or the chef (or both?).

I'm going to abstain from saying anything about the oysters, because they will never be my thing. I can understand why some people love them, and to be honest, the flavor combination of the salty oyster and the savory red wine mignonette in which they were bathed, was fabulous; but textural things, particularly gummy, chewy or slimy things, will always be my Kryptonite. Beyond this, each and every individual item was spectacular, and as a whole, our meal at Oystercatcher rests near the top of a very short list of near perfect experiences at truly fine dining establishments. Both the meal, and the service (Aaron in particular), are absolutely worthy of a Michelin star (or two!).

Had truly one of the best meals of my life at The Oystercatcher.
We shared the chef’s tasting menu between three people (and a few bites for baby) and all left glowing with delight and full bellies.
I usually eat vegetarian but made an exception to enjoy the local-seafood specials, and boy oh boy am I glad that I did! This is seafood at its very best, expertly sourced and prepared.

Every single thing we tasted was *phenomenal*, but holy moly the SAUCE on those clams!? With fresh bread from the bakery just downstairs!? And the crab stuffed squash flowers!? And the spinach bucatini with wild mushrooms!? Perfection on this earthly plane.

The halibut was melt-in-your-mouth tender and creamy with a delicately crispy top, the smoked salmon situation was out of this world, and the lemon ricotta cake: divine.

The owner suggested flawless wine pairings that let us savor each bite a little longer, and she kept our glasses full and the vibes flowing.

The atmosphere was joyful and bustling, and we all had a great time! Felt the charm and warmth of home cooking balanced with unfussy elegance, meticulous service, and thoughtfully crafted ambiance. Their attention to detail is clear from top to bottom!

In addition to being simply delicious, you can tell from the menu that they are proud to share where they source ingredients and are truly invested in supporting local food systems! This restaurant highlights the magic of eating in place.

I am so grateful I got to enjoy the fullest flavors of summertime on Whidbey at The Oystercatcher.

I wish I could give 10 stars!! The Oystercatcher was an experience I will always remember! The food was amazing, the staff was wonderful and the views were breathtaking! We all had the Chef's Tasting Menu and we truly couldn't finish but wanted to because each and every course was absolutely fantastic!

An amazing first impression at Oystercatcher. Firstly, loved the wine selection of international wines and enjoyed the French whites we selected. We had a range of 4 starters / shareable plates and they were all delicious. The ceviche trio of cauliflower, shrimp and crab was simply divine, the beet salad innovative including plums, the mushroom scallops were uniquely delicious and we loved the Brussels that came with avocado (and not the predictable bacon). Having left room for dessert, the fresh cherries with the chocolate cake were supreme and the plum sorbet was amazingly fruit forward. Great service throughout from Adam B. For us, a must visit whenever we’re on Whidbey.

If you love food, you need to visit Coupeville's best restaurant. Delicious, local, and FRESH. We had the chef's Tasting Menu, which he brought personally to our table! The Tasting Menu changes every night, but when I ate I had shrimp chips with smoked salmon slaw, mussels swimming in a winey-lemoney-briney sauce alongside fresh Red Hen Bakery bread, wild mushroom spinach bucatini, pico-topped halibut, and a crab-stuffed fried squash blossom. One of the owners consulted us on perfectly on the perfect white wine pairing. Despite being full to the brim from dinner, we knew better than to not eat the three desserts brought to us with a coffee.

The care the new owners are putting into the Oystercatcher is palpable: cute decor, intimate vibe, stunning views of the water, fantastic service and fare. You don't want to miss out.

We went to the soft opening last night with a party of 6 people with the chefs tasting menu. The food, drinks, and service were all amazing!! There was a duck breast salad, ceviche, vegetable risotto, halibut with a cucumber slaw, and carrot cake! I will definitely be coming back and highly recommend!

You have to try this place!! We came in for the soft opening. The food was INCREDIBLE! I wish I could have ordered the mussels twice. The milk punch was perfectly balanced, I’ve never had a cocktail like that before. The staff is so friendly and made sure that we had everything we needed. I can’t wait to come backs

One of the top 5 dining experiences of my life!
The grilled Spanish octopus was one of the best dishes I've ever had. The service was super friendly. You can tell they take pride in what they do. You must make reservations to eat here if you are in Coupeville

We had a lovely meal in this cozy space surrounding an open kitchen. Great food. Smoked duck breast was amazing. The owner recommended bubbles we hadn't heard of and probably wouldn't have chosen - it was excellent! Attentive service. Sinful dessert. This reboot of Oystercatcher is our new favorite on the island!

I showed up near the end of their happy hour and was blown away by the warm service and incredible food. The oysters are some of the best I’ve had since moving to the PNW and the chef obviously takes great pride in his ingredients. Will definitely return for dinner at some point.

This place is a gem! We spent the day out around Whidbey and wanted to try a new place so headed thier way, not knowing they took reservations. Luckily we were sat at the chefs view bar within minutes. The food was presented by the chef and explained in detail. Very nice touch! The drinks were unique in the best way. I highly recommend to anyone, just know the price you are paying is worth it. Try something new, it's top notch!

Loved sitting at the chef's table and watching the symphony in the kitchen. The beet carpaccio was delicious, and the flavors of the wild mushrooms with the pistachio crema were phenomenal. Johann provided wonderful service and was very attentive.

Great food, great service. Maybe the best fine dining on Whidbey Island, though we haven't visited everywhere. The waiter was fast and knowledgeable even when asked about ingredients or how where to buy one. We had two different fish dishes and they were both perfect. Most ingredients were local and fresh. Highly recommended. Don't come for the view, it deserves a better location and is a bit loud when full of people but the rest easily made up for it.