Upstate

Sometimes I find myself scrolling through Yelp to look for new neighborhood spots.  One that caught my eye with its strong reviews was Upstate Craft Beer and Oyster Bar in the East Village.

As their name notes, they specialize in fresh oysters and craft beers.  They get a good variety of both East and West Coast oysters delivered daily and the beer selection, which is always draught beer, changes frequently.  During happy hour, they offer a great special of six oysters and a beer for $12. 

Beer and wine list and selection of Oysters available

Beers available that day with the kitchen in the back

While I'm not a big oyster eater, I did enjoy the beer selection.  Upstate is great about giving you a tasting of the beer before you commit to one so don't be shy about asking!  And at $6.00 per beer, there is no guilt with ordering more than one!

Its a small space so tables do fill up fast during peak meal times - make sure to come early to snag a spot.

Inside of Upstate (pic from yelp)

The menu is pretty limited with only a handful of choices - all seafood/oysters/ceviche.  If you are a seafood and oyster lover, then this is a great spot for you.  If you need meat or none of the above, you may need to rethink your options.  Everything is all reasonably priced so that's a great surprise for a seafood restaurant. 

Food menu

Eating compadre and I both started with the Caesar Salad (special for that day).  It was a bit heavy on the dressing, but overall pretty fresh and accompanied by fantastic garlic bread.

Caesar Salad (no flash on this pic sorry!)

For our entrees, I couldn't pass on the Fettuccine with Clams (labeled the house favorite!).  The overall taste was great and the clams were yum-o, but I thought the fettuccine was a touch dry/too thick with sauce.  My eating compadre ordered the mussels steamed in a beer of our choice and they were delicious!  Quality of the mussels were good - only one unopened mussel at the bottom of the pot.  Added benefit?  The mussels are accompanied by a plateful of bread to sop up the broth and it was heavannnn! 

Fettuccine with Clams and the Mussels

After your meal, you are served a complementary slice of their homemade whiskey cake.  Who doesn't love dessert and who doesn't love complementary?

Complementary slices of homemade whiskey cake!

Overall, Upstate is a cozy local spot.  While I enjoyed the beer selection and my meal, I'm not a big oyster or ceviche fan and this makes the already limited menu even more limited for me.  For all you oyster lovers out there, I definitely encourage you to check out Upstate.  As for me, if I get the urge for a great draught beer, maybe I'll just grab a seat at the bar and enjoy a beer with my Kindle.

Piggys says eh...

Thanks for reading - Piggy KK