Green Island Oyster

I eat seafood 12 months a year. And I got to admit being from Boston, I'm a little bit of a seafood snob. I won't order it in certain states, but here in Massachusetts, where everyone is pretty near the coast, and we're experts in sourcing it and preparing it, I was really excited to try Green Island Oyster in Worcester.

Mike Covino owns some really cool concepts like Mezcal and Bocado, and now he's invented a super hip seafood spot.

“Green Island is an amazingly fresh seafood restaurant with a strong focus on oysters, since we're an oyster bar and lobster.

“So we have amazing seafood vendors, really cool in our back pocket, so we can bring in fresh seafood year round.”

When you walk in, they are shucking the oysters. That tells me that they are serious about the seafood freshness. The murals are beautiful. I love all the nautical decorations. There's a great, long wooden bar. They call this place Shanty Chic.

Oysters are a big focus of the menu here. Including a daily chef's selection of dressed oysters. And I love the one they're doing today. They have a shrimp salad, tuna and creme fraiche with caviar. That is a serious chef's seafood selection.

I love lobster mac and cheese, but a lot of times as an entree, it's too heavy for me. Here they serve lobster mac and cheese as an appetizer, so I think it's perfect to try with two, three friends. There's a lot of lobster in this with a rigatoni, three types of cheese, breadcrumbs. They cook it in the wood fired oven and serve it on the skillet.

This restaurant does have some New Orleans style, including the sort of oyster dishes that they serve in the Big Easy and my favorite, Oysters Rockefeller served in the shell, that delicious Oyster with breadcrumbs, parsley, butter and a sharp cheese.

“It's just rich… the top gets a little bit crispy, little bit coating. So again, it adds texture on the top.

“The wood oven is really amazing, because we can do so many different things in the wood oven… It's not overly smoky, right, the way the oven is, but it just adds a little bit of the char and a little bit of the smokiness to it, and it really enhances whatever it is that we cook in there.”

Green Island Oyster really takes a lot of pride in their lobster serving it three different ways. One way to do it is steamed… And if you're a real purist, maybe that's how you want to get it.

I actually prefer the wood grilled, giving it some smoke, and they serve it on their special herbed butter. That is really delicious. But my favorite is the baked stuffed. It is a big lobster jammed with crab, shrimp, scallops, butter and bread crumbs. To me, this is the ultimate New England seafood experience.

“The customers really love the baked stuffed lobster. That seems to be the most popular is like getting that two and a half three pound baked stuffed lobster. It's like a real treat. You come in, they put that in front of you, like, All right, I've arrived. That's an amazing meal.”

I definitely recommend the surf and turf burger. It's an eight ounce patty combined with a bunch of lobster, and they use a potato roll to hold together all that meat and seafood. It's served with a side of fries with their special seasoning. It's a little bit spicy. So if you like spice, this is for you.

So many flavors and textures in one bite.

They do have some great options for you if you're not into fish, including their steak frites. It's a bavette cut of sirloin. Served with a horseradish aioli, a tangy barbecue sauce, and a big pile of delicious seasoned fries.

I love lobster rolls, and this one is unique. They use a custom made brioche bun, buttered and toasted, then they fill it with cold lobster, a little bit of mayo and some celery, so it's both hot and cold, and it's got that incredible lobster flavor. Wow.

From sushi restaurants to steakhouses to supermarkets, I cannot believe the popularity of tuna.

This is seared super rare. I mean, look at that gorgeous pink color. It's served over jasmine rice with vegetables. It's got some Asian influence with hoisin soy sauce and ginger scallion aioli.

“I think people really trust it. When you've made a commitment to seafood, and it's not like, oh, by the way, we have tuna. It's like, No, we're a seafood restaurant with a commitment to the freshest product. Multiple days a week, fresh products coming in here. So the tuna is something that people like,’ Okay, I feel really confident that I'm going to get a beautiful piece’. So it's really important for us that we deliver on that.”

I love the great history of New England seafood, and I love supporting our hard working fishermen. And I think a great place to do it is Green Island Oyster in Worcester.

“Because it's the freshest seafood around. You walk in, you're greeted by an oyster bar. So to be able to have the freshest oysters, amazing fresh tuna, really delicate, crispy sea fried seafood, or chef's composed dishes using the wood oven. It's, it's, it's a seafood lover's dream.”

“Come here for some fresh oysters, some really incredible seafood and relaxed dining experience.”