Where to Eat in November: Low Tide Kitchen & Bar, Georgia James, Plane & Level, and More

Restaurateur Alli Jarrett, the owner of Harold’s Restaurant & Tap Room in the Heights, first introduced this southern raw bar concept in the downtown food hall Finn Hall in 2018 but was forced to shutter when the pandemic hit. Now reopened as a standalone brick-and-mortar in Spring Branch, Low Tide offers patrons affordable, quality seafood and simple American comfort food in a cozy environment that evokes beachfront dining. In addition to fun items like shrimp burgers topped with onion rings, Buffalo oyster nachos, and cheesy crawfish dip and chips, the menu also offers an enticing raw bar featuring Gulf and East Coast oysters on the half-shell, oysters chargrilled with garlic butter and Parmesan, and piled-high seafood towers.

Underbelly’s swank steakhouse reopened this summer in its new, bigger digs at Regent Square (complete with gorgeous rooftop patio) and continues to serve up the same beautiful cast-iron seared steaks they’ve become known for among Houston’s carnivore set. Still, you don’t want to miss the fresh seafood offerings either, especially the Viet-Cajun roasted oysters and the tuna tartare served with sweet gochujang, toasted sesame, and a scallion pancake.

Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group — whose other properties include Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar in the River Oaks District (two spots we’d also recommend if you’re craving oysters) — launched Marmo (which means “marble” in Italian) in April to acclaim. And while you may be visiting the Italian chophouse for its dry-aged steaks and freshly made pasta dishes, you’d also be wise to order the oysters on the half-shell, which come with a Calabrian chile mignonette so delicious you’ll be tempted to drink small spoonfuls of it long after the oysters have been devoured.

Call 832-626-3400 for more info.

Co-chefs Christine Ha and Tony J. Nguyen really came to play when they set out to fuse their Vietnamese upbringings with the Gulf Coast flavors that they also grew up eating in Texas. The popular spot offers five different takes on oysters, including grilled Gulf oysters served with scallion oil, pork cracklings, and roasted peanuts; Gulf oysters dressed Viet-Cajun style with Nguyen’s famous finger-licking H-Town Bang sauce; and a special spin on canh chua (Vietnamese sweet and sour soup), in which East Coast oysters are served in tamarind and pineapple sorbet and topped with Kaluga caviar.

Where better to enjoy freshly shucked Gulf oysters than right by the sea? Pier 6 owner Raz Halili is also VP of his family’s Gulf Coast fishery, Prestige Oysters, so guests can be certain they’ll be getting top-quality mollusks at this scenic San Leon spot, a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. You can get them raw on the half-shell, grilled with grated Parmesan and fresh herb-shallot butter, cornmeal-fried in a sandwich, cooked in a creamy chowder, or even as shooters.

Call 281-339-1515 for more info.

Chef Chris William’s innovative take on Southern cuisine keeps Houstonians coming back to Lucille’s for more, and the oyster BLT is one dish that lingers in the memory. The sandwich, available on the lunch menu, is assembled with lightly breaded and fried Gulf oysters, baby arugula, tomato confit, and applewood bacon, and served on a pretzel hoagie with a lovely slather of spicy aioli.

This luxe River Oaks restaurant is a go-to spot for oyster lovers, who can enjoy a selection of them on the cheap — for $1.50 each — during a dedicated happy hour for the bivalves Monday through Thursday from 5-6 p.m. and from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday. When you’re done slurping to your heart’s content, stay for the diver scallops served with field peas and lobster velouté and the hearth-roasted octopus in Thai curry vinaigrette.

Call 832-942-5080 for more info.

This sustainable seafood restaurant from celebrated Norwegian chef Christopher Haatuft and James Beard Award-winning chef-restaurateur Paul Qui — located inside downtown’s Post Market food hall — just topped the Houston Chronicle’s prestigious list of Top 100 Restaurants. And for good reason. Guests who dine at Golfstrømmen can look forward to a menu that highlights Nordic flavors and changes with the season, but which will always feature the highest-quality offerings straight from the Gulf. That includes oysters, of course, which you can enjoy raw with lemon mignonette and “hoggorm” chile oil, broiled with charred scallion butter, or fried and served with zesty remoulade.

This Houston institution — a sister restaurant to New Orleans’ famed Commander’s Palace — has been satisfying locals’ cravings for Creole cuisine since 1967. Along with the restaurant’s signature snapping turtle soup and gumbo du jour, loyal patrons also come for the Gulf Fish Pontchartrain, which comes with jumbo lump crab, shrimp, crispy fried Louisiana oysters, Parmesan-mushroom rice, and Brennan’s Creole butter. Visit during happy hour Tuesday through Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the Courtyard Bar and you can get freshly shucked oysters on the half-shell for $1 each — an absolute steal.

Plane & Level opened its doors in Old Town Spring in late 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and luckily for Houstonians, has survived to tell the tale. The modern fine-dining restaurant offers an abundant selection of wines from around the world and a mouthwatering menu of Spanish tapas — including thinly sliced Iberico ham, crab-stuffed piquillo peppers, and beef sirloin empanada with wild mushrooms and chimichurri sauce — with which to enjoy them. Be sure to make a resy for Champagne & Oyster Tuesday.