little shucker in San Francisco is still keeping it fresh after a year and change in Pacific Heights. The modern oyster bar from the Snug team opened in a sun-drenched space on Fillmore Street in late summer 2023. Fine dining chef and partner Adrian Garcia (an alum of three-MICHELIN-Starred Addison, Quince, and Benu) leads the kitchen and the restaurant’s been buzzing since opening, earning a spot on The New York Times’s list of the best places to eat in SF right now.
The restaurant is always refreshing the menu with the seasons, which tastes especially exciting when our beloved local Dungeness crab scuttles into spring veggies. Expect a fresh wave of scallop tartare with pickled green strawberries, little gems with mandarins and goat cheese, and whole roasted snapper with asparagus and green garlic in the next few weeks.
Whether you’re trying it for the first time or swinging back as a regular, here’s what to order at little shucker in San Francisco right now. Snag your seat on OpenTable.
Crab roll versus lobster roll
The most important decision is whether you want a crab roll or lobster roll, generously stuffed with sweet Dungeness crab or meaty Maine lobster (or get both!). Then it’s a question of whether you want it hot or cold. The hot one comes with the seafood tossed in clarified butter and topped with lemon, chives, and garlicky breadcrumbs, while the chilled version comes cloaked in housemade mayo, seasoned with a custom “West Coast Bay” seasoning, and topped with pickled celery and chervil. Either way, it’s tucked tidily into a hybrid New England–style and sourdough bun.
“Everybody wants the hot buttered lobster, but I think crab is better than lobster,” Garcis says. “In this application in particular, the crab absorbs the butter flavor nicely. ”
Oysters, obviously
As the restaurant’s name suggests, you’ve got to order oysters. The namesake little shucker has half a dozen oysters, Argentinian red prawns, and a Sicilian-inspired tuna crudo with housemade mignonette and cocktail sauce. If you like them hot, go for the baked Steamboat oysters swimming in sweet miso and rich bone marrow, dotted with pickled daikon and cilantro leaves.
A day-one staple that’s still going strong
The Caesar salad has been a staple since day one, and it remains one of the most popular items on the menu. It’s kind of a deconstructed take on the classic with crunchy romaine lettuce, parmesan baked into toasty crumbles, and pieces of white anchovies. It’s topped with pickled pearl onions, bonito flakes, sliced nori, and herbs.
Don’t leave without a glass of the house orange
If you want a cocktail, start up the street at the Snug and then wind down to little shucker for a glass of wine. The bar recently went all-out with its wine list with selections from California, France, and Italy. Don’t miss the Ocean Beach Orange, a skin contact option on draft that’s specifically made for the oyster bar in Santa Barbara.
“On a nice happy hour day, our tall windows let in so much natural light,” Garcia says. “The golden hour in the springtime is quite nice.”
Becky Duffett is a food writer living and eating in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Bon Appétit, EatingWell, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Eater SF, and Edible SF.
