An Oyster House Based In Virginia Horse Country Is Coming to D.C.

A new spot to slurp fresh oysters sourced from both coasts and Canada is coming to the booming NoMa neighborhood later this summer. King Street Oyster Bar, which has two locations in Northern Virginia, is moving into D.C.

Aiming to fill a void of oyster bars in Loudoun County, the company opened its first location in downtown Leesburg in 2016. Partners Rick Allison and Jorge Esguerra followed the inaugural location with another in Middleburg’s quaint restaurant strip a year later.

The team is getting ready to start construction on what will be its first foray into the District (22 M Street NE). Located at the base of a 12-story apartment building that’s almost ready to open, the spacious, nautical-themed eatery will feature 180 seats inside and 80 seats outside, including an outdoor bar.

The menu will be very similar to King Street’s current locations, a representative tells Eater. That includes gumbo, po’ boys, lobster mac and cheese, burgers, and mussels. The D.C. location is expected to feature a new line-up of cocktails.

On any given day, each location is shucking 12 varieties of oysters, “which we get no more than 24 hours out of water from the East Coast, and no more than 48 hours out of water from the West Coast,” according to the team.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday with an 11 p.m. close on Friday and Saturday. Sundays will showcase brunch service, starting at 10:30 a.m. Happy hour will be served from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day.

NoMa already has a few places to feast on oysters: Union Market’s Rappahannock Oyster Bar and Union District Oyster Bar both serve them on ice, and St. Anselm serves them grilled with smoked herb butter.

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