I don’t normally review restaurants two months after they open. It’s just not good etiquette. The food, the bar, the service — every restaurant deserves time to dial it in. However, when I found out that Ostrea — a plushy, exciting new seafood concept — was opening above the London Chop House in the Murphy-Telegraph Building, I had high, if not unreasonable, expectations.
The London Chop House is a juggernaut, a titan in the history of Detroit’s dining scene. A restaurant with such a legacy has a certain confidence to it. It’s swanky and intentional, a spectacle from the jump. So, when the team behind this Motor City institution announced they were venturing into a seafood concept, the same lofty expectations were already set in stone.
However, RJ Scherer, executive chef at the London Chop House and partner at Ostrea, who took the lead on its food and beverage, had a different vision. “I wanted it to be completely different,” he admits. “Maybe this isn’t the only stop for the guest this evening. Maybe they hit up some different locations downtown. Maybe it is a business dinner. Maybe you’re even going to the Chop House afterwards.”
What Scherer aims for is ease and fluidity — less buttoned down, more casual, but with the same refined food as its predecessor. While the Chop House has a dramatic, dimly lit, subterranean entrance, Ostrea is street level — the type of place you can swing in and out of with ease. Even in its quiet moments, the restaurant feels bustling. New seafood arrives to the kitchen on a constant basis, with fresh oysters being delivered every single day. And if one is to ascertain the merits of a seafood restaurant, one must start with the oysters.
The raw oyster selection at Ostrea is constantly revolving, with a minimum of three select varieties available on any given day. On this particular visit, I enjoyed a dozen oysters laid on a circular platter bedded with ice — Corktown Gold from Massachusetts, Bad Boy from Nova Scotia, and Pink Moon from Prince Edward Island. Each one popped with a clean, oceanic freshness. Each was shucked perfectly — the muscle detached, the oyster meat itself wholly intact without blemishes. A lovely Chardonnay, shallot, and cucumber mignonette added some vigor to each cupped shell.
(A word on oysters: In New Orleans, it’s tradition to tip your oyster shucker a few bucks. If you’ve got cash in your pocket, I advise doing the same here. It’s a classy move. Plus, shucking oysters is one of the least-appreciated gigs in the restaurant business. The job quite literally entails opening up a hard rock with a small knife, so compensate the people prying open your bivalve mollusks fairly.)
Though Ostrea’s menu starts with oysters (they’re listed at the top), it also encourages diners to experiment. While most menus read like linear directions — appetizers, salads, and then entrées — Ostrea’s is a proverbial smorgasbord. Hot and cold selections are listed adjacently and reach the eyes at all at once. Diners are urged to sift through the items, see what announces itself, and then pounce. It’s refreshing, and with this adventurous style of eating encouraged, there are many different experiences to be had at Ostrea.
My own eyes immediately darted toward the lobster roll, which jumped off the menu’s page for one key reason: celery salt, which is a powerful flavor enhancer. This Maine-style lobster roll features knuckle and claw meat dressed with a celery salt mayonnaise, stuffed inside a brioche bun that’s been grilled with Old Bay-infused butter. Celery leaf — an often-underutilized ingredient with lovely flavor — is the garnish. The roll was rich but not so fat-forward that it constituted a gut bomb. It felt fresh, both traditional and new, and faintly reminiscent of the flavors in a Bloody Mary.
In my time visiting restaurants both in Detroit and afar, it’s been my understanding that most places have been court-ordered to serve hamachi crudo. As such, the dish can feel a bit procedural and ordinary. To test Ostrea’s prowess, I ordered one, and I was very much surprised by Scherer’s rendition of this well-trodden dish — thick chunks of Japanese yellowtail, sectioned grapefruit, a dash of preserved lemon syrup, finely ground pink peppercorns, and basil. It sings of light and summery flavors, but it’s also yet another finely tuned offering from Scherer. A stab of pleasantly bitter grapefruit, clean hamachi, and basil all in one swift move feels divinely harmonic. I found myself skewering forkfuls of the trio and swirling it around the ground pink peppercorn, making sure to sop up every bit of its mild, sweet spiciness.
A word about the portion sizes and prices at Ostrea, which people online seem to be getting hung up about: Seafood covers the spectrum of affordability — it can be anything from a humble crab-shack experience filled with fried clam strips, shrimp, and cod sandwiches with tartar sauce to the more elegant and cheffy preparations you find at Ostrea. Quality oysters aren’t light on the wallet. Neither is a lobster roll. To this critic, Ostrea strikes a nifty middle ground. There’s a lot of lovely nourishment to be had here for $32.
Take Ostrea’s seafood chowder, a stew that leans into heartiness but also refined flavors. The base for the chowder is a crab and lobster velouté, made with leftover shells and carcasses in the kitchen. Thick chunks of bacon lardon, flaky swordfish, and buttery scallops provide additional heartiness, and the house-made everything oyster cracker pops with sesame and poppy seeds. It’s a robust stew made with staunch technique. Paying $22 for a bowl of chowder might feel egregious, but for something so luxurious, I’d encourage it.
Ostrea’s drink menu is smartly geared toward seafood pairings, and you’ll want to pair them accordingly. The Le Poursuite cocktail is a bright and bubbly concoction with vodka, elderflower, crème de violette, lemon, and rosé. There’s a nifty rotating beer and cider selection that’s also light on the wallet. (Note: Crisp and fruity cider pairs very well with shellfish.) Also, the combination of raw oysters and Champagne is a hit for a reason — effervescent Champagne pairs well synergistically with oysters. My suggestion: Order a glass with the lobster roll; it cuts through the inherent richness of a buttery brioche bun.
A restaurant this new is supposed to be a cub, stumbling around and new to the world, but this is more like a fully formed foal. Ostrea arrives seasoned and bright-eyed. Restaurants that embrace change are always the most exciting, and I look forward to seeing what big swings the team at Ostrea takes. Scherer says he’s focused on sustainability, and as he continues to embrace it, you can expect lots of evolution. As he often tells his staff, “As soon as we get comfortable making something, we’re going to change it.” A good seafood restaurant transforms just as much as it accommodates. The good news? You, the diner, are in capable hands.
At a Glance
- Price: $$$-$$$$
- Vibe: After work, formal, special dinner
- Service: Attentive
- Sound level: Low to moderate
- Dress code: None
- Open: 3 to 11 p.m. Monday-Saturday (the kitchen opens at 4 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m.)
- Reservations: Make yours online on OpenTable or by phone (large parties should email admin@ostreadetroit.com).
- Parking: Street, lot, and structure parking are available nearby.
- Valet: Available at the London Chop House, 155 W. Congress St.
- Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Ostrea Detroit is located at 536 Shelby St., Detroit. Visit ostreadetroit.com for more information.
This story originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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