Oyster Bar

Grand Central's Oyster Bar

Useful Information

Location:	Grand Central Station, New York. (40.752482, -73.977431)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 11:30-21:30, Sat 12-21:30. [2006]
Fee:	Visit is free, food not. [2006]
Classification:	Cellar Restaurant
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	n/a
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Grand Central Oyster Bar, Lower Level, Grand Central Station, New York NY, Tel: +1-212-490-6650.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

02-FEB-1913	Oyster Bar opened.
1997	briefly closed for renovations after a fire,
1999	sold to the employees.

Description

Located in the main railroad station of the city of New York, the Central Station, is a fine restaurant called Oyster Bar. The restaurant is entirely underground, reached via a large foyer with massive arched white brick vaults. Those laminated tiles were designed by the Guastavino Construction Company to create a vaulted effect in wide arches. Spanish tile worker Rafael Guastavino is responsible for the herringbone patterns which can be admired all over the city. After him, they are known as “Gustavino” tiles.

This architecture is famous for its whispering columns where the form of the pillars works like a lens for sound waves and collects them. So it is possible that two people standing in different corners of the foyer talk and understand one another clearly, while others around do not hear a single word. As the architecture of the restaurant is similar, be careful what you say, you never know who can hear you!

The restaurant is famous for seafood, as the name suggests, but also for other local dishes like cheesecake. With two dining rooms, an oyster bar and counter-seating, the Oyster Bar has 450 seats, and is able to host parties of up to 1,000.

Two Japanese branches have opened in Tokyo, and a small branch is located in Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport. We have listed the Tokyo branch in Shinagawa Station, which is actually a copy of this restaurant, although it was built on the fourth floor, not underground.