Elm Square Oyster Co.

My wife and I stumbled on ESO Co. while driving thru Andover. What a GREAT find. These people know their oysters!

These people know their oysters. it’s a great find in Andover!

Took close to 30 minutes to get our oysters. And this was with only a half a dozen tables full. Although it was entertaining to watch them not know how to open oysters Then they didn’t even tell you which were which. Fourteen dollar cheese plate had less than an ounce of cheese and wheat thins. Overall Way too expensive for the quality.

We spent $ 500 plus (for 6 people) and The Chef/​owner treated one of our party members as rudely as I have seen a customer be treated to the point where she left the restaurant in tears.
Won’t go back

I just went last night. A really good drink menu, and very different, in a good way, food menu selection. Very good food for sure. And my friend who had oysters said they were great, and very fresh.
My biggest issue is the price. I know restaurants can get away with a lot in Andover when it comes to pricing (like the $ 21 meatball I had at the new Larossa’s bar), but when this used to be Brasserie 28 Restaurant I complained then that I thought it was a rip off to pay $ 18 for scallops as a small plate to find only 3 on my dish. last night I ordered scallops as an entrée, and those same 3 scallops cost me $ 30!!! Yes, the food is great, but the pricing for what you get is obscene. A one-​ounce piece of cheese is $ 7. One ounce of cured meat is $ 8 (and I pay $ 18 per POUND for top-​grade prosciutto at a deli). And, their menu on their website is not the same menu they are currently serving. Me and my friend dropped $ 130 (NOT including tax and tip) for two cocktails, two glasses of wine, two appetizers, one salad, and one entrée, and 4 oysters.
Oddly enough, though, the drink prices are quite reasonable, especially compared to other area restaurants.
My recommendation? Stop by for a drink, then go elsewhere for dinner. It is a complete rip-​off.

The oysters were great, but the rest of the food was not. The clam chowder was like drinking cream. The cheese plate was a few pieces of blue cheese and crackers. I would never have chosen to eat slices of blue cheese. Make sure to ask what you are getting. We had to listen to the chefs in the kitchen shout «runner» every few minutes. For overpriced food, and small portions, I expected the food to taste good.

Despite being seated next to the bathrooms (last table in the place) we had the most amazing dinner from the freshest oysters served with 2 delicious sauces to the arugula salad with lavender dressing! Amazing!
Surely the mains couldn’t be as good as our starters… then my husband got his scallop dinner and I received my piping hot crispy cod dinner and we argued over whose meal was the best!!!
The Sancerre white wine is so delicious for those that like French /​old world white wines.
All in all amazing food experience. We’ll come back when we are in the area.

Great place for drinks and oysters but don’t go outside of that. The portions are a joke and the prices are very high. It is unfortunate as we were hoping it was better than Brasserie 28 but the menu selection is very limited. Unfortunately, we will not be back.

There’s not a ton of choices of great places to go in Andover. With that said, Elm Street Oyster is a definite good option. There’s no other place near by that has a raw bar with this amount of choice. Every time we go we start with oysters. I wish they would serve with a mignonette. I also prefer horseradish to be minced or a paste vs the grated/​stringy bit they serve in the cocktail sauce. The entrees I’ve tried have been good… last night the burger with cheddar and charred onion and watercress… cooked and seasoned well. Have to say I love their ‘salty girl’ skinny margarita. The bartenders are great. Know their clients by name. Love that. Can’t wait for the outdoor patio to open in summer.

When I moved to Andover, Elm Square Oyster Co. (which at that point was Brasserie 28) stood out as one of the fine dining options in Andover. I finally got a chance to visit it once it had reopened as an Elm Square and have been a few times since then.
The menu has a significant raw bar section (a hefty nod to they Oyster Co. portion of their new name) and has a decent (if somewhat limited) variety of protein sources for their main dishes in addition to the quintessential $ 15 (here $ 16) burger. Service is great with a very friendly and attentive staff. There are three main seating areas. The back area has a great view of the kitchen while the space between the front and back is right next to a pretty awesome fish tank.
I appreciate Elm Sq.‘s drink list. There are variations on classics with some unique touches here and there (rye tai as an alternative to mai tai). Plus, their local beer selection is not to be ignored!
I was a bit disappointed that there aren’t more «greens» options. They have their tasty gem lettuce salad green goddess dressing and the arugula salad with the very interesting earl gray (infused?) raisins. I do have to vouch for the cauliflower which was delicately roasted when we ordered it the first time around.
The focus for the main dishes seems to be more the protein source. Don’t get me wrong, the scallops, shrimp, cod, etc. that I’ve had here have been cooked very nicely and make for a tasty meal but I would like to see some of those gorgeous sides share the spotlight. For the shrimp risotto dish with fava beans there was much risotto, very tasty shrimp, but the fava beans were more in the culinary background.
All in all, the food here is tasty and there’s a level of craftsmanship that makes Elm Sq. not just another trendy restaurant but there was something about the balance of our plates (under or overrepresentation of some aspects) that doesn’t match it’s pricetag. I was a bit on the fence between 3 and 4 stars but ultimately I think the service (and maybe the cool fish tank) and the fact that this a refreshing dining location in Andover brings it up to a 4.

The Cod is fresh, scrutinized and carefully hand selected each day. The perfect piece of fish is then paired with fine wine to compliment the most sophisticated and discerning palate. The ambiance and music selection is contemporary and jazzy adding warmth thus enhancing our upscale dining experience. If you’re a seafood connoisseur I highly recommend this restaurant. The presentation of the fruits from the sea is artfully presented.

Been here a few times now. Cool venue to have in the suburbs with a nice staff. This food is ok, but in my opinion quality doesn’t match the higher price point. The crab cakes were priced like they were lumb crab, but I couldn’t find any. Seemed like a lot of bread filler and claw meat. Had the Maple Manhattan as well, and it was definately not real maple syrup. For $ 13 bucks I shouldn’t have a bunch of aunt jemima corn syrup at the bottom of my glass. A few of the other dishes were pretty creative which is great, and I was a big fan of Brasserie 28 too. Has potential, but feel it missed the mark in a few areas.

Okay food but massively overpriced. We went on a weekend but it was horribly slow service. I guess you can go if you really want to gouged on some raw bar.

Excellent New Years Tasting Menu!
Michael Sherman stepped up his game for this tasting. Presentation was amazing.

The staff is friendly and the environment is nice. The four appetizers I ordered were lacking. The crab cakes were over cooked and didn’t have any flavor. The clam chowder is actually oyster soup with some bits of clam added. It’s not a chowder. The stuffed clams were good, but only two makes for a lonely plate. For the special they had crab legs, but the lower skinny spider leg split doesn’t impress me. Had the heritage chicken and it was tender, spiced perfectly. It really is good! Also the pastrami sandwich that comes with plain cape cod type chips. It’s also good. My only advice is to skip the appetizers and have dessert.

I found this gem in ‘Northshore Magazine’, and I have to say… I was very impressed. If you are looking for a cool atmosphere, great food, and an entire menu dedicated to a variety of wine and spirits, creative cocktails, and craft beer than this is the place for you. I thought the portion sizes and prices were appropriate for the quality I was receiving. The only negative thing I could really say about this place is that the bathroom was a little too far, but that isn’t even worth complaining about. I definitely recommend checking it out!

my family and i were excited to try the new elm square oyster and overall really enjoyed our experience. the most positive pieces were the casual atmosphere, excellent service, cocktails, and especially the appetizers.
it goes without saying that the oysters were delicious. unexpected surprises were the seasonal pickles and the light, crispy sweet potato fries. everyone really enjoyed all of the appetizers that made us very excited about the next course. i appreciated the shorter menu and thought that every entrée i tasted was extremely good and the fish cooked perfectly. my husband really enjoyed the scallops, i thought my halibut was delicious and especially liked the smoked oysters, and i enjoyed the bite i got to have of the lobster roll. overall, everything was great but i do have to admit the appetizers were the real highlight.

Recently, this place has made the change from a moderately priced Brasserie to an upscale seafood restaurant. We started off with 3 different selections of oysters on the half-she’ll. They were fresh and delicious! I had the Halibut which was wonderfully prepared and seasoned. It was accompanied by artichoke hearts, green favs beens, and smoked oysters which I wish were mushrooms!
My guest had the chicken served over corn which was equally as wonderful, and he had the mushrooms I wanted. Fortunately, we shared.
I would not hesitate to return even if, it was just to sit at the bar and get cocktails and oysters!

This place suffers from an identity crisis. Elm Square Oyster Company is the third name it’s had since opening in Andover a few years ago… originally as Bin 28 then Brasserie 28 a year or so after its launch. Why?
And despite management renaming the venue as an «oyster company» surprisingly, there are very few oyster dishes on the menu. In fact, there’s none — just the availability of raw oyster selections.
I got the Ipswich Crispy Clams small dish which was basically just glorified, lemony fried clams served on a plate smeared with tartar sauce. While it was tasty, I was disappointed that it consisted of just the necks. For a few dollars more I can go to the Lobster Tail in North Andover and pick up a fried clam plate that includes the whole clams and is enough to serve two people. Sweet potato fries consisted of too many pieces that were charred.
The coconut cake, while good, was a little too sweet, particularly the mascarpone cheese filling.
One good thing I have to say — the service was excellent and snappy.
The décor has remained the same. Prices are too high in my opinion but it is Andover, and they’ll certainly get the clientele. Just not sure I’ll be among those returning.

Nice update to what was Brasserie 28. Wine selection very good. Clams were excellent as was the burger and seasoned fries.
Entrees didn’t focus enough on seafood in my opinion. However I like the small plates concept so would like to see maybe a scallop skewer or ceviche added to the menu.
Outdoor seating was really nicely done.