Cervantes’ Oyster Shack & Bar

Okay this is one of the coolest places I’ve been and I’ve lived in NYC for 30 years. Soho for 15. Dark and vibey /​On the DL /​Cash only and pricey IMO but maybe it’s just me and not you :) oysters were 38 for a dozen. I like them at a dollar each. Oysters at Gramercy Tavern are 3 each… this ain’t Gramercy Tavern. Lobster salad was tasty and well dressed but way too much celery for me. Celery is cheap and takes up space… how about some avocado? I will go back and try more of the specials.
Cool factor and ambiance are 9+ same for service. Food maybe 7.5

Into café select, back behind the kitchen, secret spot for a raw bar hooray! When you want oysters but it’s just too damn hot out, I recommend ducking inside here and not being bothered by crowds. It’s small only a couple tables so plan accordingly

Cervantes Oyster Shack is hidden behind Café Select. To get there:
1. Go into Café Select
2. Walk through the the hoards of people waiting/​dining
3. Stroll through the kitchen like you run sh*t
4. Don’t forget to swing that last door open (yonce style — not that I’ve actually seen her swing any doors. but you get my drift — while ‘Run the World’ plays in your head)
5. You have arrived
Cervantes has about 4 or 5 tables. I was there for a birthday dinner and reservations were made. We didn’t have to wait. Or at least I didn’t have to wait, since I was half an hour late. Oops. (not my fault though, since I didn’t get the memo that dinner was moved up. I swear!)
Our table started off with some oysters, which were pretty standard. You can probbo get the same quality oysters at some $ 1 happy hour place.
For my entrée, I went with the wild mushroom risotto. Either everything everywhere is super salty, or I just have really bland taste buds… because lately, a handful of NYC restaurants I’ve tried have been heavy-​handed on the salt! I had to steal some salad from my friends’ steak dishes just to balance it out! If it weren’t for that, the dish would have actually been okay.
The wine was a little pricey for (what tasted like) table wine — $ 50/​bottle. But that’s fine for a special occasion. If it were any other random dinner night, I would probably just stick to beer.
The service was pretty good, so no complaints there!
They didn’t really have any other menu options that appealed to me so I probably will not be back. But it seems like a good place for a small, intimate dinner.

This place is great. The atmosphere is fun and intimate. The drinks good, the oysters awesome and the burger amazing… Because of its small size there is potential for it to be crowded.

tucked away — you walk through the kitchen to get here. feels like a secret room. we ordered the seafood platter and everything on it was phenomenal. clams well seasoned, oysters fresh, ceviche delicious, lobster succulent… etc. service was good — gratuity is already included. and they only accept cash, which is annoying. wine was fine. perfect for a date or a small party. but bring cash.

This is actually 3.5 stars. This place is separate from Café Select in the front. You walk through it and the kitchen and end up in this tiny groovy shack-​like space w/​a disco ball. They impressed us w/​the variety of oysters they had available. Tried octopus salad (not bad) and ceviche (pretty good). Pretty decent wine list, though the server was incorrect on flavors on the wine he had recommended (I’m a forgiving person). You could get food from the café select menu — which is swiss/​german. Spätzle anyone?
Tiny table are more for cocktails and difficult for oysters and other food. It can be loud w/​the ppl who are there only for drinks on weekends. But i like the groovy shack like hole in the wall for oysters. Cash only.