Upstate Craft Beer & Oyster Bar

Visited NYC for Valentine's Day weekend with my fiancé. While on this trip we found this local spot with great reviews and decided to give it a try mainly due to their oyster selection. We made reservations online to guarantee us a seat, but walk ins are also welcomed. The location is easy to find and as soon as we walked in we were welcome and sat down. We were given the option to sit at the bar, high table or regular table. We decided to sit on the high table next to the bar. They have hangers for your winter coats, which made us feel at home. They had a special menu for the Valentine's Day weekend and the options were amazing. We decided to order 2 of each oysters so we could sample their oysters. They were all delicious and fresh, great briny flavors and variety of sizes. We were then recommended the Cioppino which came with toasted sourdough bread. The combination of seafood flavors, freshness of the seafood and the broth was just perfect. The tuna tartare also came with toasted sourdough bread. The avocado was tasty and ahi tuna was fresh. The combination of flavors came together so well at the end. Finally, we ordered the bone marrow with scallops. Again, this dish did not disappoint. It was seasoned just right with sprinkle of salt. I took it upon myself to try the bone marrow on the sourdough bread dipped with the Cioppino broth and it was AMAZING!!!! Nathan was our server, but every employee made it a point to stop by and check on us. Nathan welcomed us to the restaurant and sparked up a conversation, asked us about our trip, educated us on the oyster selection, their origin and their menu. Overall, this was our favorite dining place in NYC during our stay. Every aspect of this restaurant from the menu to the employees was top notch! We recommend to everyone coming to visit or living in NYC to come visit this place and try their oyster selection or simply their regular menu! Everything was delicious and fresh, will be coming back on our next trip during the warm season!!

5/5 happy hour deal, 3/5 entrees Stopped by last minute for Saturday night dinner with my parents. Made a reservation right before arriving, but it wasn't necessary. The tables were filed but turnover was quick. We got 2 happy hour deals which is $12 for 6 oysters and a beer. The oysters tasted fresh and the beers were great. We also ordered the seafood pasta, surf and turf, and fried crab. The steak was probably the best part. The fried crab was interesting but need some more flavor underneath the fried layer, and the pasta needed some more salt. Would come back just for the happy hour though! Vibes are fun, upbeat music and lively chatter

Upstate consistently delivers. Stopped by at tail end of happy hour on a Friday evening. oyster deal is still solid in the year 2025: half dozen + any beer for $12 or half dozen + any wine for $16. Group of 4, did a dozen oysters and 2 drinks each, then shared 2 appetizers,and moved on to 2 orders of fettuccine with clams because duh that's the real star here. Cant think of any other place that has better fettuccine with clams. Also shared bone marrow w baby scallops- that bone marrow oh my gosh, artery clogging but so heavenly; shared a swordfish steak that was on the today's special menu- hearty perfection. Service was great, place was filled but noise wasn't overbearing and we could hear each other clearly in conversation without straining.

I had a fairly flavorless pasta vongole here BUT the oyster happy hour is such a good deal and the other menus are reasonably priced so I will return! The staff was great. Love the little free dessert at the end. In the summer it's great for people watching!

This isn't the first time dining here, they have good happy hour combo of oysters with beer from 5-7pm (M-Sun). If oyster isn't your kind of taste, they have great beer options reasonably priced. Their entrees are also delicious and good portion. There's always a wait, so be sure to reserve in advance!

I absolutely loved coming here for happy hour! I got one glass of wine + 6 oysters for $16 which is an incredible deal, wondering a lot of restaurants charge that much for wine alone. My friend and I also split the squid ink/uni pasta which was quite buttery and tasty, with a nice pop from the trout roe. The only issue I had was the slow service, I think there was only one guy shucking oysters for the whole restaurant so it took about 45 min for our oysters to come out. I did want to order another round but decided it wasn't worth the wait. Hopefully the restaurant can staff more during happy hour.

Overall: This was a last minute place that I went to on a friday night with my girlfriend. There were plenty of reservations available - it seems like this place gets most packed for their happy hour deals. Most of the food was great except for one bad experience with the mussels. The waiter made it right, and overall we had a good time. We'll be back to try happy hour.Food: 4Drinks: 5Service: 5Value: 4Atmosphere: 3 Food: We got several different types of oysters, the crab cake appetizer, and the mussel and squid ink pasta entrees. Everything was fantastic except the mussels. We actually sent the mussels back. They were grainy, tasted like they weren't fresh, and were overall terrible. Unfortunately this offset the other food that we really enjoyed. In particular, we enjoyed the Acadia oysters and the Squid Ink Pasta. Our waiter made it right and took the mussels off our bill, but they were unfortunate at best.Drinks: We got a couple rounds of their beers. The draught menu isn't that extensive, but theres a little bit of everything and beers are $7.Service: Our waiter saved our experience. He was prompt, helpful, and very understanding about the issue with the mussels. Value: For a seafood / raw bar, this place was definitely on the cheaper side. We've heard good things about the happy hour and will definitely be back for that.Atmosphere: This was a fun place to go but it was very loud. At points we had to shout to hear each other. It wasn't particularly crammed full of tables, but noise seemed to reverberate.

For more details on why I love this place so much, please read my previous reviews. I'm just popping in here because incredibly after so many years, Upstate still delivers the exact same experience. Still the best oyster happy hour in town! Still with the fantastic whiskey cake that comes at the end. Shane, if you read this, please please, may I have the recipe to that cake??

This place truly got better with time. It's been a long time since we've visted, but I'm glad to see they're thriving. My husband and I came here on a Friday night. Thank God we made a reservation, because at 6pm, it was packed! We made it in time for the oyster happy hour, which is one of the city's best deals. But the star of our meal was the squid ink and uni pasta! We've been to some of the top pasta spots in the city and this dish rivals them! The pasta was perfect cooked and the sauce was rich and tasty. The uni gave it enough umami to keep you wanting more. Next time, I'm getting my own and not sharing with my husband lol.We sat at the bar and Shane was so attentive to us. He made sure our glasses were never empty and we had a great conversation. It's great to see an owner take pride in their business and it really shows that Shane cares about this place.I will make sure come back often!

We me up a friend that lives in NYC and we had a hankering for some seafood after drinking some tropical drinks in the neighborhood. The alfresco seating was the perfect setting we were looking for that night.I had the squid ink pasta and loved every bite. It was perfectly cooked, with a rich uni flavor that I couldn't get enough of. We also tried the West Coast oysters, and they were out of this world--fresh, perfectly shucked, and incredibly flavorful. The staff's recommendations for craft beer pairings were spot on, and the rotating taps had an impressive mix craft brews and unique finds, making it a beer lover's paradise.Service was awesome. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable, and it was clear they had a genuine passion for the menu. I was amazed at how he was able to navigate the busy bike path between our table and the restaurant without getting run over. All in all, Upstate Craft Beer and Oyster Bar went above and beyond my expectations. It's a fantastic spot for a casual night out, a special occasion, or just to enjoy some of the best oysters and craft beer in the city. Can't wait to come back!