Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn To Open On December 18

Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn is joining Whole Foods and Prospect Park’s Lakeside to make next week a very busy one for grand openings in our area, as it’s set to serve its first shellfish at 254 5th Avenue on Wednesday, December 18 at 5pm.

Taking over the large former Fornino space, the new 150-seat restaurant and fish market had originally been hoping to open on December 1. It’s being launched by former Park Slope resident/current Greenwood Heights neighbor Jonathan Young with Bruce Fox, who gave reporters a sneak peak at the 5,000-square-foot space last month.

Though they’ll be open daily for lunch and dinner, plus brunch on Sundays, they’re starting off with a light menu for the first few weeks. Expect a raw bar featuring oysters and clams on the half shell, New England clam chowder, traditional appetizers like shrimp cocktail and fried clams, plus sandwiches including an oyster po’ boy and a lobster roll.

When the full menu rolls out, it will feature classic pan roasts, 16 varieties of oysters, plus pasta seafood specials.

“We’re going to concentrate more on the shellfish, to make sure we do it right,” Fox told us in November. “Because it changes daily, we can play with it, change it up if something doesn’t work.”

So, is everyone ready for some oysters?