wright brothers {oysters in london}

Domenico and I went up to London last weekend to visit Sophie and Emma, who are both in Uni. (that’s how they say it in England). You’d think we would go up to visit often, since it’s so close. The thing is, since it’s so close, the girls tend to want to come home every chance they get. So we were really happy that they let us come up for once

Like good parents, we were in town to spoil the girls. And in their books this meant one thing: oysters.

Ever since they could voice any sort of opinion about food, oysters have been at the top of their food chain. Raw fish of any kind really, but oysters hold a special place. Mostly because they just aren’t something that we get here in Italy. So when we go to Paris, or NYC or London we always head for the nearest oyster bar.

Wright Brothers, right in Borough Market, is where we oyster-out in London. The small, cozy bar gets its oysters straight from its own oyster farm in Cornwall, as well as all of the other seafood. So everything is straight from the sea.

We always start out with at least two dozen oysters. Since we can never decide which ones, we go for a selection of rocks and are always very happy.

Next up are crispy fried white bate. Fried in a mixture of cornmeal and hot pepper, they get dipped in tartar sauce before disappearing too quickly.

Domenico can never pass up anything typically English (he’d wear a school boy beanie if we let him), and so ordered the Salmon and Smoked Haddock fish pie. Piping hot, it was a creamy mixture of smokey fish and potatoes, with a golden crust on top.

The girls and I dug into a massive pot of Moules Mariniere: big, plump mussels barely steamed. The best part, of course, was the winey garlicky broth at the bottom of the pan, sipped up till the last drop with our spoons.

The place is a bit chaotic (we were seated next to a particularly ‘boisterous’ group of ladies who seemed to think they had stepped out of their own version of Sex and the City) but the service is warm and friendly.

It all seemed very English to us, which is just what we want for our dose of London. Plus oysters.

Wright Brothers Oyster + Porter House
020 7403 9554
11 Stoney Street
Borough Market London
Monday – Friday 12.00 – 11pm
Saturday 11.00 – 11pm
Sunday 12.00 – 9pm