oyster bar
2
3.5
- noun
- /ˈɔɪstər bɑr/
:
bar de ostras
- It features an outdoor oyster bar where you can look at the bay where your meal was pulled from that morning, the beautiful view adding to the fresh brininess of the shellfish.
- a raw oyster bar
Examples
-
The packed dining room is a testament to the extent to which Heights residents have embraced the combined seafood restaurant, oyster bar, and burger joint.
Blog text (21) -
OK, Oyster bars are so fun.
-
I've been twice: once for drinks in the oyster bar and once for lunch.
Blog text (29) -
Ever go to an oyster bar and have them raw on the half shell with some cocktail sauce?
Blog text (16) -
Law school was at Tulane, where Ray survived by waiting tables at an oyster bar in the French Quarter.
Fiction book (2002) -
The oyster bar was great, especially tucked away in the corner, away from the din of the dining room.
Blog text (29) -
It's going to be called Liberty Kitchen and Oysterette because the oyster bar is going to have a small kitchen with its own grill and its own hood.
Blog text (21) -
You can do that all at Hog Island in Tomales Bay, California, but here in New York, most good oyster bars feel landlocked.
Blog text (20) -
We decided to try the new oyster bar that opened on the waterfront.
-
The oyster bar features a wide variety of fresh oysters from different regions.
How Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a bar or restaurant specializing in oysters' is directly and compositionally derived from 'oyster' (the shellfish) + 'bar' (a place serving food/drinks). This naming pattern (X + bar meaning a place that serves X) is common and cross-linguistically straightforward, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Oyster bar comes from the simple picture of a bar, a counter where people sit, where fresh oysters are opened and served right away. They started near the sea as small places to eat oysters, so the phrase now means 'a bar or restaurant that specializes in serving oysters'.