Shucking spectacular: Exploring Virginia’s Oyster Trail

Explore Virginia’s Oyster Trail! Discover unique restaurants, tour oyster farms, and taste the Chesapeake Bay’s bounty. 

Virginia’s coastal heritage is deeply intertwined with the oyster, a vital part of the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem, economy, and history. The Virginia Oyster Trail provides a roadmap for exploring this connection, guiding visitors to a diverse array of restaurants, aquaculture farms, and unique experiences that highlight the Commonwealth’s signature shellfish.

From innovative culinary pairings in Williamsburg to traditional seafood shacks on the Eastern Shore and hands-on farm tours, the trail offers numerous ways to engage with Virginia’s oyster culture, catering to foodies, families, couples, and local professionals alike.

Must-visit dining destinations along the trail

Casa Pearl 

Location: 722 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Situated in a renovated Texaco gas station, Casa Pearl marries oysters and tacos in what its team describes as a fun and lively atmosphere. The concept stems from Executive Chef Mikey Maksimowicz, a Northern Neck native trained at the French Culinary Institute. Before returning to his roots, Maksimowicz worked in premier East Coast restaurants, including Michelle Bernstein’s Omphoy in Palm Beach, Fla., and Vidalia, Rogue 24, Blue Duck Tavern, Fiola Mare, and Fiola in Washington, D.C. He further honed his oyster knowledge at Charleston, S.C., establishments The Ordinary and Rappahannock Oyster Bar.

Casa Pearl focuses on quality, locally sourced ingredients for its raw bar, featuring Chesapeake Bay fish and shellfish, and Latin-inspired tacos with a Southern twist. The menu consists of smaller plates intended for sharing. The space features roll-up garage doors and a patio for open-air dining in nice weather. Sample menu items include East Coast Oysters (Market Price) with red wine mignonette and cocktail sauce, and Oysters & Pearls ($18), featuring Minnie Pearl Oysters with seasonal granita and trout caviar.

Great Machipongo Clam Shack

Location: 6468 Lankford Hwy., Nassawadox, VA 23413

Described as a Shore classic with a reputation among locals and East Coast travelers, this family-friendly restaurant offers a warm atmosphere and homestyle cooking. The menu features Eastern Shore clams, oysters, and crabs, alongside salads, burgers, and North Carolina barbecue, using fresh local produce whenever available. A large selection of local wines and craft beers is offered, and an attached gift shop provides retail seafood, cookbooks, shucking tools, and apparel. Live local musicians perform Friday and Saturday nights year-round, and an open mic night takes place on the first Wednesday of the month.

Murphy’s Irish Pub

Location: 2914 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Family-owned and operated since 2003, Murphy’s brings traditional Irish food and entertainment to the Virginia Beach community. The authentic Irish pub serves hearty meals with fresh ingredients and features the largest four-sided fireplace in Virginia Beach for winter months and a lively outdoor patio for summer.

In 2019, the pub’s owners established Back Creek Oyster Company on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, growing “Back Creek Beauties” in the Tangier Sound, near Tangier Island. These oysters are cultivated in floating cages where wave motion helps shape a deep cup and broad fan. Growing near the surface provides more food and purer water, resulting in clean-tasting oysters. Back Creek Beauties are offered daily at the pub, including during a popular 75-cent oyster happy hour. The menu also includes fried oysters served with coleslaw and cottage fries. 

Riverwalk Restaurant

Location: 323 Water St., Yorktown, VA 23690

Nestled along the York River, Riverwalk offers a picturesque dining experience suitable for leisurely lunches, romantic dinners, or family meals. The menu features fresh seafood, pasta dishes, steaks, and lunchtime options like salads, burgers, and sandwiches.

The restaurant highlights its commitment to community engagement and sustainability through prioritizing local ingredient sourcing. Oysters on the half shell are available by the half dozen or dozen, served with house-made mignonette, cocktail sauce, and fresh lemon.

Oysters can be ordered at the Riverwalk Restaurant, along the York River. (Courtesy of Riverwalk Restaurant)

From bay to table: Tours and experiences

Cage ‘Em Oyster Company

Location: 4734 Hunny Pot Ln., Gloucester, VA 23061

Providing salty-sweet oysters year-round since 2018, Cage ‘Em Oyster Company follows a detailed growing process. Larvae from local hatcheries grow in a land-based upweller before moving to bags. Oysters are then culled, sorted, and hand-tumbled before placement into larger bags. They finish growing to market size in cages, where natural tidal tumbling helps form the deep cups prized by consumers, inspiring the company name.

Cage ‘Em offers 1.5- to two-hour oyster farm tours with certified Capt. Tommy Leggett. For $45 per person (maximum five people), participants learn about oyster farming and get hands-on experience with light farm work. A locally made craft beer or wine can be added for an extra $5 per person. Safety vests and gloves are provided; closed-toe shoes (Crocs are acceptable) are required, and participants are advised not to wear their best clothes. Tours are weather permitting.

Mathews Deadrise Charters/Chapel Creek Oyster Co.

Location: 384 Turpin Ln., Port Haywood, VA 23138

Guests can cruise aboard the “Helen Elizabeth,” a 34-foot classic Chesapeake Bay Deadrise boat, captained by local oyster farmer Trey Sowers. Tours offer views of river estates, historic homes, Chesapeake Bay wildlife, beaches, and lighthouses. Sowers also operates the family-run Chapel Creek Oyster Company, which grows 250,000 to 300,000 oysters annually in the Piankatank River. Featured in restaurants from Mathews to Richmond, Chapel Creek Oysters are noted by aficionados for their umami or savoriness, with a buttery, mineral-rich taste, crisp light finish, and balanced saltiness.

Farm tours explore the ecosystem while Sowers shares his knowledge about oysters. The farm emphasizes environmental sustainability: no fertilizers, feeds, herbicides, or chemicals are used. Oysters are grown from hatchery-raised seed, which helps repopulate wild oysters. The farm also provides habitat for fish, removes nitrogen, improves water clarity for bay grasses, and partners with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s “Save Oyster Shell” program by collecting used shells from restaurants. Oysters can be pre-ordered to take home.

Oyster Seed Holdings

Location: 425 Callis Wharf Rd., Grimstead, VA 23064

Established in 2008, Oyster Seed Holdings is an independent shellfish hatchery known for its “tech-forward” approach. As a supplier of high-quality seed and expert advice to growers, OSH has not pursued vertical integration, allowing it to prioritize customer needs.

Thanks to grant funding from the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance via the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2022, OSH offers public tours. Visitors can experience the complex lifecycle of oysters firsthand during a 30-minute immersive tour. On select Fridays from May through August, ticketed tours include a tasting of raw and cooked oysters paired with local wines at “The Hatchery,” OSH’s waterfront food truck eatery. The Hatchery features food truck-style ordering, an open-air picnic table dining area with views of Milford Haven at Callis Wharf, and serves food, beer, and wine on Fridays (5 p.m. to sunset), Saturdays (4 p.m. to sunset), and Sundays (noon to 4 p.m.).

OSH also partners seasonally with Mathews Deadrise Charters for boat-based aquaculture tours departing from its floating dock (check OSH or Mathews Deadrise Charters for current schedules and availability).

Oyster Seed Holdings takes a tech-forward approach to being an oyster hatchery. (Courtesy of Oyster Seed Holdings)

Big Island Aquaculture

Location: 2149 Big Island View Rd., Hayes, VA 23072

Big Island Aquaculture is a working farm that grows cultured triploid oysters. Farmer Daniel Vogt raises oysters in floating cages at the top of the water column, located at the confluence of the Chesapeake and Mobjack Bays. This method prevents grit and mud from affecting the oyster’s quality, resulting in what professional tasters reportedly call the “quintessential oyster”—clean-tasting with a balance of salty, buttery, and sweet notes.

The farm highlights its sustainable, farm-to-table approach; oysters filter up to 50 gallons of water daily, removing excess nitrogen and improving bay health, and used shells are returned to the water to rebuild reefs. Big Island Aquaculture also hosts various oyster-based events.

The farm is located at the confluence of the Chesapeake and Mobjack Bays. (Courtesy of Big Island Aquaculture)

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.