The Butley Orford Oysterage
A Nostalgic Favourite
In search of a quiet life after the second world war, Richard Pinney left London to move to a cottage in the Suffolk countryside. He aimed to rekindle traditional and sustainable methods of oyster farming and fishing - a dying trade at the time. He restored deserted oyster beds and experimented with smoking methods. The Butley Orford Oysterage was born and was a success. It's my favourite place to eat in England. End of.
The Keans have taken full advantage of Richard Pinney’s success over the years. The Oysterage is a place we’ve had many great meals and where I hold fond memories of childish conversations and infectious laughter. We still eat at The Oysterage once a year on our family holiday to the overwhelmingly Middle-Class village Thorpeness. My brother is now a vegetarian, so we don’t invite him anymore.
The restaurant’s interior is old-fashioned and a bit stiff, resembling a 1930s English tearoom. Paper tablecloths decorated with illustrations of Poseidon cover bulky marble tables, and the chairs look like they’ve been plucked from a school classroom. It’s cold and initially slightly uncomfortable. But The Oysterage isn’t about appearances, it is what it is. And the decor grows on you. Its outdated charm encapsulates a priority towards good food that doesn’t leave you disappointed.
The Kean clan crosses the Suffolk countryside like wildebeest on migration. We take our seats, watched by diners who like look they’ve never left. Our spread is always the same. Lots of small plates, allowing everyone to try everything. Smoked eel, grilled squid, mussels au gratin, garlicky prawns, deep-fried whitebait, smoked fish pâté, crab cakes, and of course oysters. Three to four ingredients per dish, minimal intervention - maximum fuck me that tastes good.
For me, the smoked eel on toast is the best of the bunch, a testament to Pinney’s method of burning whole oak logs which has barely changed in sixty years. Over-excitedly, I always stuff down my share of the food too quickly and end up watching everyone else enjoying it for longer.
If that doesn’t do the trick, there are several classic desserts on the menu. Their sticky toffee pudding is the best I’ve ever had. Every element of the dish is executed to perfection. It’s a popular sweet at The Oysterage and I am always relieved when they have any left. I take a strange satisfaction from watching the old timers devour ridiculously giant portions of sticky toffee pudding after barely being able to make a dent in their main course.
A glance across the dining room and all you see are smiling faces and clean plates. Customers are no longer concerned with life’s trivial concerns. They are lost in the food. A human phenomenon occurring exclusively in great restaurants. Eating out is about getting stuck into great food, stimulating conversation, and being with the people you love. A great restaurant must not only serve food you want to eat. It must create an ambiance you feel comfortable enough to spend time in. If both those boxes are ticked, you’ll invite your loved ones and get lost together. Here, The Oysterage excels.
The biggest compliment I can give to the Butley Orford Oysterage is that I can still remember, clear as day, my first oyster there. The unexpected creamy texture and dad’s firm instruction on how to correctly eat it. “Lemon, tabasco and swallow it whole”. I prefer to chew them now. It ignited my love for seafood and sent me on a tasting journey. The Oysterage will always be a nostalgic favourite of mine and many others. It's very good at what it does: putting high-quality produce on a plate in a simple and sustainable way. I think Richard Pinney would be proud.
My Big Five
Fresh Butley Oysters (half a dozen)
Smoked eel on toast
Breaded Mussels
Grilled Squid
Sticky Toffee Pudding
