Comments (0) Best Place to Hang Out and Feel Like One of the Guys - 2000

Swan Oyster Depot

You sit down on a rickety old stool at Swan's long, narrow marble counter and before you know it you're part of the establishment's large extended family. The humming atmosphere is warm, witty, and blue-collar, Old World courtly. The behind-the-counter wisecracks flow fast and furious as oysters are shucked, Dungeness is cracked, and regulars drop by for a bowl of chowder or the latest neighborhood gossip, adding to the whole schmooze-friendly experience. Watching the shucker-artists fillet a sand dab or bone a salmon makes for terrific mealtime entertainment, and of course the seafood is the freshest and most unadulterated in the city -- but above all of that Swan is a wonderfully convivial hangout.