The amazing offer of a £12 for a 3 course Set Menu is on until the end of May for lunch and dinner on Mondays to Fridays only (excluding Bank Holidays).   We have one choice for each course which changes daily according to our local catches and is a huge favourite with everyone.     Where could you get the best local freshest fish and seafood cooked and served for you for £12.   Today we are offering Sardines in provencal sauce, Brill with spring cabbage and sweet potato puree and Lemon possset for pudding, and for a £5 supplement you could choose the Gurnard instead.    What could be better than that?

Dear Shackers,

March has been a busy time for us, getting ready for Easter, our Open All Hours and our newly designed Menu and summer Wine List.    We have had great fun tasting new wines and have selected three or four to compliment our list of fantastic wines to go with our fish and seafood.     The Shack Menu has been carefully laid out to clearly show how many fantastic seafood and fish dishes we have available whilst drawing on all the local produce that we are so lucky to have access to.  

Just click onto the website and take a look at www.oystershack.co.uk/menu to see what we have done.    We have thought about all sorts of offers for you, but came to the conclusion that the £12 was unbeatable and certainly the best value in South Devon!!   So for April and May we are offering our Seafood Spring Special which is a set menu of three courses changing daily and is on from Monday to Friday all day.     The awning is going up and we are just waiting for the weather to get a little bit warmer so we can move outside for lunch.   We can’t wait for spring to spring!!    It seems ages ago that we had our meals outside, and thinking back it was probably about 6 months ago that anyone saw the sun at all.      

Our Head Chef Martin Benjamin loves the springtime and has been foraging for wild garlic for a homemade pesto sauce which went very well with wild seabass and wild garlic pesto risotto, and he is really looking forward to more foraging in the summer for samphire and mushrooms and other herbs and wild greens that grow in the South Hams, all within a 15 mile radius.    

The Oyster Shack is being represented at the Bigbury Golf Club Inaugural Corporate Golf Day on Thursday 25^th April.   We have a team playing called The Shackers (hopefully not The Hackers!!) and hope they have the best of fun and a good score.   I’m already getting my excuses lines up!!   It is being run in aid of the Devon Air Ambulance and Breast Cancer Research and we delighted to raise money and awareness for both these charities.

Also, we are still supporting the Fishermans Mission with donation envelopes on our tables to highlight their welfare support and emergency help to fishermen and their families in times of hardship and tragedy.      We are very happy to do this and support those who face danger bringing fish and seafood to our tables.

Chris & the Crew

PS           The Good Food Guide’s Reader’s Restaurant of the Year award is still open until 14^th April Visit www.thegoodfoodguide.co.uk/awards and click on How to Nominate.   Thank you very much!

PPS        If you know of anyone who wants a holiday job in the kitchen or Front of House, do get in touch, we would love to hear from them.

MOTHERS DAY SPECIAL MENU       £ 30.00

STARTERS

 Replace your starter for a Supplement Charge of £6.00 for Oysters

 6 au naturel or 6 Pic ‘n’ Mix

 Grilled Sardines, pickled beetroot with horseradish cream

Pan seared Scallops with cauliflower puree & black pudding

Shack Crab Soup with Cheesy Croute

  MAIN COURSES

Grilled Hake with caper crushed potatoes, broad bean veloute & Roasted Cherry vine Tomato

Wild Seabass with Wild Garlic Pesto Risotto & butterflied Crevette

Whole Plaice with Anchovy buttered potatoes & green pea fricassee

(Meat option available upon request)

DESSERTS

Rhubarb Panna cotta

Warm Chocolate Brownie with chocolate ice cream

Strawberry Parfait with Raspberry coulis

Selection of West Country Cheeses, Onion Chutney & Crackers

Ben, our Head Chef, has designed a delicious sharing menu for Dinner on Valentines Day with Sweet Chilli King Prawn Skewer, Rillettes, Seared Tuna and Avocado and Smoked Salmon to start with.   And to follow you can choose either a whole locally caught Sole, simply grilled, or feast on our Shack Seafood Hot Pot with Crayfish, Mussels, Prawns and Oysters in a mariniere broth.     The desserts selection is mouth watering and a perfect choice to complete a memorable meal.   For only £25 each this is a brilliant opportunity to share an evening with the one you love.

Now we are closed for January!    We had a brilliant “Golden Age of Travel” New Year’s Eve party to end with, so much fun.           Chris & the Crew are all off to far flung corners of the world for their month’s holiday, lucky things!!

We re-open on Monday 4th February 2013 with our £12 for 3 courses and Sunday Brunch offers.

Look forward to seeing you all then!!

How to make 5 quick, easy and delicious seafood canapes for my 10 guests on New Year’s Eve

I asked Ben Davies, the Head Chef of The Oyster Shack in Bigbury for his suggestions.  Since 1989 The Oyster Shack has been well known for its seafood dishes using the best local ingredients and the ethos of simplicity in the cooking and serving.   So here goes!

Ben’s first suggestions was Blinis.   Just put out 10 blinis, spread with sour cream or cream cheese, layer with smoked slamon and decorate with chopped chives.

For the next canape, break off 10 leaves of baby gem lettuce, mash a ripe avocado with lemon juice and black peper (or use horseradish cream).   Fill the lettuce leaves with the avocado mix and crab meat and sprinkle some chopped herbs over the top.

For a cold or hot canape, Ben suggested prawn skewers marinaded in sweet chilli sauce, pan seared and served hot with a lemon mayo dip, or for the cold option, just thread cooked shelled prawns and mini tomato halves alternately onto 10 small kebab sticks and serve with the sweet chilli sauce dip.

Another hot canape is Ben’s Scotch Eggs, made from quails eggs cooked for 30 seconds, peeled and wrapped in smoked salmon or trout, dipped in egg, seasoned flour and breadcrumbs and then deep fried until golden brown.

And lastly, some Smoked Mackerel Pate soldiers.   Mash some smoked mackerel fillets with lemon juice, a bit of double cream and pepper to taste.   Cut some toast into soldiers and spread the pate liberally.   Do this one last so the toast doesn’t go soggy!

It couldn’t be easier!   Less than a couple of hours later and all five canapes are finished and my guests will have a fantastic New Year’s Eve selection of deliciousness!!   You could even do these as a starter course for dinner.

Thanks Ben!   Happy New Year!

Everyone at The Oyster Shack is betting that Anton will win Masterchef.     He has done brilliantly so far and is always cooking with local Devon ingredients.    We love locally sourced fish and seafood, especially our Salcombe crabs and lobsters and locally grown vegetables.   We are so lucky that we have such a wealth of suppliers down here.    Good luck Anton, The Shack backs you all the way!

What about a plate of our own home cured Gravadlax with Poached Eggs on Toast or a Salcombe Lobster Omelette?      We are delighted to announce that The Oyster Shack will be serving Sunday Brunch from 11am to 3pm every Sunday, so why not come with your family and friends one Sunday, read the Sunday papers, eat a delicious breakfast and relax!!      Come and join us in front of the fire and let us do the cooking!   Have a look at the brilliant Brunch menu on the website menu page, you will love it!!

Happy Christmas and we hope that 2013 is a great year for you all.

(Just to remind you we are closed from 2nd January to 4th February 2013 for R & R!!)

Today we launched our 2012 Christmas Party menu for £12 or £15.   What a fantastic offer!!  

3 COURSES FOR £12    MONDAY-FRIDAY LUNCH & DINNER ONLY

CHRISTMAS PARTY MENU

IF YOU FANCY OYSTERS INSTEAD OF A STARTER: 6 AU NATUREL OR PIC ‘N MIX £9.50  

STARTERS

BUTTERNUT & CUMIN SOUP

SHACK STYLE FISH SPRING ROLLS

HOME CURED GRAVADLAX WITH MIXED LEAVES

 MAINS

 PAN ROASTED MONKFISH TAILS WITH PROVENCAL RISOTTO & BASIL OIL

MOULES MARINIERE WITH CRUSTY BREAD

TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

 DESSERTS

 LEMON POSSET WITH A CRANBERRY TOPPING

WEST COUNTRY CHEESE PLATTER

MINIATURE CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS WITH CINNAMON CREME ANGLAISE

 £15 per head to Include a side dish, crackers and a party pack

These two menus are absolute winners!!

3 COURSES FOR £12

MONDAY-FRIDAY LUNCH & DINNER ONLY

CHRISTMAS PARTY MENU

 STARTERS

 BUTTERNUT & CUMIN SOUP

SHACK STYLE FISH SPRING ROLLS

HOME CURED GRAVADLAX WITH MIXED LEAVES

MAINS

PAN ROASTED MONKFISH TAILS WITH PROVENCAL RISOTTO & BASIL OIL

MOULES MARINIERE WITH CRUSTY BREAD

TRADTIONAL ROAST TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

 DESSERTS

 LEMON POSSET WITH A CRANBERRY TOPPING

WEST COUNTRY CHEESE PLATTER

MINIATURE CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS WITH CINNAMON CREME ANGLAISE

£15 per head to Include a side dish, crackers and a party pack

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Invitation to Travel with us from Bigbury to Beijing, first class, in the Golden Age of Travel

Monday 31^st December 2012

NEW YEAR’S EVE MENU  

Miniature Scotch Eggs with a Shack twist, Moules Mariniere

Prawn Cocktail, Smoked Mackerel Pate on Toast

Scallop & Lobster Tortellini on a bed of spinach with a Champagne Beurre Blanc

Lime Sorbet Amuse

Roasted Halibut on Saffron Rice with a Tamarind Sauce accompanied by curried courgette bhaji, apple chutney,  mint raita & homemade naan bread

Chai Granita

Assiette of Lychee Parfait with Passionfruit Coulis, Panna Cotta with Rose Water Jelly & Clemetines & a Rocktail Shot  

Fortune Cookies

Dress : Golden Age of Travel            7pm Cocktails – 1am        £48 each