18 Central Oyster Bar & Grill looks over Rockport Harbor and is owned by Chef Patrick Duffy and his wife Jessica.  The couple moved to Rockport from Boston in 2011 to run the Shepherd’s Pie restaurant, which closed in mid-2016.  With a first run at the property, they decided to open their own raw bar and restaurant in that location.   After several months of renovations, they launched the new venture.  It’s a good-sized place with patio seating, overlooking the harbor.  The first part of the space is the bar and raw bar and a partially open kitchen fills the rest.  The floors are old wood matching the tin ceiling above.  The walls are wood and brick while art, historic photos and boat sails hang as decorative touches. The lighting is quite low and there was no music in the background.  The tables were well-spaced yet small and service was fine after a slow start.  The menu responds to seasonal products and the food was quite good.  This place is worth a visit when you’re in the area.

Set-Up

 

Food

We started with a Negroni cocktail and were delighted that the server asked which gin we wanted it made with.  It was a nicely made drink with that beautiful color.

 

The Raw Bar offers eight varieties of Raw Oysters from Maine.  They come with a wood-grilled tomato cocktail sauce, a mignonette and a chili garlic sauce as well as lemon wedges.  While I liked the 2 red sauces their flavor covered the taste of the oyster too much.  We had 2 of each of the varieties so we could try them all.  I can’t say one was a favorite but not all the oysters were shucked as nicely as some others.

 

The Atlantic Halibut was wood-grilled and served on a summer vegetable ragout with basil, tomato and ‘Nduja with a side lemon wedge. The large piece of fish had a good grilled flavor and was nicely cooked.  The green beans in the medley were particularly good.  My husband liked it a lot and my bites were tasty.

 

The scallops were wood-grilled and plated with grilled pork belly, Chanterelle mushrooms, Beth’s corn, chimichurri, sweet corn purée and Espelette.  The scallops were lightly cooked but still had a nicely browned exterior.  The pork belly was wonderful and blended great with the lean silky scallops, tasty mushrooms and vegetables.  Lots of fresh corn and sauces made for tons of delicious combinations.  Another large plate of food that was very good.

 

We added a side of Garlic Herb Frites to the main courses.  They were perfectly crisp on the outside while creamy potato on the inside.  They were excellent.

 

Dessert was Parsnip Cake made with grilled spiced parsnips, bruléed poached pear, vanilla pastry cream, toffee sauce and whipped cream.  The pear was well-ripened and sweet.  The dense cake was lovely paired with the creams, sauces and fruit.  A spiciness was in the flavor mix of this very successful dish.  Lots of sweet combos of tastes and textures made it a perfect finish for a great dinner.