If you stand in the lounge before the Oyster Bar opens and look through the glass doors of the restaurant, you’ll see a crowd that’s gathered, waiting for the magic hour. At 11:30, the doors to the Oyster Bar open, and the crowd divides into two streams. Many—the tourists and the grandmothers taking the little ones to lunch—head to the maitre d’s podium. But the rest make a right turn as they enter, heading to the oyster bar and the Saloon. And to the counters.
The four counters, each built in an elongated U shape, are among the most popular seats in the restaurant. They’re covered in white Formica; places are set with blue-and-white checked napkins. The selection of condiments positioned at key places on each counter includes containers of fine sea salt and “homestyle coarse grind black pepper,” small bottles of Tabasco or Cholula Hot sauce, a covered bowl of grated horseradish, a sugar shaker, and an old-fashioned glass filled with sugar substitutes. And once you sit on your low white leather stool, the waitress will give you the sandwich menu and the full menu for the day.
People have described sitting at the counters as “sort of like being at a bar, without being at a bar.” There’s a lot of interaction between the customers. And between the customers and the counter girls. These “counter girls,” who dress in blue Oyster Bar polo shirts and short black aprons, are one of the reasons behind the counters’ popularity. Between them, May Herrington, Patty Cheung, Stella Denamiel, and Mary McNamara have been working the counters for 100 years.
“Stella has her regulars,” says May. “Patty has a lot. You go on vacation, and they yell at you when you come back because you’ve been away. Some of them will even walk out if they don’t see you at the counter.” “Oh, yes, we all have our regulars,” Mary says. “Mine may not be as obsessive as the others’.”
Mrs. Brody thinks of the counter girls as a kind of surrogate family for the customers, who often dine alone at the counters. May will offer guidance on ordering. “For young people I usually suggest two bowls of soup and a sandwich to share. It’s a good meal, and the price is right.” But while the counters are a perfect place to sit and have a quick, inexpensive meal, customers splurge here, too. More than once a guest at the counters has ordered a bottle of Chateau Margaux ’82 (a legendary year for that Bordeaux wine and $1,250 a bottle) to accompany a big lobster.
All the counter girls have seen the celebrities—actors and directors, politicians and ambassadors—who come to eat at the counters. “Terrance Stamp? You know, the actor? He’s been one of my regulars for a very long time,” says May. “And Andy Warhol used to come in when I started. I didn’t know who he was.” But one of the reasons celebrities feel comfortable in the Oyster Bar is that we don’t make a big thing about it. We just treat them like every other customer.
The girls rotate among the counters. “Counter 2 is the largest and it’s the busiest—and in the wintertime it’s really busy,” says Mary. “If you worked just that counter you could lose it. So we all just kind of follow each other, in around.” And the regulars follow their girls.
At night, the counters aren’t as busy as they are at lunch, and counter 4 is closed down. That’s where the general manager will hold wine dinners—five or six small courses, usually Oyster Bar classic dishes, each paired with a different wine. Because of the U shape of the counter, the general manager and winemaker can really talk with the diners about the wines they’re drinking and why it’s paired with that dish.
From her post as senior counter girl, May looks back. “We all seem to be getting older, and there are fewer of the old timers. But I don’t think anything really changes in the Oyster Bar.”