Lunch at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal – Photography, Images and Cameras

I recently had lunch with a friend at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal. The food’s good, if a little pricey but it is, after all a New York City Icon.

“The restaurant space was first opened as the Grand Central Terminal Restaurant. Although Grand Central Terminal opened on February 2, 1913, its opening was celebrated one day prior, February 1, with a dinner at the restaurant, arranged for Warren and Wetmore along with 100 guests. The restaurant was operated by The Union News Company. It closed briefly for renovations following a 1997 fire. Jerome Brody sold the Oyster Bar to employees in 1999 and died in 2001. Brody chose to sell to staff to preserve the union and employee satisfaction in his transition. As of 2017, all non-union, managerial staff are part of the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). The initial group of managers bought a near-majority of the company’s stock with a loan between 1999 and 2001. They purchased the remainder between 2004 and 2008. In 2016, the Zagat Survey gave it a food rating of 22/30, “Very Good To Excellent”. The Oyster Bar closed for a majority of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It briefly reopened for two weeks and closed again when its underground location failed to attract foot traffic. It then resumed its activities back to normal business from 2021 on.” (Wikipedia)

Its architecture features the vaulted, Guastavino tiled (named after Rafael Guastavino who created the system) ceilings common in the era of its construction. The archway in front of the restaurant is also famous for an acoustical quirk making it a whispering gallery by which someone standing in one corner can hear someone standing in the opposite corner perfectly no matter how softly they speak.

For more on the history of The Oyster bar, and some vintage pictures see: The History of the 98 Year-Old Grand Central Oyster Bar.