Hama Hama Oyster Saloon — Restaurant in Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake

I've been coming to Hama Hama for years, and really appreciated their ingenuity creating heated A-frames during the pandemic. So glad they survived and thrived. As a customer, however, I sometimes long for the pre-pandemic phase when they were more affordable and accessible, and I'm gonna say it: tastier. Back then, the menu was pretty simple, Raw and baked, and as I recall, the baked were a sort of Rockefeller affair, boy holy crap were they delicious.

The raw oysters are still exactly as delicious as ever, and I love that they are now offering you-shuck (if they did that years before, I don't remember seeing them on the menu for dining in). But the mignonette sauce offerings seem to rotate and the last couple times I've gone I have truly disliked them. I should note that I'm a complete oyster freak. I'm local, and eat them frequently, not just during months with an R. I keep an active shellfish license and even dive for them and shuck them right where I get them when it's legal and in-season, and I am KITTED OUT with a fanny pack that I fill with lemon, shallots, a glove and shucking knife, red wine vinegar, salt / pepper, a ramekin, and a pocket knife. I take oysters very damn seriously! After volumes of oysters I've invariably hit a couple over time that have made me dangerously sick and I still come back for more ☠️ Never here, to be clear! But Higgins in Portland, I'm looking at you, and twice! Anyway. I don't know why they complicate their mignonette sauce. Some places do that but keep the acid and citric balance perfect regardless of their experimentation but the last couple times this has not been the case here. It was simply awful.

A good mignonette should be tangy, citric, and a bit salty, and let the oyster shine through. Maybe spicy, maybe not, that's subjective, but the rest isn't. This formula is unwavering, but Hama Hama has done me dirty recently, with strange sauce flavors that have no bite or no flavor, or are too sweet or have no salt or tang.

It's disappointing, especially given their extraordinary prices (after all, they're not paying a middleman, they own the farm). Taylor Shellfish charges similar prices and they offer Hama Hamas, but you are going to get perfect perfect mignonette, they get it. They have more attitude but don't mess with the mignonette man.

Anyway the oysters are terrific. The location, and the drive to it, are a must for a visitor, and even for a local looking to get out of town. But DO make a reservation because just showing up is a much less gratifying experience than it was in yesteryear.

For me as a poor planner and a solo van tripper rolling through from time to time, the high high prices and required reservations (unless you wanna be stuffed onto a sad table right by the entry queue) are not compelling, but the dubious mignonette — such a simple but indispensable oyster shop fundamental — has made me question future visits. Your mileage almost certainly will vary; remember that...

We went two days in a row and had an unexpected experience both times.

On our first visit, we came around 4 pm and couldn’t be seated at the restaurant which stops taking walk-ins about an hour before they close. This may vary based on the season, day of the week and availability. (Our first time for on a Saturday)

The staff was nice about it though, and told us the cafe window to the right had a limited menu. We went there and had the nicest staffer who took the time to chat with us and explain the options.

We got a bucket of raw oysters that we had to shuck ourselves, tomato soup, potatoes salad and coleslaw. We also tried their cider which was a local collaboration.

Everything was excellent except for the boring coleslaw. It was our first time shucking oysters. Luckily my boyfriend was down for the challenge. Oysters were fabulous and so were the sauces.

We came back the next day, on a Sunday to try the restaurant. Arrived around 2 pm and the wait was over an hour. Once they called us, we ordered at the window and got seated. Service was good and our waiter was diligent. Brought waters for us and our pup. Food took about 20-25 mins, and we dove right in… and this is where we got bummed.

I had the salad with chilled salmon. The fish was mediocre - dry and super salty. Salad was beautiful and lots of fresh, crunchy greens but it was kind of boring in taste. Definitely nothing to brag about. My boyfriend got steamed clams and those were extra rubbery and blend. We did order the potato salad and that was the best part of our second meal. Lol. Bill was pretty expensive and we didn’t have any drinks.

So at the end we laughed that “you can’t always get what you want… but you get what you need” 🤓

Out first visit where we enjoyed the window food was 1/2 the price but all the delight, but we didn’t know it at the time. Our second visit which took hours of our time and came with high expectations, was subpar compared to the first experience. But we are still fans of Hama Hama. Next time, we’ll just go straight to the window and be in and out in an hour.

But if you do want to try the full menu, come at least two hours before they close to try to get a table.

Scenic views, dog friendly, portable toilets, outdoor sink with warm water, ample parking, outside seating, gift shop, and great staff doing the best they can to manage an endless flow...

Was really excited to try hama hama. I have been meaning to go here since 2020. I live in seattle and finally had s free weekend so took the 2 and a half hour drive out to this place since I've heard great things. The oyster shell piles were really cool to see upon arrival and the servers are all great, but that's where the good stuff stops. We didn't have a reservation so had to wait which is standard and didn't bother me. I was just curious why their waiting area has tons of tables that they could be using for service but are not. Kind of threw me off honestly. So we go over to the waiting area and ordered a pitcher of sangria. Unfortunately , the sangria was one of the worst I've ever had. so save yourself the $40 if you're at all familiar with how sangria should taste. It tastes like a gas station wine cooler, so if you like those then you're probably safe. Really doesn't help that they add shredded ice to your cup and the sangria was warm so it watered it down a lot too. I dumped the ice out and the sangria was a bit more tolerable since it wasn't watered down. We ordered the cocktail shrimp and it came with tons of single use plastic which really annoyed me. The shrimp came in a plastic cup with plastic forks and plastic cocktail sauce cups. By the time we got both of those and sat down to eat our appetizer while we waited for our table the hosts came over and says our table was ready. I ordered the roasted oysters with bourbon butter and the crab cake. The roasted oysters were barely warm. The bourbon butter is too sweet for me. I thought the bourbon butter might come on the side so my bad on that. I love roasted or grilled oysters with a little sauce on the side and I'm used to my roasted or grilled oysters coming out really hot, so was not to my expectations. The crab cake was better than the oysters. All the bathrooms are porto Pottys too so be prepared. They have a good size building but who knows what's even in there? Over all even if I lived nearby and not in seattle I don't think I would come again. Prices are seattle expensive too, so really no reason to drive out. It's fun for a gimmick and to go once to check it out to see the oyster piles but beyond that not even mediocre. Really...