The Marshall Store — Restaurant in Petaluma

Just like an oyster, The Marshall Store sits remote from civilization. Like the oysters deep beneath the surface home, this place is far away both literally and figuratively. They too are worth the effort. Like an oyster being shucked you’ll come here and have your world opened.

There are 3 main establishments in the relative area every oyster lover will go to and each type unique drawing a specific type of person.

This is the experience of every oyster lover who comes down here. They know the name Hog Island from San Francisco so they come here first and hate it because they didn’t make reservations and didn’t come early and didn’t bring food, wine or anything, totally expecting full service oyster experience at a cheaper price than San Francisco. Then they learn of Tomales Bay, which sounds super authentic and then you realize it’s filled with people who on their 1st time went to Hog and are looking for a better experience. This is not for the newbie either. So you finally come to Marshall and it felt like heaven. I mean it still is heaven, but it’s a different kind. It’s not roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, come prepared sort of place. They really do things right, they are authentic enough to not cater too much to the city crowd, yet way more refined than Hog and Tomales for service and experience for the general public. The view to me is better here and the crowds are much more mellow after having ruined a morning, an afternoon, a day or multiple days learning the hard way about the oyster game around here. Please don’t come here with some massive group though. So tacky.

I love the view, the service, the ambiance, it’s the only place I’ll bring people who may not be as oystery as me. They offer less classic offerings like bacon, chorizo, Kilpatrick and BBQ toppings on top of the usual lemon/mignonette and crushed ice. I personally like the BBQ and chorizo on grilled oysters versus raw.

I found the Dungeness crab sandwich to be lacking, I also found out that it’s not smoked despite being under the “from the smoker” menu. It’s lacking flavor and could use a sauce. Probably showcase the crab and shrimp better on a louie salad. Tri tip is the way to go as I found the pulled pork to be dry, basic. I thought the braising in Guiness to do nothing, the aioli to detract from what’s supposed to be a natural sweetness. The turkey is good and hearty, dense, worth it for the hungry. Tri tip is santa Barbara style and balanced. The oysters are excellent, shucked or self shucked. They are pricier than other spots around, but like I mentioned most people do it all wrong and end up loving this place. The clam chowder is hearty and if you didn’t come here for the oysters you might come here for this (yes over anything in this city) I love their cheese selection which is great with bread plates. Their cocktail sauce is on point, hearty and bright.

The décor is pretty basic, more outdoor-ish than indoorsy. Heed my advise and choose your oyster spot based on level of knowledge and skill and don’t be like all these 1-2 star people who did it all wrong by going to the...

The prices are definitely steep! $22 for half a dozen oysters (raw and specialty cooked) is pretty overpriced, but they are good. The ambiance of outdoor seating could have been better. Because of their alcohol status, you can buy unopened beers/wine from them, but you can only consume them within the non-property seating, which consists of high tables along the railing overlooking the bay. It’s a gorgeous view, but unfortunately the tables only have about half the number of stools as there are seating spots (maybe even less), so that was pretty annoying— especially on a busy Saturday afternoon where people end up preying over seats that will open up. But, if you’re not getting drinks, they have a couple picnic tables inside (which were basically empty even with a huge line) and some additional seating on their attached patio, which was also decently empty. It definitely seems like they need to adjust their seating to better suit the larger number of people who want drinks with their meal. I also saw a few people who appeared to have brought their own drinks, so that also seems to be an option. The speciality cooked oysters were good, but we did try all flavors (except the smoked which were sold out when we went at 2:30pm on Saturday) and there really wasn’t a ton of flavor difference between them. If you love raw oysters, definitely stick to those as your majority and then opt for the Rockefeller as the cooked and/or the smoked if available. If he prices are too steep for you, their oyster farm (Tomales Bay Oyster Co) is about half a mile down the road, where you can get a dozen of their amazing golden nugget oysters for around $25, with the mignonette at $3. The catch is you have to do the shucking yourself and eat picnic-style, but...

Loved our visit to The Marshall Store. It’s quite the trek to discover this lil treasure but isn’t that why we follow maps in seek of rich reward? I planned our visit after a couple days in Calistoga. The trek took us along two lane roadways meandering through hills and shoreline. Parking was adjacent to the store at the roadway shoulder. We came on a weekday but at our lunch hour visit, most of the tables were full but cleared quickly enough to find a comfortable spot along the waters edge by the time we got our treats. You order inside. We chose the Dungeness crab sando, clam chowder and a plate of what turned out to be some of the freshest tastiest oysters I’ve had in a while. The chowder was scrumptious with bits of potato and chunks of clams. The bread held lumps of dungee crab like it was a canoe. Amazing sandwich-not too saucy and plenty of crab to fill the boat. We warshed it all down with cold beer and finished with an ice cream swirl. The folks were super friendly and cared for each guest individually. There was high stool seating circling the main building and a tent along the road with high stools and tables set on wine barrels. We bussed our own dishes and there were cans separating trash recyclables and shells/organics. I noted that alcohol was not allowed around the deck and only consumed in the tent area. Our day was sunny and warm but I can imagine it’d be best to bring a jacket in case the temps dip. The restrooms are porta potties and foot pump hand wash stations. X marked the spot upon The Marshall Store. I’ll return once the tide...