Anchor Oyster Bar

Founded in 1977, Anchor Oyster Bar is a small, locally-owned legacy seafood restaurant and fish market in the Castro serving sustainably-caught fish, shellfish, crab, oysters, and specially prepared seafood dishes, including its signature cioppino dish, which was beautifully described in a New York Times article in May of 2022. Located on Castro Street between 18th and 19th streets, the restaurant occupies a small storefront with a large plate glass window and trademark blue awning, with an intimate interior characterized by linoleum floors, a long white marble bar, chrome chairs, and a daily specials board. Anchor Oyster Bar has been owned and operated by Roseann Grimm for its entire 45-year history. Grimm attributes her love and knowledge of seafood to her grandfather, Nicola Desimone, a fisherman from Amalfi, Italy who worked on salmon and crab boats in North Beach and who opened a seafood market and oyster bar in the neighborhood during the turn of the 20th century.