PHOTOGRAPH BY CATHERINE VIOX
Atwood Oyster House opened in the former PearlStar space in November 2023, and it seems to have found its footing almost immediately. It certainly helps that the restaurant is helmed by so many accomplished industry veterans: Chef Seth Ridgill cooked at Kiki, Pastry Chef Kayla Hunley came from Al-Posto and Pleasantry, and General Manager Brandon Moore previously worked Boca’s front-of-house operations.
Atwood has done an excellent job of working closely with coastal purveyors to curate a focused but eclectic selection of oysters. At the time of this writing—a month after Atwood’s opening—more than 20 varieties of oyster have passed through Atwood’s doors, each with a unique flavor and finish.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CATHERINE VIOX
The rest of the menu consists of southern coastal cuisine prepared with rigorous French technique. There’s an emphasis on seasonality: the Winter Salad is a bright medley of arugula, apples, pepitas (hull-less pumpkin seeds that eat like pine nuts) and ricotta. There was no dressing, save a kiss of brown butter vinaigrette, which ended up being all the salad needed.
The wild-caught fish is as fresh and deliberately sourced as the eponymous oysters. A soft, nutty, perfectly blackened grouper perched atop a creamy parsnip purée—the bite of which served as an excellent counterpart to the mild fish. Ridgill’s dexterity with fish should come as no surprise. Before moving to Cincinnati, he spent years working in acclaimed restaurants in the southern seafood capital of Charleston, South Carolina.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CATHERINE VIOX
Hunley’s imaginative desserts offer the perfect cap to the ambrosial menu. Fig leaf mousse gets coated in a tart cranberry glaze and encircled by kataifi, strands of shredded phyllo. It’s the sort of dessert that could easily tip into “too tart” or “too sweet” territory, but Hunley handles it deftly.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CATHERINE VIOX
The modern, clean-lined space, adorned with busts and oil paintings (curated with the help of neighborhood artist Alex Frank) matches the elegant food. It’s stately without being stuffy, somehow both timeless and hip. Like everything else at Atwood, it’s the result of a delicate, highly successful balancing act.
1220 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4256, atwoodoysterhouse.com
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