Montreal Oysterfest Goes Big for 5th Annual Edition

The countdown for Oysterfest could have been considered as intense as the countdown for Breaking Bad’s newest episode… seriously. It’s rare that you hear so many people so damn excited for a local foodie event, but we totally get why.

In comparison to last year’s event, this time the location was newer, bigger, and more jam-packed than ever, with some of the trendiest foodies this city has seen. That’s right, foodies are making their staple as being as fashion forward as last week’s Montreal Fashion Week Crowd – kudos, Montrealers! 

The main stage was host to non-stop action featuring The Mott’s Clamato Caesar Throwdown, where Montreal’s best mix masters served up their unique versions of the classic Canadian cocktail. As always, the shucking competition was the major highlight. This year, though, the music accompanying the hard-working shuckers created a dance floor, with hands being thrown all around. A big congrats goes out to winner Simeron Novak from the Whalesbone in Ottawa, who took home the shucking cup.

Aside from the fresh and tasty oysters on site, there were plenty of very notable food booths, including Back of House, RYU, L’Orignal, Kyo, Imadake, Park, Grinder, Dolcetto, Flyjin, Bevo and more.

Drinks were flowing too… in masses or waterfalls. If you were there by a certain time in the afternoon, the countless perma-smiles were the result of more than just the delicious grubs.

Thank you, Burgundy Lion, Philemon, Stewart’s Old Fashioned Soda, Ryu (for an excellent sake mojito) and the Mezcal booth, which by the way takes the trophy home for most entertaining on premise (whoever was making the drinks there deserves his own mixology show on the Comedy Network).

So, after a day full of having too much fun, too much food, too many drinks and too many laughs, it’s safe to say Oysterfest was a pure and utter success in every way possible. Let’s not forget that 100% of proceeds from Oysterfest go to the Open Pier Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the sustainability of aquatic life… which makes us love Founder Daniel Notkin even more!