Petaluma’s Shuckery moves away from brunch, toward lunch

New in 2019, The Shuckery has shifted its weekend hours from brunch to lunch, to better serve customers by staying open straight through dinner.

“Right as we were closing up at 2 p.m. for an afternoon break, people started to knock on our door,” says owner Jazmine Lalicker, “and didn’t stop until we reopened for dinner.”

It made sense to change the Shuckery’s weekend hours, which are now from 11:30 a.m. through 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 p.m. on Sundays. Another pleasant surprise at the Shuckery is the recent addition of server Joshua Torres. During our first visit to his former employer, Sake 107, Joshua acted as our tour guide through both the food and drink menu. We had never tried an extended selection of sake before, but after a few questions of us and our likes and dislikes, he carefully navigated us through a broad range of options. Joshua is also a budding photojournalist. His photojournalistic piece on the migrant caravan in Tijuana was recently published in the Argus-Courier.

As far as the menu, starters, soups and stews, specials and mains are thoughtfully arranged and dishes are clearly marked as vegan and gluten free. There is little overlap between the lunch and dinner menu, other than staples like clam chowder, shrimp cocktail, ceviche, some salads and, of course, the oyster bar offerings.

There are three sandwiches (crab BLT, po’ boy and the fish sandwich) on the lunch menu, as well as fish and chips, popcorn shrimp and chips and a fish sampler. There is also usually at least one special, which during our visit was an open-faced grilled cheese and crab sandwich with fries.

Dinner offers a broader assortment of fish dishes, from the Basque-style seafood stew to fish tacos to bacon-wrapped chipotle and honey prawns, as well as staples like day boat scallops, whole-roasted snapper and the pan-seared catch of the day. A group could easily dine at The Shuckery for both lunch and dinner in the same day and not have any overlapping dishes.

We started our meal with a bowl of the “real clam chowder,” the market fish tostada and a double order of the baked oyster sampler. After judging this year’s Chowder Day out at Bodega Bay, I can attest to the fact that The Shuckery makes a better chowder than most in the area. The market fish in the tostada was mouthwatering McFarland’s Trout. The baked oysters came in classic chipotle barbecue, Rockefeller and bingo, which topped with cognac, mayo, parmesan and garlic, should not be missed.

Then came the grilled cheese and crab special, the BLT and the fish sampler. All were well made and beautifully plated. I would be remise if I did not mention just how delicious the fries taste - some of our favorite in town.

The wine menu is expertly curated by Clémence Lelarge, who also runs The Shuckery’s parlor bar inside the Hotel Petaluma. Her velvety French accent certainly gives her suggestions an air of credibility. The list is broken down into wines made less than 30 miles from here, which include several Petaluma Gap wines; wines that are sourced from 30 to 150 miles away, and wines from around the globe. The wine bar is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 5 to 9 p.m. and has become quite the hangout.

The Shuckery’s beer and cider list are also more diverse than one might expect and all complement seafood plates. From Fort Point’s Kolsch to Russian River’s STS Pilsner to HenHouse’s Oyster Stout to cider from Tilted Shed, the drink menu is well thought out and is not overly dependent on IPAs like so many places today.

The Shuckery and sister wine bar also offer an appetizing happy hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drinks include beer ($6), wine ($8) and oyster shooters ($3), which is a mix of house-made bloody, Soju Vodka and a fresh oyster. The snack menu consists of raw ($1.50) and baked ($2.50) oysters, a daily tostada ($6), avocado and smoked trout mousse ($7), popcorn shrimp ($5) and red eye gravy and rock shrimp disco fries ($6.)

The Shuckery and Hotel Petaluma continue to nourish their budding relationship with shared special events in the lobby and ballroom, including a recent winter “White Party,” as well as the upcoming “Addicted to Love” Valentine’s Day party on Saturday, Feb. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. Welcoming both singles and couples, appetizers are included, as are raffles for local prizes, games and dancing to live music by CA Soul.