WALNUT CREEK, CA — The Bay Area’s favorite oyster bar is finally crossing the bay, and for Walnut Creek it lands about ten minutes down the road in downtown Lafayette.
Hog Island Oyster Co. announced Sept. 17 that it will open a new restaurant in the former Barranco space at 3596 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, with an opening targeted for early 2027, according to the Bay Area Telegraph.
If you’ve ever made the run to the Ferry Building for a dozen Sweetwaters, you know the ritual: shucked to order behind the counter, briny and cold, a squeeze of lemon, the whole waterfront humming around you. This is the company that started farming oysters in Tomales Bay in 1983, back when a five-acre shellfish lease was the entire operation.
The Lafayette outpost won’t be a quick counter for a dozen on the way through. Plans call for roughly 130 seats — 40 of them on an outdoor patio — with lunch and dinner service and a full bar of cocktails, beer, and wine.
Founder and CEO John Finger put it plainly in the announcement:
“We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to bring Hog Island to the East Bay, and Lafayette felt like a natural fit. This location gives us the chance to create a true neighborhood restaurant while introducing Hog Island to more people on this side of the Bay.”
Lafayette will be the company’s fifth oyster bar and sixth restaurant overall. The existing bars sit in Marshall, Napa, Larkspur, and San Francisco’s Ferry Building, plus Tony’s Seafood Restaurant in Marshall and a pickup window in Petaluma. This is the first Hog Island on the east side of the Bay.
The Details
- Where: 3596 Mt. Diablo Blvd, downtown Lafayette (the former Barranco space).
- Opening: early 2027, no specific date yet.
- Seats: roughly 130, including 40 on the outdoor patio.
- Bar: full — cocktails, beer, wine.
The space runs about 2,200 square feet including the patio, and Hog Island is working with longtime design partner BCV Architecture to tie the indoor dining room to the rear patio, with large-scale art from local artists connected to the Hog Island community.
As of late September there’s still no opening date or menu prices. Hog Island says it’ll serve its established favorites alongside dishes developed just for this location, but it isn’t naming them until closer to the opening. So whether the grilled cheese or the clam chowder makes the trip is anyone’s guess for now.
From most of Walnut Creek it’s a straight shot down Highway 24 or Mt. Diablo Boulevard — closer than the Napa or Larkspur bars, and a lot closer than the bridge traffic to the Ferry Building. That’s the real news here.
Not that Walnut Creek was hurting for a decent meal. The town’s own dining scene has been stacking up wins all year — from Va de Vi landing on KQED’s “Check, Please!” to a steady run of new wine bars and ramen counters on North Main. A short drive to Lafayette for oysters just adds to the list.
The Bottom Line
Hog Island Oyster Co. — the Tomales Bay oyster farm behind the Ferry Building bar — is opening its first East Bay location in downtown Lafayette in early 2027. Walnut Creek’s oyster run just got a lot shorter.
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