Select Oyster Bar enters a crowded raw bar field

For anyone in search of the best oysters in town, it’s time to add another contender to your quest. Longtime Neptune Oyster chef Michael Serpa made the move to his own place recently, opening Select Oyster Bar in Back Bay in April.

“I think it’s kind of a natural progression for people in the restaurant industry to want to have their own expression and their own version of a restaurant. So the opportunity came about and it fit well for me what I wanted to do, and we did it,” explains Serpa.

But don’t go looking for a scandal in his departure from Neptune, where he worked for seven years. “It was a great, great place to work,” affirms Serpa. “I wouldn’t have left there to work somewhere else if it wasn’t for myself.”

As to the menu itself, Serpa says they’re “leaning Mediterranean” in their food choices. “We definitely have a lot of Basque Spanish influences as well. But we’re trying to stay away from the super classic New England stuff like the chowder and clams and that sort of stuff.”

The menu also features plenty of crudité options, which Serpa says have been a hit with customers, as well as the wine pairings they set them with. “That was one of the most creative and fun things for me, is to make a wine list and make it seafood-centric, seafood-friendly. But also cover the bases, so we have classic wines on there,” he explains.

And if you’re overwhelmed by all the options, Serpa has a quick recommendation for what to pair. “I would say the tuna crudo with the Txakolina Rose would be really nice.”