Island Creek Oysters opens The Winsor House on the South Shore

Restaurants

Winsor House will make its debut on November 17.

A historic inn and pub in Duxbury is given new life on Wednesday with the opening of Winsor House at Island Creek Oyster Farm.

This is good news for fans of the famous oyster company, whose products can be found in some of the country’s most renowned restaurants.

The Winsor House, located next to the farm, will serve as the flagship for food and hospitality for the Island Creek Oysters, which hosts dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.

“Managing Winsor House into the future is a very humble feeling for me and many on the ICO team,” Skip Bennett, founder and owner of Island Creek Oysters, said in a news release. “The Winsor House is where my family has gathered for generations; have it under Island Creek
umbrella still feels surreal. On the farm, our goal has always been to go to
work every day to do what we are most passionate about – growing oysters and building community – and sharing that passion with others. Opening Winsor House as our own is an opportunity to continue to do just that as we honor its history and move on into the next era. “

Chef Jeff Whitmore, consulting chef Cosmo Goss and beverage director Dave Cagle put together a food and beverage menu that reflects the bounty of the ocean – and a memorable space program. There is a raw bar filled with oysters, of course along with Duxbury bay scallops, willow-and-eat shrimp and ICO house-packed caviar served with hash browns, sour cream, chives, shallots and a hard-boiled egg. Small plates range from Winsor fries and fried oyster sliders to crispy broccoli and tuna and beef tartare, while larger plates include both land and sea: a smash patty burger, green chili chicken with crispy potatoes, brown butter-poached halibut and steelhead trout with sunchokes and persimmons. For dessert, guests can dive into blueberry pie, Ma’s Dank chocolate cake and olive oil cake.

Oysters and bubbles can go hand in hand, but in addition to a significant selection of bubbles (plus beer and red and white wine), the drink menu also offers cocktails with a strong lean on rum. Hemingway Daiquiri, a classic, is a blend of rum, maraschino liqueur, lime and grapefruit, while the sandbox showcases rhum agricole, curacao, coco mahina and ginger. For a rum-centered spin on a base pellet, Cagle has put the rum old-fashioned, made with a cask-aged blend of rum, bitter and citrus oil.

Built in 1803 by Winsors, a fishing and trading family that found success in Duxbury’s burgeoning shipping industry, Winsor House has long served as an iconic landmark in the community. When Island Creek Oysters launched its annual Oyster Festival in 2006, attendees gathered in the Winsor House parking lot to enjoy fresh oysters and cold beers. Now the new restaurant has a rhombus, several fireplaces and an expansive nautical-themed mural by local artist Michael Coyne.

This is the third hospitality concept from Island Creek Oysters, which includes the farm’s waterfront Raw bar and Portlands The store. The Island Creek Oyster Bar on Kendall Square, which Bennett co-founded with restaurateurs Shore Gregory, Garrett Harker and Jeremy Sewall, closed in February; the partners have since gone their separate ways.

Eager to catch a glimpse of the renovated Winsor House and throw back some oysters? Reservations are now available on OpenTable.

Winsorhuset; 390 Washington St., Duxbury; Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 4pm to 9pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm to 10pm; winsorhouse.islandcreekoysters.com